Administrative Philosophy
I have served on several search committees during my academic career and in most situations we ask candidates to provide a teaching philosophy and research interests/philosophy. In that spirit I provide my administrative philosophy. Like any good philosophy, my administrative philosophy has evolved over time, and the narrative I present below highlights qualities, traits, and behaviors that I feel make an effective administrator and have uniquely equipped me with the skills and characteristics to excel in what I consider part of my calling to serve others.
An administrator must have a strong grasp of University policies and procedures. One of my greatest assets is my innate ability to absorb information related to policy and procedure. I have, what some might call, an uncanny familiarity with items like the university catalog and faculty handbook. This gift has served me well in the past when chairing the Petree College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, serving on Academic Programs and Standards Committee, and drafting policy and procedure initiatives and changes for the Petree College of Arts and Sciences. I am frequently approached by peers that are seeking clarification on policies and procedures because they know I have the answer or can find it quickly. I feel these characteristics make me uniquely qualified for a position that requires a strong grasp on policy and procedure and the importance of maintaining and developing policy. In short, I feel my institutional knowledge is not equaled by my peers.
An administrator must play an active role in campus activities and demonstrate campus citizenship. I believe an administrator must dedicate time to campus citizenship by supporting the activities of those we serve—our students and our colleagues. Some of my most pleasurable moments as a faculty member have been watching my amazing students perform outside the classroom. Whether this is in athletics, the performing arts, Greek functions, or undergraduate research, I have made a concerted effort to become more involved in the lives of our students by supporting them in their extracurricular endeavors. Students are excited when they see their professors in the crowd supporting them. I see recruitment and retention of our students as one of my major priorities and this type of campus citizenship goes a long way to retaining our amazing students.
The same can be said for supporting my colleagues as they present their research and share teaching strategies through resources such as CETL—a service that provides faculty with the toolkit needed for success in and out of the classroom. I take much satisfaction in seeing the success of my colleagues when rewarded for their dedication to their craft.
An administrator must be able to have the tough conversations with students, faculty, and staff when appropriate. I often remind my students that contrary to what they may sometimes think, faculty are typically genuinely interested in the academic welfare of students. Like many of my colleagues, I adopted a “students first” motto long ago and I find great joy in seeing the diverse student body succeed. Putting students first doesn’t always result in the same outcome, however. This philosophy occasionally leads to the need for difficult conversations with our students. Telling a student that they will not pass a class, or that they are being written up for academic dishonesty, or that the career path they have been pursuing is not in their best interest, is by far the most disheartening part of my job. I feel strongly however, that for the sake of the student’s academic, personal, and future welfare, these situations should not be avoided simply because it will involve a difficult conversation. Not every faculty member is comfortable or equipped to have these conversations with our students. In short, I feel it is my responsibility as an administrator to lift that burden, if needed, from the faculty I administer. I bring compassion and understanding to these situations and make sure that in the end the student knows that I’m doing what I feel is in their best interests.
Unfortunately, tough conversations like these aren’t limited to our students. Some of the most difficult situations I have experienced have come as a result of evaluating faculty and staff performance. As with students, I approach these situations with faculty and staff with great sensitivity and do my best to emphasize that my actions are in the best interest of the employee and the institution.
An administrator must have a record of distinguished service to the Academy. Throughout my career I have sought leadership opportunities and ways to serve and contribute to a greater cause. Some of my most rewarding (and frustrating) moments have come while serving the Academy. I am frequently approached by my colleagues to serve on (and often chair) committees and serve in leadership roles. I consider myself an extremely organized and productive person. I feel strongly that I have the right combination of personality traits that are attractive to group leadership. Many have commented to me about my very collaborative and inclusive spirit, my collegiality and my kind demeanor. I have an excellent grasp on how to conduct a meeting and have served as chair on dozens of committees and task forces during my career and know how to get things done in a timely and efficient manner.
Additionally, I feel distinguished service to the Academy should not be confined to my campus. I find great satisfaction in serving with my other professional academic colleagues. A biologist in the broadest sense, and a botanist by training, my service to the profession/discipline has taken many forms during my career. As illustrated by my CV and the following narrative, I am active in a number of discipline-related organizations. I am highly involved in the activities of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society (ONPS); serving as the state president of the Society from 2012-2014. The Oklahoma Academy of Sciences (OAS) has provided me with ample opportunities to become involved in a society that has a significant impact on the promotion of all scientific disciplines in the state. I have presented papers at annual meetings, helped lead field trips at field meetings, served as the section chair of the biological sciences section, and currently serve as president-elect of OAS—beginning my two year term as president this fall. Finally, I am extremely active in Beta Beta Beta—or TriBeta—at the regional and national level. I currently serve as the southcentral regional vice-president of this national biological honor society with nearly 700 chapters across the United States (the first of which was initiated at OCU in 1922.)
I wholeheartedly embrace the notion that my service to my discipline and the community enhances the image of the University and assert that it should be the duty of every student, faculty, staff, and administrator to be involved in service outside the University and to promote the University while doing so.
