Category Archives: Higher Education

In describing associative thinking as a strength of people with autism, a researcher described how one could easily create new coding language. For those who associate things in a particular way, it is not considered “creating” a new language, but rather the fact that one language is known means, “you’re just putting new words on the old thing.”

This comment brought to mind how lightly some of us in higher education rename programs and practices in order to reflect the jargon of the day, the buzz words, or what’s trending. The old thing is capriciously relabeled as if it’s something new without appreciable change or progression to legitimate the change. We should be wary of mislabeling because when we do have something innovative to share, it may be ignored because of our previous practice of adding names without substance.

While new student orientation has been occurring throughout the year in some form or another at many colleges and universities, we generally think of August as the time for orientation. In the past, when I heard the word “orientation,” I would think of students who recently graduated from high school and were entering college for the first time. Clearly, this is outdated thinking because of the demographics of our students today, especially in regard to increasing numbers of adult learners.

I, now, also think of orientation programs not only for students, but for their parents because, more than a decade ago, parents of Millennials forced colleges and universities to consider them as part of the package.

And, it is probably-last century thinking to imagine new student orientation solely as a face-to-face encounter on campus. How many colleges and universities are offering orientation online as a choice for students? More than I would imagine, I’m sure.

August is also a time for professional development programs for faculty and staff. While many of the new student orientation and professional development programs are interesting and helpful, I wonder if there are similar goals for faculty and staff as there are for students, such as where to access resources available on campus and near the campus, activities to help them identify their short- and long-term goals, tips on how to be successful in their work, and expectations as a member of the academic community.

Many professional development programs will focus on specific training in evaluation and assessment, skills for successful use of new technologies, policies on student privacy, and federal mandates regarding campus safety, for example. While all of this information must be shared and learned, there is something missing if professional development programs fail to also address the personally professional needs of all faculty and all staff. I use the term “personally professional” deliberately because what faculty and staff want to achieve in their career is certainly personal.

To me, separating “personal” from “professional” is similar to separating “learning” and “development.” As we have come to accept the integration of learning and development, we should begin to see personal and professional also as two sides to the same coin. A comprehensive professional development program responds to what faculty and staff need for personal fulfillment, and it addresses what faculty and staff must provide to meet the needs of students and the college or university.

I am also a proponent of an integrated professional development model. While some programs are division- and classification-specific because of their nature, faculty and staff from every division and classification should have opportunities to access learning if the particular program meets their personally professional needs. I believe that a campus that models this kind of integration across boundaries for professional development will also create an inclusive climate for students. What is good for students is also good for faculty and staff. An integrated comprehensive model for professional development for all faculty and staff can be attained if leaders of colleges and universities see it as a vehicle to fulfill their vision of how to successfully accomplish their mission and goals.

I am eager to learn about colleges and universities that have what they see as an integrated and   comprehensive professional development program that has been evaluated and assessed over time.

My weekend was one that I would never have imagined when I began college at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in the fall of 1962.

Before going to college, I didn’t go to the movies a lot, but I did see two films that became significant in the way I saw the world at that time.

In 1961, the year before going to college, I went to see West Side Story with my boyfriend. The film moved me like none before;  I thought it was the best movie I had ever seen and was emotionally drained after seeing it. My boyfriend laughed at the movie and thought it was silly. Although we had never had a cross word between us before, I broke up with him that night. He even called my mother to let her know that he could not understand that I broke up with him because he didn’t like the movie. To me, we were incompatible if he didn’t feel anything for West Side Story.

The year I began college, I saw the film To Kill a Mockingbird. That film touched me to the core. It showed me the depths and the heights of human nature—from the most unjust to those who held justice as a high value. West Side Story helped me understand conflict and love and To Kill a Mockingbird broke my heart and gave me hope.

My generation reflected some of what these films meant to me. We were passionate idealists who would fight for social justice whatever career direction we chose. To me, making higher education accessible by recruiting students and retaining them in college was the road I would take to make my contribution.

To receive recognition as an educator with an honorary doctorate in pedagogy from EIU is the height of my achievements, and I will forever be grateful to the vice president of student affairs Dan Nadler and dean of the School of Education Diane Jackman for all they did to support my selection. It had to be a huge effort on their part when one considers that some of the other honorees were billionaires (yes, literally) and a Superbowl-winning coach.