8.1MB - College of Education - Auburn University

Now that you’ve had a few months to experience
campus and its activities, as well as the surrounding
community, what is your sense of Auburn?
As an outsider, you hear the rhetoric of the “Auburn Family’’ and
you think to yourself, ‘That’s nice, but that has to be mostly rhetoric.’
There’s a reality to that concept of the “Auburn Family.’’ It’s a very
collegial, warm, friendly place. Those terms are not normally ascribed
to major research universities. We work together well, meaning
the faculty and department heads. I also hear from our alumni
that our graduates are wonderful and well-prepared. They want to
hire them.
What else have you learned from your interactions
with the college’s students, faculty, staff and graduates?
Their loyalty to Auburn is impressive. I get the feeling that alumni
are very loyal and supportive. People have been teasing me about
bringing all of this cold weather with me from Maine, but I tell them
that if they want to blame me for bringing cold weather with me,
then they also have to give me credit for the national championship
in football.
How would you assess the state of the college at this
point, and what are you most excited about moving
forward?
I’m still in the process of getting to know the programs. I see very
strongly committed faculty who work hard and are dedicated to
their respective fields. They are serious about expanding our research
enterprises. There is a lot of interest in reaching out internationally
and reaching out more in the state. They are interested in
reaching out in ways that are consistent with our land-grant mission.
I do think Kinesiology has a chance to be a top 10 program nationally
and our rehabilitation program is a very strong program, probably
the top online program in the country. We have strong teacher
education and educational leadership programs and strong partnerships
with school districts in the region and state.
We are a public institution with a land-grant mission. We should
be helping where we can. There are ways to create research agendas
around outreach projects.
What are some of your interests away from the job?
I do like to read, but my other passion is old-time, Southern Appalachian
music. We’re talking pre-bluegrass, old ballads from the
1700s and 1800s. I’m kind of a struggling fiddle player and can do
basic backup guitar. I thought I might start out as a music major in
college, but didn’t like the idea of having to practice for six hours a
day. I did piano for many, many years.
What led you into education?
My mother tells me I said my entire life that I wanted to teach
whatever grade I was in at the time, but I don’t really remember
that. In college, I did the equivalent of a double major in education
and history. I started out teaching social studies in Virginia Beach
and intended to stay in teaching when I went back to school for my
master’s degree. We were doing some pretty innovative things [in
Virginia Beach] and that kind of teaching was very appealing to
me. Then I got into graduate school and got interested in research,
pedagogy and theory and it helped me to understand the experience
I had in practice.
You mentioned how, early in your learning and teaching
phases, American approaches to education were
shaped in part by the Cold War and fueled by the fear
of losing a competitive edge. We’re hearing some of
the same language now. How will that influence the
approach and mission of our college?
I think we’re on the right track. Everybody can always improve. It’s
so hard to predict the future. Here we are, back to talking about
the importance of curriculum and teaching and learning, but the
conditions are so different now. We’re at a challenging point in the
development of teaching as a profession.
A K e y s t o n e i n B u i l d i n g a B e t t e r F u t u r e f o r A l l 9