August 2007 Archives

If you have been on the third or fourth floor of the Liberal Arts Building (LAB) recently, you've probably already noticed the first installation to be approved and hung by our new Public Art Committee. The committee, an ad hoc faculty group including representatives from across the college, has as its goal the identification, securing, and installation of public art displays throughout the spaces used by the College of Arts & Letters.

The initial display of some amazing international scenes shot by photojournalist and artist Betty Press, will hang for two years.  Our committee meets again tomorrow morning to discuss our next project.  We have a small budget and hope to be able to effect lasting change through installations that challenge, engage, and stimulate discussion among all who view them. We welcome your ideas and suggestions!  As always, feel free to email me at denise.vonherrmann@usm.edu.

In the dean's office we've been talking a great deal about some new, innovative, "out-of-the-box" ways to do things.  It's energizing, and quite frankly, we believe strongly that universities should be innovators, and should never do things the same way simply because that is how it "has" been done before.

One thing we are thinking about is how to best utilize our resources.  Our college budget, including all units and services, is several million dollars in scope.  Yet we often get hung up in trying new things because we don't have any resources; sometimes for want of a thousand dollars or less new ideas die before they ever get a chance.

We know it is risky to change things; we know there is great comfort for some in predictably doing things the same way this year as we have for the past ten years.  But it is a new day at Southern Miss. We want to be able to move forward positively.  Change is good! 

Below, in response to a request from a faculty member, is the text of my comments at Friday's Gulf Coast Convocation. It was a great event and I was honored to participate.

I first stepped onto the Gulf Park campus in the spring of 1997, an applicant for a faculty position I’d seen advertised.  Pat Smith and Tom Payne were among those who greeted me and helped me understand this dual-campus arrangement.  At the time, what is now the College of Arts & Letters had five undergraduate and four master’s degree programs, and four tenured or tenure-track faculty.  As of today, we have a total of twelve programs, and thirteen tenured or tenure track and four full-time instructional faculty.  In 1997 our college had about 250 undergraduate students and around 100 master’s students on the Coast.  Today we have around 500 students enrolled.  Back then, we were limited to offering only the last two years of undergraduate degrees;  today, we are a full-scale university offering  the complete array of courses from freshman-level through the doctorate.

We have weathered many storms in the last decade, and not all of them included wind and water!  We fought for, and won, the right to offer lower-division courses.  We saw academic management structures built, torn apart, and rebuilt again.  We drove tens of thousands of miles, mostly along Hwy 49 or I-10, to attend meetings, to teach classes, and to otherwise stay connected to the university we love.  We taught classes at Gulf Park, Jackson County, Keesler, the GCSSC, and in a few cases at restaurants or coffee houses after Katrina when no other spaces were available.  Many of us moved our books and our papers and computers from one office to another as the campus expanded, was reorganized, and then relocated.

Through it all, one thing has remained constant:  the faculty, staff, and students of the Gulf Coast are committed to providing the highest quality undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral education to meet the changing needs of the area.  Our college has responded, and will continue to respond, with new degree plans and special emphasis areas offered exclusively to Coast students.  Our BA in film is only the first of several new degrees that are uniquely suited to these students and to this area’s economic and social redevelopment.  The flag our college flies today may be a bit worn, but its colors are still true.  And together the faculty on both campuses will work to stitch together a new flag that uniquely symbolizes the vital role of Arts and Letters for the Gulf Coast.

 

 

 

We plan for it all year;  all summer long we hold Previews to get ready for it.  Today it is finally here--the start of the Fall term. 

Why is the start of a new year so important? For one thing, a brand new crop of freshmen and transfer students arrives with big goals and dreams, and with equally big expectations of what Southern Miss will provide them.  Faculty, staff, and administrators play a major role in the level of growth and in the level of satisfaction that these new students will enjoy.

We have worked hard since the planning season last year to ensure these new students have the best possible experience.  I believe we are ready to meet the challenge.  Happy new year!!

Today seems to be a day all about Faculty.  Last night I attended the new faculty welcome reception at the President's home.  At noon we welcomed new faculty to the college with a casual lunch and time for fellowship. This afternoon at Provost Council we continued our discussions of Faculty Recruitment processes and what we can do to streamline our university requirements for hiring (with the goal of hiring earlier in the academic year in order to remain competitive in our faculty recruiting efforts).

Although classes won't begin for another two days, we are already looking ahead to next fall and trying to determine what are our needs in terms of faculty lines.  Every such decision I am involved in carries a tremendous responsibility and I feel it deeply.  After all, these new colleagues that we hire could well be with us for 30 years!  When done well, hiring new faculty is one of the most deeply rewarding aspects of my job in the dean's office.  I am looking forward to an active and successful season of faculty recruitment. 

Last night I enjoyed a celebration of Southern Quarterly, the self-proclaimed "Journal of the Arts in the South," which is published here at Southern Miss by Editor Doug Chambers, Managing Editor Ann Branton and Associate Editor Kenneth Watson.  SoQ has published some amazing issues in the past two years, including one of my personal favorites, the Winter 2007 issue dedicated to "southern food and drink."  Southern Quarterly is a shining example of what is great about Southern Miss--our collegial, engaged, and creative faculty, staff, and students.

It was nice today to have a bit of time to devote to writing.   My schedule is certainly more hectic than it was six months ago, but the various book chapter projects that I'd committed to within the last year are coming due! As dean, I try to maintain my connection to faculty life by teaching, working with doctoral students, and continuing my own research and publication activity.  But finding time to do each of these things well, while effectively serving the College with its large student and faculty populations, (and simultaneously living out my roles as mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend) is always a challenge.

I just returned from an amazing trip to California to visit some of our most successful alumnae.  Lindsay Wilson and I had the pleasure of introducing two of our wonderful alums to each other--then we just sat back and watched the show as these incredible women talked about the entertainment industry, planned possible joint projects, and challenged one another to "give back" to Southern Miss! 

I am always amazed at the incredible career achievements of our alums. When I meet them they always want to find ways to help today's college students get started on the right track.  So, we're working diligently to find ways to connect current students to college alumni via internships and other school-to-work initiatives.

We've been talking alot in the college recently about the need for planning.  In the college dean's office, we are using a set of strategic goals to structure and orient our focus.  Each of the goals is something that we feel can be achieved in a relatively short period of time; we recognize that the university is in a time of transition and so do not wish to launch major new initiatives until various higher-level decisions are made.

In working through these issues I've reflected upon the role of planning in my personal life. Each summer, I tend to take several days to reflect upon the plans I had laid out the previous year in each of my various roles as administrator, faculty member, community member, wife, mother... The exercise forces me to consider what choices I've made, what I've done in response to various outside influences, and what alternatives and important decisions lay ahead. It's a time for me to get back "on track" with an abandoned research project or to finally settle down to the various tasks which I may have put off (such as revising a syllabus or reading an important new book, or even painting a room in my home).  Such time for reflection and planning is critical to success and I believe it is time well spent.