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Diverse Conversations: Training Tomorrow’s Educators

It’s an unavoidable reality that today’s students will be tomorrow’s educators. The professors involved in teacher training initiatives and teacher education programs today are the ones responsible for training tomorrow’s teachers. With that said, it’s increasingly important for those involved in education to be aware of innovations and trends that apply to the teaching profession and what strategies are most effective when it comes to making teacher education programs a success. Recently I sat down with Dr. Maria del Carmen Salazar, associate professor of curriculum studies and teaching at the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education, to discuss this …

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Diverse Conversations: Mentoring Minority Faculty

Minority faculty find themselves at a huge disadvantage at institutions controlled by people of European descent. To discuss some of the ways in which institutions can ensure that minority faculty members are properly mentored and guided, I recently sat down with Olympia Duhart, Co-President of the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), which has been hugely instrumental in promoting programs to address this important issue. Q: Minority faculty have a particularly hard time in traditional universities – what has been your experience in terms of the specific reasons for this? A: Difficulties experienced by traditionally underrepresented faculty members can often …

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Diverse Conversations: Online Universities and Underserved Student Populations

College attendance has become a necessity for entry into the contemporary workforce. This shift is a direct result of President Obama’s goal of having the largest percentage of college graduates out of all the countries in the world by 2020. With this edict has come an influx of students that may not have attended college as early as a decade ago. That being said, online colleges are taking the president’s challenge to heart and paving the way for underserved students to earn degrees and a better living. To find out more about this trend, I sat down with Cynthia G. …

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Diverse Conversations: Staying Afloat in Financially Turbulent Times

In these increasingly uncertain times, colleges and universities are forced to come up with innovative ways to deal with funding cutbacks and revenue shortfalls. In this installment of “Diverse Conversations,” Lewis Duncan, President of Rollins College, dispenses advice on how higher education institutions can strategically manage their resources in a manner that can help them thrive during these financially turbulent times. In the face of unprecedented fiscal challenges, how can colleges and universities maximize their increasingly scarce resources? Most private liberal arts institutions are highly dependent on student revenue. At Rollins College, for example, 86 percent of our total annual …

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Diverse Conversations: Learning to Lead

Many administrators in higher education rise from the faculty. However, when a faculty member is promoted to an administrative position, becoming a director, department chair, or deans, perhaps, it can be quite a challenge to master the art of leading. To get some insight into how new administrators can learn to effectively manage and lead, I recently sat down with Dean Amy Hillman of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University to talk about promoting for within and some of the strategies that work best in an educational setting. Q: First, tell me some of the …

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Diverse Conversations: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders

Colleges and universities all over the United States play an integral role in shaping tomorrow’s leaders. At Saint Leo University they take this charge to heart, infusing visionary leadership into the curriculum. I recently sat down with, Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., president of Saint Leo University to discuss his approach to leadership preparation. Q: Saint Leo is known for its commitment to developing leaders. Would you tell us about your university’s approach to developing future leaders? A: The notion that leaders are born and not made was once widely accepted. However, this belief is fading, as research suggests that much …

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Diverse Conversations: The Failure of Higher Education

Growing up, many Americans are told that education is the doorway to happiness and a way to break the cycle of poverty and anti-intellectualism that pervades the country. However, when many college graduates complete their degrees and hit the job trail, their faith in conventional wisdom is often tested. Many of them have a hard time gaining professional employment, and subsequently end up unemployed or underemployed. Because of this, many people are beginning to question the viability of obtaining a higher education. I sat down with Peter Stokes, Vice President for Global Strategy and Business Development at Northeastern University, to …

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Diverse Conversations: Community Colleges, the Backbone of American Higher Education

Every since their inception, community colleges have always been viewed as the step children of higher education. Sure, anyone with a brain knows how significant they are and the important role that they play in America. However, many people can’t see past their perceived lack of “prestige” or “swagger” if you will. Without much acclaim or fanfare, they continue to be the backbone of America’s higher education system. I recently sat down with Dr. Alicia Dowd, associate professor of Higher Education at the University of Southern California, to talk about the importance of community colleges, as well as their problems …

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Diverse Conversations: College Life, Military Veterans, and Mental Illness

Thousands of veterans are returning home each month and transitioning back to civilian life. For many, this includes going back to college or taking college courses. As they reintegrate into the routines of civilian life, special attention should be paid to easing the transition process and providing a supportive environment. Dr. Victor Schwartz, Medical Director of The Jed Foundation, a leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting emotional health and preventing suicide among college students, answers a few questions regarding the mental health and transitional issues many U.S. veterans face and what college campuses are doing to address the issue. Q: …

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Diverse Conversations: MOOCs for University Administration

By Matthew Lynch Massive Open Online Courses are often associated with topics that are normally taught within college classrooms and by college faculty. The untapped potential of MOOCs extends well beyond the basic academic reach though, and is showing promise to advance the success of university systems as a whole. Austin-based digital marketing agency Tocquigny is launching a four-week MOOC that focuses on recruiting students for online learning programs. Instead of targeting the students themselves, the MOOC guides administration and admission personnel through smart marketing tactics to attract their audiences to their online course offerings. The free Online Recruitment of …

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