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How Bay Path Boosted STEM Success for Underrepresented Women
Establishing a Center of Excellence for Women in STEM has improved academic success, engagement, and retention of underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation undergraduate women in Bay Path University’s STEM majors. Here’s what Bay Path did, and some lessons learned that may be key if you would like to undertake a similar initiative. by Gina Semprebon, PhD, Professor or Biology, Founding Director of the Center of Excellence for Women in STEM, Bay Path University; Christine Bacon, D.HEd, Associate Professor of Biology, Chair of Science, Bay Path University; and Lamis Jarvinen, PhD, Director of Partners for Scientific Inquiry The Challenges We Faced As seen in many other higher education institutions, our female students have become increasingly attracted to pursuing STEM majors over the past several years. At Bay Path University, a women-serving institution at the undergraduate level, we have responded by expanding our STEM offerings and have sought for effective ways to both attract and retain women in our STEM majors, as well as to serve as a networking and educational center for professional women in STEM fields in our region – many of the latter being our own graduates. However, the typical academic challenges faced in gateway, foundational courses within the first two years of […]
The Best Gift Higher Education Never Asked for: Donald Trump
The Great Resignation or the Great Joy in Higher Education: Emerging Lessons from the Pandemic
I. Introduction The Great Resignation, the Great Attrition, the Great Disengagement, and the Big Quit are a few of the names for the phenomenon occurring throughout different industries, including higher education.1 Higher education is not immune from this great exodus and is at a turning point as retention of faculty, administrators, and staff is more important than ever.2 What’s joy got to do with it?3 Can it drive those who work in higher education to stay, leave, or return?4 Money is not enough by itself to retain workers.5 Over the last two years, higher education, like other industries, is facing a fundamental shift in how people view their work, their employer, and their life.6 Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Great Joy: to (re)discover joy in your work; reevaluate what you want from work, be open minded, and possibly reinvent how you work, where you work, who you work with, and what you work on. This article explores the challenges higher education faces as the pandemic continues to alter attitudes on work. It then offers some strategies to (re)discover joy in work. Finally, it discusses ways to maximize joy in work. II. The Struggle Exhausted, isolated, disconnected, burnt out, […]
Leading in Today’s Academy: A Discussion Series for Provosts & Faculty Affairs Leaders
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Ron Brown, PhD
I empower clients to manage and lead with conviction, achieve success, and change reality within their existing cultures. Ron is a university administrator and executive coach with over 4 decades of experience in higher education that includes two decades of administrative experience at major universities. A core component of his approach to coaching is assisting his clients in understanding the systems in which they are employed and negotiating such systems to accomplish their career goals. In his coaching approach, Ron frequently uses evidenced-based approaches from clinical psychology and behavior management. He frequently employs humor in his work with clients while managing to teach clients within a strategic framework to build productive and supportive relationships in the work setting. Ron has a great deal of experience in working with faculty, Program Directors, Chairs, Deans and Vice-Presidents within the University setting. Over the years, he has mentored countless administrators so that they have been able to ascend the academic career ladder. Ron’s careful blend of evidenced-based clinical approaches coupled with an emphasis on life balance with family and the work setting have made him a successful mentor of many individuals who have gone on to have impressive, productive and prestigious careers. Ron […]
Tracy Smith
Dr. Tracy Smith is the Director for Faculty Mentoring and Career Support, and a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Appalachian State University. Smith develops and facilitates programming for faculty at all career levels, including new, early career, mid-career, and legacy career faculty. Smith is also the past Faculty Fellow for Mentoring Initiatives for the College of Education. For her fellowship, Smith created a developmental community model of mentorship and support for the COE. In addition, in 2021, she established the RCOE Mentoring Guild, a shared craft model of faculty support. In 2017, Smith was awarded the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2005 and 2015, she received the College of Education Outstanding Teaching Award. She has also received the Appalachian Student Government Association Outstanding Teacher Award and the College of Education Outstanding Mentor and Community of Practice Awards, and in 2001, she received the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Her research interests include mentoring and educational development in higher education, middle-level education and teacher preparation, the relationship between teaching expertise and student learning, and evaluating the depth of student understanding. She has had articles […]
Is it Time to Launch that New Academic Program? The Art and Science of Answering that Question
Related Articles: Feasibility Checklist: The Science of Bringing New Academic Programs to LifeFinancial Modeling for New Academic Programs The challenges facing higher education in recent times are well documented. Never has it been so critical for colleges and universities to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. Especially for resource-constrained institutions (which is most of us), traditional financial management approaches such as resource prioritization and/or cutting one’s way to sustainability are no longer sufficient long term solutions. In this current context, successful institutions are outward-looking and have developed a discipline around driving entrepreneurial growth in ways that live and further leverage the mission. This is what having an entrepreneurial mindset is all about; from my experience, nurturing such a mindset at the institutional level requires both art (intuition, active listening, and keen attention to opportunities) and science (rigorous discipline and process). I consider myself an academic entrepreneur. Throughout my career in higher education, I have been focused on looking outward and asking key questions such as “How can we do this differently?”; “What do we do really well that might be leveraged in new and unique ways?”; and “What market opportunities exist that we are uniquely equipped to meet?” At Bay Path University […]
Missed Opportunities: Why Private Universities Need to Partner with 2-Year Colleges to Create Better Transfer Pathways
For many private institutions, community college transfer students represent a viable and untapped opportunity for increased enrollment and tuition revenue. While developing a webcast to share practical strategies for partnering with community colleges to improve student recruitment and student success, I had the opportunity to talk with Mary Hinton, president of the College of Saint Benedict. Hinton, who also authored our recent article “Game On for the Liberal Arts” and participated in the Presidential Dialogues, has a forward-thinking approach and makes an eloquent and compelling case for partnering with two-year institutions – not only to boost enrollment objectives, but to address a growing need in society. Partnering for Better Transfer Pathways: An Interview with Mary Hinton Sarah Seigle. As private colleges look to recruit more transfer students, how would you describe the opportunity you see for four-year private institutions when it comes to partnering more strategically with community colleges? Mary Hinton. As we think about student demographics, and the desire for our institutions to be more inclusive, we know part of that equation will demand thinking beyond our current constituents. Partnering with two-year institutions provides viable opportunities to reach more students; to genuinely exhibit inclusion; and to recognize that for some, access […]