An administrator must be actively involved in the development and successful management of academic and co-curricular programs. An administrator should be assisting academic units in developing new financially viable and attractive programs and helping to maintain and/or restructure existing programs as needed. As chair of the Petree College of Arts Sciences Curriculum Committee I assisted academic units in developing and revising dozens of academic programs.
Additionally, I feel the Academy could benefit from providing more flexibility in online course offerings. As someone that teaches online courses regularly, I am intimately acquainted with the very high appeal these courses have among my students as well as the amount of time that goes into planning a successful online offering. I also understand the need for proper instructional oversight for online courses and have led in the development of faculty requirements for online instruction and assist in training my colleagues in online instruction. I embrace the task of assisting in the development and implementation of online course standards, training, and assessment.
I thoroughly enjoy exploring new ideas and researching successful strategies (best practices) employed by other institutions of higher education. I think of this as just another form of professional development. This exploration has taken many forms in the past; from subscribing to listservs and podcasts related to higher education leadership and teaching, to attending non-discipline specific conferences on online learning and undergraduate research. I vividly remember returning from a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) conference several years ago and immediately scheduling a meeting with OCU Provost Susan Barber about the need for a greater focus on undergraduate research at OCU. From that conversation sprung the development of the Creative Activities, Inquiry, Research, and Scholarship (CAIRS) program. Over the past several years, with the help of the Provost’s Office, CAIRS has funded the work of many undergraduates and faculty mentors and has reshaped the way our campus looks at undergraduate research. Now OCU is held up as an example to other institutions that desire to enhance the undergraduate learning experience through undergraduate research.
An administrator must be an ardent supporter of a liberal arts education. In (and out of) the classroom, I am constantly reminding my students to think about the “big picture”. This can be applied when discussing things like scientific processes or when discussing the value of a general education curriculum. This “big picture” view I have stems from my passionate support of a liberal arts education. The liberal arts education empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. Our students learn to develop a sense of social responsibility as well as strong and transferable intellectual and social skills and demonstrated ability to apply skills and knowledge to real-world settings, and as an administrator I will continue to have an active role in promoting the importance of a liberal arts education.
An administrator must demonstrate and actively promote effective teaching practices and find time to mentor faculty new to the Academy. I am a firm believer that an academic administrator must have a strong affinity for teaching, even if they are not afforded the opportunity to teach as often as they once did. Like many of my colleagues, I have a passion for teaching and have spent considerable time throughout my career attempting to perfect this trade. While I appreciate that fewer opportunities exist for administrators to interact with students in the classroom, I feel my experiences can be used to mentor other faculty, thus living vicariously through those I mentor. I have had the great pleasure of mentoring several faculty. Not only is this a very rewarding endeavor, but also an important part of the success and the health of the University.
An administrator must have a strong grasp of University policies and procedures. One of my greatest assets is my innate ability to absorb information related to policy and procedure. I have, what some might call, an uncanny familiarity with items like the university catalog and faculty handbook. This gift has served me well in the past when chairing the Petree College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, serving on Academic Programs and Standards Committee, and drafting policy and procedure initiatives and changes for the Petree College of Arts and Sciences. I am frequently approached by peers that are seeking clarification on policies and procedures because they know I have the answer or can find it quickly. I feel these characteristics make me uniquely qualified for a position that requires a strong grasp on policy and procedure and the importance of maintaining and developing policy. In short, I feel my institutional knowledge is not equaled by my peers.
An administrator must play an active role in campus activities and demonstrate campus citizenship. I believe an administrator must dedicate time to campus citizenship by supporting the activities of those we serve—our students and our colleagues. Some of my most pleasurable moments as a faculty member have been watching my amazing students perform outside the classroom. Whether this is in athletics, the performing arts, Greek functions, or undergraduate research, I have made a concerted effort to become more involved in the lives of our students by supporting them in their extracurricular endeavors. Students are excited when they see their professors in the crowd supporting them. I see recruitment and retention of our students as one of my major priorities and this type of campus citizenship goes a long way to retaining our amazing students.
The same can be said for supporting my colleagues as they present their research and share teaching strategies through resources such as CETL—a service that provides faculty with the toolkit needed for success in and out of the classroom. I take much satisfaction in seeing the success of my colleagues when rewarded for their dedication to their craft.
An administrator must be able to have the tough conversations with students, faculty, and staff when appropriate. I often remind my students that contrary to what they may sometimes think, faculty are typically genuinely interested in the academic welfare of students. Like many of my colleagues, I adopted a “students first” motto long ago and I find great joy in seeing the diverse student body succeed. Putting students first doesn’t always result in the same outcome, however. This philosophy occasionally leads to the need for difficult conversations with our students. Telling a student that they will not pass a class, or that they are being written up for academic dishonesty, or that the career path they have been pursuing is not in their best interest, is by far the most disheartening part of my job. I feel strongly however, that for the sake of the student’s academic, personal, and future welfare, these situations should not be avoided simply because it will involve a difficult conversation. Not every faculty member is comfortable or equipped to have these conversations with our students. In short, I feel it is my responsibility as an administrator to lift that burden, if needed, from the faculty I administer. I bring compassion and understanding to these situations and make sure that in the end the student knows that I’m doing what I feel is in their best interests.
