0

More

Next Blog

Create Blog

Leadership and Governance Reflections

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Elisabe! Goss
Follow

Week 10 - Academic Freedom & Final Reflection

The case f" !is w#k detailed !e famous academic fr#dom debate betw#n Fr Charles
Curan and Ca!olic University. Though I understood !e general st"y, I had a difcult
time fo%owing some of !e m"e religious aspects. Specica%y, it was hard f" me to
understand why an institution would not want to foster dissent and critical !inking. I
was especia%y shocked to hear !at !e &anch of !e Ca!olic church !at took away Fr
Curan's ability to teach Ca!olic !eology used to be !e Inquisition! Punishing people f"
saying what !ey genuinely believe (as long as it is not hate sp#ch) s#ms dangerous to me.
Because of !is, I had a hard time s#ing bo! sides of !is case objectively and
automatica%y sided wi! Fr Curan.
Since !is is my last post f" !is class, I wanted to spend m"e time reecting on what I
learned ra!er !an talking about !e specics of !e Ca!olic University case. As someone
wi! a degr# in communication, !e most interesting aspect of !is class was looking at !e
various responses !at university leaders have had to campus crises. I especia%y enjoyed
k#ping up wi! current events and comparing and contrasting different leaders' responses.
F" example, my dismay wi! University of Oregons's treatment of a student suing !em
over a Title IX violation was mirr"ed by my supp"t of University of Oklahoma's strong
statement towards (and ultimate explosion of) racist fraternity members. I can already te%
!at !e ofcial statements of university presidents wi% be much m"e impactful f" me in
!e future, especia%y since I have s#n such good examples of what a response can look like
!rough reading !e Brown book.
Though I've never pictured myself as being a high-level administrat", I appreciated !e
lessons I learned from !is class. I wi% especia%y take care to remember Jeremy Stringer's
(2012) Rules f" Responding to a Campus Crisis. Rule number 10, "no matter what: do !e
right !ing," (Stringer, 2012) is some!ing !at I hope to embody in my professional
philosophy. Though it is always imp"tant to be aware of !e institutional perspective on a
crisis, I wi% care f" my students rst and f"emost - especia%y if !ey belong to a
marginalized population.
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 3:40 PM

No comments:

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Week 9 - Affirmative Action

This w#k's case study dealt wi! tenure and afrmative action. In it, Plymou! University
faculty and administration w"ked to decide if a Li%y Montgomery, a Black female faculty
member from !e Chemistry department, would receive tenure. She had a great teaching
rec"d and high levels of service, but was lacking in research publications. The Dean of !e
Co%ege of Science mandated !at, because Li%y had not ful%ed a% !r# areas, she should

View my complete prole

Blog Archive

2015 (8)
March (2)
W#k 10 - Academic Fr#dom &
Final Reection
W#k 9 - Afrmative Action
Fe&uary (3)
January (3)

Sign In

not receive tenure. This s#med like a reasonable decision, !ough I sti% felt !at Li%y's
teaching abilities had merit. However, it was later revealed !at ano!er faculty member
had earlier b#n granted tenure !ough lacking in teaching ski%s. In fact, students had
begged !at he not be promoted because of his extremely po" instruction. This was an
upsetting fact, especia%y since !e Dean had b#n so hard on Li%y f" not ful%ing a%
aspects of research, teaching, and service. Wi! !is new inf"mation &ought to light, !e
Academic Vice President (who was also !e Afrmative Action Co"dinat") asked !at !is
tenure decision be reconsidered as an afrmative action issue. I agr#d wi! him f"
several reasons:

1. Li%y Montgomery was !e only Black faculty member in her department, which also
happened to be a STEM maj". Students genuinely liked her, so it was obvious !at
she could serve as a ment" to students from underrepresented groups. In a eld !at
is traditiona%y %ed wi! White men, !is is extremely imp"tant to consider.
2. Li%y did engage in scholarship - just not !e s"t !at !e Dean considered
acceptable. Persona%y, I would much ra!er have her spend time being a good teacher
and caring f" her students.
3. Promoting one faculty member while denying ano!er tenure over basica%y !e same
issue is plainly discrimination.
I was happy to learn !at Li%y did receive tenure, but was upset to nd out !at she was
never promoted beyond assistant profess". As someone who has considered becoming a
faculty member in !e future, reading about cases like !is one can be discouraging.
However, I am happy !at afrmative action exists to help combat some of !e built-in
biases !at our higher education system has.
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 3:35 PM

No comments:

Friday, February 27, 2015

Week 8 - What's a Tradition?

