Friday, November 2, 2007--"Getting Dirty"

Last Tuesday morning, I headed down to the University Club at Brown University, where Stonehill was hosting a breakfast for Rhode Island high school guidance counselors. Maybe it was the mystique of the University Club or maybe it was that “something” about Stonehill I wrote about last week, or maybe it was the great relationships that Sam Smith. Associate Dean of Admissions, and others on our Admissions team have built in Rhode Island, but we had a wonderful turnout for the event.

I spoke briefly about Stonehill’s academic program and some of our current initiatives, and Maryjean Viano Crowe, Chair of the Fine Arts Department, made a superb presentation about one of the Learning Communities she has taught in, about her short-term courses in Paris, and about taking seven students last year to a conference on “Defining Culture Through Dress” at Hofstra University where their work was widely acclaimed. The counselors commented afterwards that it was “refreshing” to have a faculty member speak at such an event—that they got a different kind of “inside” view from Maryjean that extended the vision they can get from our colleagues in admissions. Together, these views gave them a far more complete picture of a college that they might want to recommend to students. And it’s hard to overestimate the influence of guidance counselors on prospective students.

Events like that remind me of how hard it is to keep an eye on the big picture of even one’s own college. Sam, Maryjean, and I each touched on many of the important qualities of the experience students have when they choose us: a challenging and diverse curriculum, a creative faculty who are willing to take chances and who are nimble in responding to opportunities that enrich both student experience and their own professional growth, and a focus on successful learning outcomes and post-graduate planning.

Maryjean spoke about how she had taken students to Paris before, but how she hadn’t imagined that she would ever partner with Biology professors and take students camping in a west Texas desert habitat to produce art that engaged with the environment. She exuded enthusiasm for the remarkable results of that trip, but she also recalled that her tent blew down in a windstorm and that the faculty had to set a good example about conservation of water and thus went days without showers; indeed, she said, “I have never been so dirty.”

We’re all finding out how much “getting dirty”—figuratively, least—is required when we try new ways of doing things. And we’re doing new things with students in every stage of their academic lives.

This past week, advisors met with their first-year students, and from the reports I’ve heard, most students are making a great transition to college and giving high marks to the advising they’ve received. A few faculty members who had told me that they had students who struggled with the adjustment at the start of the year were thrilled to connect with the students and to hear that they have integrated themselves and found ways to become involved. Their peer mentors have been instrumental, often connecting one-on-one with a student if the faculty advisor felt that peer support was most needed. Such advising takes time and can pull faculty away from advising in the major, but most people I’ve spoken with feel that we are moving in the right direction by focusing new energy on first-year students.

Our sophomores participated in course selection for Learning Communities in advance of the general course selection process, and I want to commend Registrar John Pestana, John’s staff, and Dean Joe Favazza for making that messy process as clean as anyone could dream. At the end of the LC registration, 86% of students received their fist choice LC, 12% received their second choice, and 2% received their third choice. This is a great success! Still, one challenge in this area involves the funding necessary to help needy students to participate in the travel learning communities. Although we have $40,000 in the budget this year to offset this need, the programs costs are rising rapidly, participation is increasing with new travel LCs emerging each year, and the budgeted amount is not enough to help students as significantly as we would like.

As you know, juniors are electing to go abroad or to take part in one of our full-time domestic “away” experiences in high numbers, and this past week, Erika Schluntz and Alice Cronin hosted the director of the Granada program on campus for a lively lunch with about 20 students who had either been to Granada or who plan to attend in the future. And while this is just one of many available programs, the students are articulate in saying just how transformative such experiences are. Our challenges ahead include the weak dollar, which has made many of our traditional programs in Europe hit unacceptable price points for students and families. Indeed, the International Programs office now spends considerable time looking for more affordable programs to augment our strong list of historical relationships.

And of course the Senior Transitions project is placing new emphasis on how students make post-graduate plans and how the entire college can collaborate for their success. I look forward to conversations with the faculty and with Career Services to share what the senior administration learned through this effort and to look for feedback that will influence future plans in this area.

All these efforts can get messy: they may involve differences of opinion about the processes and even about the goals we have set. As we continue find new ways of improving that “big picture” of Stonehill College—and communicating it to prospective students—I appreciate your willingness to roll up your sleeves in a productive way and even to get a bit dirty in order to make fresh starts on important college priorities.

Best regards,
Katie