Unfortunately, tough conversations like these aren’t limited to our students. Some of the most difficult situations I have experienced have come as a result of evaluating faculty and staff performance. As with students, I approach these situations with faculty and staff with great sensitivity and do my best to emphasize that my actions are in the best interest of the employee and the institution.
An administrator must have a record of distinguished service to the Academy. Throughout my career I have sought leadership opportunities and ways to serve and contribute to a greater cause. Some of my most rewarding (and frustrating) moments have come while serving the Academy. I am frequently approached by my colleagues to serve on (and often chair) committees and serve in leadership roles. I consider myself an extremely organized and productive person. I feel strongly that I have the right combination of personality traits that are attractive to group leadership. Many have commented to me about my very collaborative and inclusive spirit, my collegiality and my kind demeanor. I have an excellent grasp on how to conduct a meeting and have served as chair on dozens of committees and task forces during my career and know how to get things done in a timely and efficient manner.
Additionally, I feel distinguished service to the Academy should not be confined to my campus. I find great satisfaction in serving with my other professional academic colleagues. A biologist in the broadest sense, and a botanist by training, my service to the profession/discipline has taken many forms during my career. As illustrated by my CV and the following narrative, I am active in a number of discipline-related organizations. I am highly involved in the activities of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society (ONPS); serving as the state president of the Society from 2012-2014. The Oklahoma Academy of Sciences (OAS) has provided me with ample opportunities to become involved in a society that has a significant impact on the promotion of all scientific disciplines in the state. I have presented papers at annual meetings, helped lead field trips at field meetings, served as the section chair of the biological sciences section, and currently serve as president-elect of OAS—beginning my two year term as president this fall. Finally, I am extremely active in Beta Beta Beta—or TriBeta—at the regional and national level. I currently serve as the southcentral regional vice-president of this national biological honor society with nearly 700 chapters across the United States (the first of which was initiated at OCU in 1922.)
I wholeheartedly embrace the notion that my service to my discipline and the community enhances the image of the University and assert that it should be the duty of every student, faculty, staff, and administrator to be involved in service outside the University and to promote the University while doing so.
An administrator must be actively involved in the development and successful management of academic and co-curricular programs. An administrator should be assisting academic units in developing new financially viable and attractive programs and helping to maintain and/or restructure existing programs as needed. As chair of the Petree College of Arts Sciences Curriculum Committee I assisted academic units in developing and revising dozens of academic programs.
Additionally, I feel the Academy could benefit from providing more flexibility in online course offerings. As someone that teaches online courses regularly, I am intimately acquainted with the very high appeal these courses have among my students as well as the amount of time that goes into planning a successful online offering. I also understand the need for proper instructional oversight for online courses and have led in the development of faculty requirements for online instruction and assist in training my colleagues in online instruction. I embrace the task of assisting in the development and implementation of online course standards, training, and assessment.
I thoroughly enjoy exploring new ideas and researching successful strategies (best practices) employed by other institutions of higher education. I think of this as just another form of professional development. This exploration has taken many forms in the past; from subscribing to listservs and podcasts related to higher education leadership and teaching, to attending non-discipline specific conferences on online learning and undergraduate research. I vividly remember returning from a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) conference several years ago and immediately scheduling a meeting with OCU Provost Susan Barber about the need for a greater focus on undergraduate research at OCU. From that conversation sprung the development of the Creative Activities, Inquiry, Research, and Scholarship (CAIRS) program. Over the past several years, with the help of the Provost’s Office, CAIRS has funded the work of many undergraduates and faculty mentors and has reshaped the way our campus looks at undergraduate research. Now OCU is held up as an example to other institutions that desire to enhance the undergraduate learning experience through undergraduate research.
An administrator must be an ardent supporter of a liberal arts education. In (and out of) the classroom, I am constantly reminding my students to think about the “big picture”. This can be applied when discussing things like scientific processes or when discussing the value of a general education curriculum. This “big picture” view I have stems from my passionate support of a liberal arts education. The liberal arts education empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. Our students learn to develop a sense of social responsibility as well as strong and transferable intellectual and social skills and demonstrated ability to apply skills and knowledge to real-world settings, and as an administrator I will continue to have an active role in promoting the importance of a liberal arts education.
An administrator must demonstrate and actively promote effective teaching practices and find time to mentor faculty new to the Academy. I am a firm believer that an academic administrator must have a strong affinity for teaching, even if they are not afforded the opportunity to teach as often as they once did. Like many of my colleagues, I have a passion for teaching and have spent considerable time throughout my career attempting to perfect this trade. While I appreciate that fewer opportunities exist for administrators to interact with students in the classroom, I feel my experiences can be used to mentor other faculty, thus living vicariously through those I mentor. I have had the great pleasure of mentoring several faculty. Not only is this a very rewarding endeavor, but also an important part of the success and the health of the University.