By Ranchithaa Anatory
Western Herald
Susan Stapleton, the third of the four candidates competing to fill Tom Kent’s role as dean of Western Michigan University’s College of Arts and Sciences, presented her ideas about the job Thursday at Brown Hall.
Stapleton
Stapleton, a professor of chemistry and biological sciences, is the associate dean with the College of Arts and Sciences and has been working at the university for the past 20 years – joining the department of chemistry in 1990 and then the dean’s office in 2007.
“I don’t want people to think of the dean as the person behind the curtain, pulling the levers and making things happen, oblivious to how it affects others,” Stapleton said.
She added that she wanted the dean to be approachable by all, to make people feel comfortable talking about their issues to the people in the office.
Stapleton obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and cellular biology from Juniata College in 1979. She then earned her doctorate in chemistry and biochemistry in 1983 from Miami University of Ohio. Her post-doctorates were done at the University of Wisconsin, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Iowa before she joined WMU.
Stapleton’s ideas during the presentation included establishing a dean’s advisory council, accommodating students of the future and adult learners, and collaborating with community colleges.
Stapleton said that a dean’s advisory council which worked closely with alumni, community members, staff of faculty and even students could help raise funds, increase community connectivity, and open up internship opportunities for students as well as help with recruitment.
“Increasing tuition is not the only solution,” Stapleton said, concerning the decline in state funding for higher education.
“It is an opportunity to think about new ways to bring support for our students beyond the classroom.”
Stapleton also shared her idea on expanding community enrichment programs, which would give paying patrons an opportunity to be connected to the university in some ways.
She spoke about expanding institutional, collaborative and interdisciplinary grant submissions by opening visiting faculty positions. She also wants to create awards for research among faculty. Besides that, Stapleton also suggested partnership with other colleges, businesses and medical institutions to advance institutional grants.
On a different note, Stapleton touched on the issue of accommodating students of the future. She raised the concern of declining American College Testing (ACT) scores, which may divert students to community colleges, on top of the issue of funding requirements.
“If they [students] go to community colleges first, do we have a shot at bringing them to us?” Stapleton asked.
She suggested widening collaborations with community colleges so that students will have WMU as an option along their course of learning.
Stapleton also spoke about delivering to adult learners, learning through existing expertise within the college, as well as seeking other sources for expertise in accommodating that particular group of students.
On the subject of globalization and diversity, Stapleton said that, although the college has good progress in the area, there could be more efforts to coordinate and collaborate for improvement.
Stapleton made clear her goals to engage in high quality scholarships, support and inform stakeholders, promote a diverse, inclusive and globally aware community, diversify revenue, and build alliances.
In her message to students during a meet-the-students session Friday, Stapleton said that it was important for the dean to be where the students are. She said that a calendar would help keep track of student events, and motivate the dean’s presence at many of them.
Stapleton also emphasized helping students with advising and creating connections for them with community partners, especially alumni.
Stapleton said that she’s been involved with student advising for years.
“That’s [student advising] what I’ve been involved in since the day I’ve gotten here. By the end of the day, if the students are successful, we’ve done our job.”
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