The case study !is w#k related to !e Texas A&M Bonre disaster and !e community's
response. I had a bit of difculty understanding !e campus's motivations f" building such
a bonre in !e rst place. I have never attended an institution of higher education !at
had such long-standing and impactful traditions, so !e rhet"ic surrounding !e bonre
was a mystery to me (especia%y when !e person who was paralyzed from an accident sti%
adamantly supp"ted !e event).
I was surprised by !e massive response by volunt#rs and emergency w"kers immediately
after !e event occurred. F" !e most part, !e rescue s#med very co"dinated and people
s#med eager to help in any way !at !ey could. I also agr#d wi! !e administration's
choice to have an open investigation. However, I was disappointed to learn !at !e
tradition continues to !is day (!ough no longer ofcia%y sanctioned by !e university). I
f#l !at !is massive energy could have b#n channeled into m"e productive traditions
!at would have also hon"ed !ose who died in !e bonre co%apse, such as community
service. Besides !e fact !at !is tradition s#ms extremely wasteful environmenta%y, it
also s#ms to encourage negative behavi" (such as massive amounts of drinking). I just f#l
like !ere are much better ways to hon" !e fa%en students, but as someone from Texas
A&M would most likely te% me, I just don't understand tradition.
Overa%, I f#l like it should be !e job of student affairs professionals to encourage campus
traditions but also ensure !at !ey are being cele&ated in a way !at promotes inclusion,
responsible leadership, and safety. Some!ing !at s#med especia%y vacant in !e Texas

A&M Bonre tradition was a reliance on !e experts (in !is case, structural engin#rs). In
!e article "CUNY's Pa!way to Shared Governance", Alexandra Logue (2015) talks about
!eir "ganization's insistence !at faculty and administrat"s should offer solutions based
on !eir expertise. I !ink !at !is is an imp"tant concept to consider when "ganizing a
tradition - everyone should have a different role based on !e types of knowledge !ey
possess. F" example, a student may have a better idea of !e campus climate !an an
administrat", but have little knowledge of how to plan a successful and safe event. In !e
case of Texas A&M, !e planning was left entirely up to students, which s#med to be a
mistake. Though students are an extremely valuable asset and are !e reason we have
campus traditions, administrat"s and faculty also n#d to have a say.
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 3:29 PM

No comments:

Friday, February 13, 2015

Week 6 - Networking in Action

The case study !is w#k was my fav"ite so far. In it, leaders of !e Miami-Dade
Community Co%ege (MDCC) were faced wi! a cha%enge - government funding had become
so scarce !at !ey were f"ced to end !eir "open do"" policy, an integral part of !eir
school. Ra!er !an accept !is fate, !e leaders researched past campaigns and best
practices f" receiving funding from !e public. They were able to discover a way to do so
while not raising !e taxes of people in !eir county (!is was especia%y imp"tant because
folks were strongly anti-tax at !e time). Then, ra!er !an lobby CEOs " political gures,
!e leaders of MDCC began a grassroots campaign wi! a strong reliance on netw"king.
In !is campaign, every person was imp"tant, because every vote counted. One MDCC
employ#, a janit", came up wi! 700 contacts just on his own!
The campaign focused on !e metaph" of !e "open do"" and also w"ked to promote how
MDCC had positively impacted !e community. The rst part of !e campaign was spent
highlighting !e success of graduates ra!er !an running massive advertisement
campaigns. The campaign caused such a great impact on !e community !at even a
devastating hurricane could not stop people from voting to fund MDCC.
I was so impressed by !e dedication of MDCC staff in !is case study. It was obvious !at
!ey cared about providing access to a% students wi!out sacricing !e quality of
education. This is a value !at I strongly hold, and hope to one day be able to assist my
institution in a similar manner.
In a non-related article, Seattle U made !e Chronicle's list of "Top Producers of U.S.
Ful&ight Scholars and Students" in !e Masters Institution classication. Go Ofce of
Fe%owships!
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 2:43 PM

No comments:

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Week 5 - Trends of Freshmen

Since !ere was no case study !is w#k, I decided to take !e opp"tunity to (ite a
response to an article from !e Chronicle of Higher Education. The article, "Co%ege Freshmen
S#k Financial Security Amid Emotional Insecurity" by Dan Barrett and Eric Hoover, gave

an overview of !e ideas today's co%ege freshman hold about higher education.

