Educational Task Forces
Many of you have asked about the Educational Task Forces. We’ve asked Richard to explain his thinking behind the Task Forces and how they function.
Richard Koshalek writes:
“I selected the heads of the five Task Forces as a transitional leadership strategy based on their proven expertise, creative capacities, inclusive and collaborative records, and demonstrated leadership to date. Each Task Force head has then selected their membership to reflect intellectual diversity, representation from various campus constituencies (faculty, students, staff, and alumni), and extensive engagement with Art Center to date. Each Task Force head and membership will also be subject to periodic rotation. Each Task Force will also function as an “executive committee” that will consult with the larger educational community at Art Center (deans, chairs, senior staff, students, alumni, and trustees) in order to make appropriate decisions.
Alumni are an integral part of the task forces that are taking leadership of the College forward. In addition, they are and will always be among our most respected and renowned faculty, providing continual input to department chairs, deans, and administration regarding all aspects of the College. As at any top college or university, most of our alumni also recognize that Art Center’s continued health depends on multiple views and perspectives that complement and support those of alumni, and that respect the original vision, preserve its fundamentals, and shape it with relevance to a complex and evolving larger world.”
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Jeff:
June 18th, 2008 at 12:01 amI’m really glad this is an issue we are dialoguing about on the forum. I’d like to suggest that staff at all levels and in all divisions be specifically invited to take part in the dialogue vis-a-vis the collaborative task force model. I hold a principled belief that ‘Education’ as it is structurally defined in name within the Art Center community without intent perhaps sets up other Art Center divisions and departments (outside of Education and even some within Education) to feel detached from the educational mission of the college. Maybe ACCD should even consider renaming ‘Education’ to something like ‘Instruction’ or ‘Academic Affairs’. We need to all think about how we can remove barriers that impact our ability to act collectively in the interest of educating students. In other words, all of us at Art Center should be concerned about contributing to the educational success of our students, in the many job responsibilities and functions that each of us hold. I’m not suggesting that anyone specifically is uncommitted, but merely that for all of us to feel like we are connected to the core educational mission, everyone - at all levels and all corners of the college - need to be invited and even have representation on the task forces. In my experience, what students really desire is a seamless learning environment of which they see evidence and feel that everyone is committed to their success. We all need to move forward together. I applaud efforts to create a more collaborative learning community at Art Center.
Lisa:
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pmWhat makes Nik Hafermaas qualified to lead the Education Task force? Having a department chair in charge might not be the best decision since he could potentially be a part of the problem.
Community Forum Moderator:
July 1st, 2008 at 4:26 pmLisa,
At today’s forum held in the Cafeteria, Richard explained the reasons why he chose Nik to lead the Education Task Force. This is posted under “Highlights from Community Forum 7.1.08” if you want to take a look.
Jason:
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:07 amCan You explain why the Dean Structure Created by Nate Young has not been brought up? Does it no longer exist? How many people on your task forces have opinions that they expressed on the Petition and who are they? My guess is that these people have serious concerns about where education needs to focus.
Are the board of trustees supporting the task forces that are in place other than the technology task force?
Please Note:
This eruption of dissent was partially due to the fact that Nate listened to the students, answered questions in a direct manner and would show you the influence your suggestions had made. He did this with informal lunches in which it was easy to come by and voice and opinion.
Nik Hafermaas:
July 7th, 2008 at 2:53 pmHi Jason,
The Dean structure is currently under discussion. The Chairs have voted against the structure, and the task forces that are in place have been approved by the board to temporarily take over the CAO functions.
As for your note on availability to the students, please rest assured that our new structure is about inclusiveness of all Art Center stakeholders (see ETF makeup), plus I have a long tradition of being available to students who want to communicate directly.