Letter to the Editor: May 14, 2009
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Opinion
An Open Letter to My Colleagues:
Let me start by thanking those of you who shared kind words with me about my Convocation talk on Monday the 25th. That little talk turned out to be more self-revealing than I originally intended...but its message is one that I would like to elaborate upon.
As a college, we will be making a decision in September that deals with changing to a four-credit system. I am deeply aware of the good, hard work that has gone into this. I am especially impressed by the thoughtful, intriguing options that David DeMoss and others have developed for Core revision. The suggestions for the Core look very promising.
In the midst of all the hard work, I urge that we not lose our primary focus-delivering an outstanding, private, liberal arts education to our students. Let us not lose our historical and institutional focus on being student-centered. Let us not be distracted from our historical mission to serve first-generation college students and those who have been underserved.
One of the driving motivating factors behind the four-credit proposal is the reduction in teaching load for the purpose of enhancing scholarly research. Allow me to make the point that excellent teaching and outstanding scholarly production are not at all incompatible. We do not need a reduction in our class load to be able to produce solid research and scholarly publications.
One of my academic heroes is the late Russel B. Nye. Dr. Nye served on my dissertation committee at Michigan State in 1974 and was my professor in several graduate classes and seminars; he is remarkable in American academic history for having won the Pulitzer Prize for his own dissertation. A quick look at the MSU library online catalogue for his name shows 59 catalogued items; the Library of Congress shows 35 entries for his scholarly books. The collection in his name at the MSU library has 125,000 items.
Even though he was a leading scholar in American Studies and American Literature (and co-founder of the Popular Culture Association), Dr. Nye was always available to his students, always showing a keen interest in their work and their well-being. In class, he was warm and engaging, and made an extra effort to bring in his many friends-all leading scholars of the day-as guest speakers. He was so important in my life that I dedicated my first book to him...and he had given me the reference to that publisher that started my publishing career. He did not have to do this.
Let me start by thanking those of you who shared kind words with me about my Convocation talk on Monday the 25th. That little talk turned out to be more self-revealing than I originally intended...but its message is one that I would like to elaborate upon.
As a college, we will be making a decision in September that deals with changing to a four-credit system. I am deeply aware of the good, hard work that has gone into this. I am especially impressed by the thoughtful, intriguing options that David DeMoss and others have developed for Core revision. The suggestions for the Core look very promising.
In the midst of all the hard work, I urge that we not lose our primary focus-delivering an outstanding, private, liberal arts education to our students. Let us not lose our historical and institutional focus on being student-centered. Let us not be distracted from our historical mission to serve first-generation college students and those who have been underserved.
One of the driving motivating factors behind the four-credit proposal is the reduction in teaching load for the purpose of enhancing scholarly research. Allow me to make the point that excellent teaching and outstanding scholarly production are not at all incompatible. We do not need a reduction in our class load to be able to produce solid research and scholarly publications.
One of my academic heroes is the late Russel B. Nye. Dr. Nye served on my dissertation committee at Michigan State in 1974 and was my professor in several graduate classes and seminars; he is remarkable in American academic history for having won the Pulitzer Prize for his own dissertation. A quick look at the MSU library online catalogue for his name shows 59 catalogued items; the Library of Congress shows 35 entries for his scholarly books. The collection in his name at the MSU library has 125,000 items.
Even though he was a leading scholar in American Studies and American Literature (and co-founder of the Popular Culture Association), Dr. Nye was always available to his students, always showing a keen interest in their work and their well-being. In class, he was warm and engaging, and made an extra effort to bring in his many friends-all leading scholars of the day-as guest speakers. He was so important in my life that I dedicated my first book to him...and he had given me the reference to that publisher that started my publishing career. He did not have to do this.
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