Overa%, !ese students believe !at !e main benet of co%ege is to increase !eir income.
However, al!ough !ey aspire to be we%-off, !eir emotional heal! is at an a% time low.
Today's freshmen have less experience socializing, are open to diversity but have little
knowledge of folks from o!er backgrounds, and suffer from high rates of depression
(Barrett & Hoover, 2015). This inf"mation shows a clear n#d f" student affairs
professionals to push students to expand !eir h"izons while also supp"ting !em
emotiona%y. Opp"tunities like learning communities, which connect social life and
academics, would most likely be extremely benecial f" !ese students (especia%y if !ey
include an emphasis on !e promotion of diversity).
Ano!er aspect of !is article was !at freshmen students (especia%y !ose who are rstgeneration) are planning to s#k advanced degr#s. The article attributed !is to !e job
market, which is requiring a graduate degr# f" m"e and m"e positions (Barrett &
Hoover, 2015). In "der to advance fur!er, students realize !at !ey wi% n#d m"e
education (Barrett & Hoover, 2015). Though having a m"e knowledgable society may
sound great, !is growing ideology is problematic in several ways. The rst issue is
regarding access - only students wi! !e nancial resources to pursue an advanced degr#
wi% be able to. Persona%y, I was able to avoid loans in undergrad due to scholarships and
w"king two jobs, but I wi% sti% have racked up $40,000 in debt by !e time I complete
graduate school ($20,000 each year). O!er students who have to take out loans to
complete !eir undergraduate degr#s, however, wi% be in far w"se shape. Low income
folks wi% suffer (and are currently suffering) from !is shift.
The second problem is !at !ese students wi% not be pursuing a Master's degr# f" !e
sake of knowledge, continuing !e trend !at !e purpose of higher education is to foster job
ski%s ra!er !an critical !inking. If students enter Master's programs wi!out critical
!inking ski%s, !ey wi% ei!er fail " !e system wi% change to accommodate !em. I !ink
!e latter is much m"e likely.

Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 5:13 PM

No comments:

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Week 4 - Finances and Government Influence

The case f" !is w#k involved !e Col"ado State University System (specica%y
University of Col"ado) and !e state's government. The case presented a university !at
had b#n rocked by scandal and was suffering from budgetary issues. The govern" and
legislature had meddled in university affairs many times, from prohibiting tuition increases
above 2.5% (!e university had initia%y requested a 28% increase) to appointing
prosecut"s in sexual assault investigations.
It s#med !at !e government blamed !e university's administration f" many of !e
issues !at had surfaced. While it was true !at !ere had b#n some une!ical behavi"
related to !e a!letics department, !e budgetary issues in particular s#med to stem from
!e government's refusal to properly fund !e University of Col"ado. On top of !at, !e
government had also instituted measures of assessment !roughout !e university system,
on which !e amount of funding a co%ege could receive hinged. This caused me to wonder
how a university is supposed to maintain (and even increase) !e quality of services
provided to !eir students while being unable to m#t !eir budgetary n#ds. The govern" of
Col"ado at !e time did not s#m to consider !is an imp"tant detail, but it certainly
s#ms i%ogical to me.
I was able to relate !is case study to an article in !e Chronicle of Higher Education
entitled: "The Day !e Purpose of Co%ege Changed". In it, Berret (2015) describes how

f"mer president Ronald Reagan tightened university budgets due to !e belief !at
taxpayers should not pay f" "inte%ectual curiosity". Upon hearing !is, critics noted !at his
tampering wi! higher education !reatened to create second-rate institutions, as
universities are places where inte%ectual curiosity should be encouraged (Berret, 2015).
However, Reagan's w"ds and actions caused a change in !e higher education system,
where car#r development took pri"ity over a traditional liberal arts model (Berret, 2015).
From !en on, students become m"e interested in pursing an education to earn m"e money
ra!er !an to increase !eir inte%ectual abilities.
Our class discussed how students have b#n told !at attending co%ege wi% get !em a good
job, but are inf"med of little else regarding higher education. In !e article, "Co%ege
Students Think Theyre Ready f" !e W"k F"ce. Employers Arent So Sure", Fabis (2015)
discovered !at co%ege graduates assume !at !ey are ready to enter !e w"kf"ce because
of !is rhet"ic. However, employers note !at !ey lack critical !inking ski%s - a
ski% cultivated by a liberal arts education (Fabis, 2015). Since !ere is such an emphasis
on car#r ski%s, co%eges no longer know how to educate students in critical !inking (Fabis,
2015).
To tie it a% toge!er, !e idea of what co%ege should prepare students f" has shifted greatly
in our society. This began wi! government sanctions on budgets, which promoted cutting
out !e classes and programs which were "not useful". As I detailed in !e Col"ado case
study, universities are caught in a bind when !ey are unable to raise tuition but are f"ced
to cut !eir budget due to a lack of government funding. Despite every!ing, !ey are
expected to k#p producing results regardless of !e issues !ey face. The system !at was
put into play in !e 1980s s#ms to have become a never-ending cycle. It s#ms !at, as
long as we view universities as a private good ra!er !an a public right, students wi%
continue to miss out on critical !inking ski%s in fav" of "getting a good job" and
universities wi% continue to struggle wi! budgets.
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 1:55 PM

No comments:

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Week 2 - Locke College Case Study

This w#k's main reading was a case study on Locke Co%ege (now Yale). The case took place
during Andrew Jackson's presidency, so it was nowhere near recent. However, !e case
description made it sound like it could have taken place during !e Reagan administration
" even today. Locke was losing students and was facing complaints from !e student body
f" having a curriculum !at was too outdated. However, faculty and administrat"s stood
by !e curriculum as being !e best liberal arts education someone could ask f". They felt
!at offering electives " courses related to car#r ski%s would cause !eir degr#s to become
w"!less.
I connected !is case study to !e article "You Don't N#d a Hurricane to Know Which
Way !e Wind Blows" by Scott S. Cowen. Cowen (2015) (ote, "The ca% f" change in
academe has grown ever louder in recent years, wi! critics faulting co%eges f" a failure to
address crucial issues of accessibility, aff"dability, accountability, and value, and f" a
lack of innovation, especia%y technologica%y". His article addressed !e n#d f" creating
new and sustainable models f" institutions of higher education. I agr# very much wi!
Cowen's ideas, especia%y when !ese changes are student-driven. However, !e faculty in
!e Locke Co%ege case study would denitely have held an opposing view.
When our class learned !at Locke Co%ege had become Yale, we were extremely surprised.
How could a co%ege so trapped in its ways become one of !e most prestigious universities in

!e United States? Upon looking at Yale's diversity statistics, I began to fur!er

understand. Out of 12,109 students in !e Fa% 2013 enro%ment statistics, 62% had
identied as being "white " o!er" (Yale "Factsh#t"). Additiona%y, Yale's average nancial
aid package does not cover !e entire cost of attendance. In our case study, it was expressed
!at people were w"ried !at Locke Co%ege would become a school only available to !e
rich. If !e goal of !e rep"t conducted in !e case study was to stop !is from happening,
Yale has d#ply and utterly failed.
It s#ms to me !at many people dene success as prestige in higher education. While it is
often valuable to be we%-known in academia, I !ink some of !e best faculty and staff
members !at I have known were !e ones who cared m"e f" !eir students !an about
!eir own success. This is not !e model of Yale, but it is !e model of innovation in higher
education. I believe it is imp"tant to, as Cowen (2015) said, develop a vision of, and
excitement about, !e future. The future I want to s# in higher education is not one of
privilege - it is one where every student regardless of gender, race, " ability, can
participate fu%y and equa%y in academia.
Posted by Elisabe! Goss at 8:25 PM

No comments:

Home

Older Posts

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Simple template. Template images by luoman. Powered by Blogger.