Iain Crawford
Curriculum Vitae
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Education
Ph.D.
University of Leicester, 1982. Dissertation: “Victorian Theme and Convention in the
Novels of Charles Dickens.” Director: Professor Philip Collins
B.A.
University of Leeds, 1975. English and Greek Civilization. 1st Class Honors
Positions Held
University of Delaware, 2010• Faculty Director of Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning, 2014• Interim Chair, Department of English, 2011-12
• Associate Professor of English, 2010Senior Fellow, American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2009-10
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of English, The College of Wooster,
2003-09
Chief Academic Officer. Chief academic officer, responsible for coordinating the academic
program, including faculty appointments, curriculum development, department and program
budgets, and academic support services. In addition, oversaw operational areas, including
student life, admissions, financial aid, and athletics. Responsible for 1860 students, 34
departments and programs, 160 FTE faculty, 125 salaried staff, 100 hourly staff, and budget of
$32 million
Dean, School of Liberal Arts, and Professor of English, University of Southern Indiana,
2000-03.
Led School of 8 departments with 24 major programs, 98 full-time and 115 part-time faculty,
2050 undergraduate majors, and $7.5 million annual budget. Supervised: Associate Dean;
Department Chairs (8); Director of Center for Communal Studies; Director of Humanities
Program; Director of New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art; Lincoln Amphitheatre; New
Harmony Theatre; Ropewalk Writers Retreat; Society for Arts and Humanities; Southern Indiana
Review; USI Theatre
Chair and Professor of English, Bridgewater State College, MA, 1995-2000.
Led department with 40 full and part-time faculty, 320 undergraduate majors, 75 graduate
students, and budget of $800,000
Assistant/Associate Professor of English, Berry College, GA, 1985-95.
Coordinator (1994-95) for department of 12 full-time faculty and 75 majors
Visiting Assistant Professor, The University of Alabama, 1984-85
Instructor/Assistant Professor, Pedagoški fakultet, University of Osijek, Croatia, 1979-84
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of English, University of Leicester, 1977-79
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ESL Instructor, The Finnish-British Society, Varkaus, Finland, 1975-76
Representative Leadership Accomplishments
University of Delaware
Faculty Director, Office of Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning
• Led growth of summer research program by 30+%, including reorganized application
process and expansion of summer research celebration
• Initiated and taught introduction to research course
• Initiated spring campus celebration of undergraduate research and creative activity
• Supported arts and humanities faculty in development of course-based research
• Developed graduate student training in research-based teaching
Co-Chair, College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Planning Committee:
• Consulted with campus constituencies to develop comprehensive planning document
Co-Chair, University Strategic Planning Committee, Working Group on Models of Academic
Organization
Chair, Department of Mathematics Strategic Hiring Committee:
• Facilitated development of strategic hiring plan for department
Interim Chair, Department of English
• Guided department through transitional period and national search for new chair
• Facilitated hiring and mentoring of new faculty
• Increased outreach to alumni
• Developed alumni/public community outreach events
The College of Wooster
Faculty Work, Evaluation, and Compensation:
• Oversaw faculty workload modification, resulting in reduction of load from 6 to 5.5
courses per year and increased consistency of load across campus
• Restructured faculty salaries by increasing entry level salaries to match market rates and
then implementing equity initiative to address compression and inversion
• Redesigned process for annual merit review to provide formal, specific feedback to each
member of the faculty
• Initiated task force to redesign compensation, support and evaluation of department
chairs
• Initiated institutional membership in COACHE project to improve quality of life for pretenure faculty members
• Initiated task force to review quality of life issues for faculty and staff
Curriculum Development:
• Collaborated with Dean of the Faculty and faculty colleagues to develop new summer
programs in China and Tuscany
• Collaborated with Dean of the Faculty to incorporate learning outcomes assessment into
department and program review cycle
• Collaborated with Department of Education and Educational Policy Committee on Ohio
Department of Education and NCATE reviews and on developing resources to support
teacher preparation programs
• Hired first Director of Writing trained in composition studies
Outcomes Assessment:
• Coordinated and created support for assessment, including the appointment of a first
Director of Educational Assessment and resulting in the emergence of a comprehensive
campus culture of learning outcomes assessment
• Developed grant-funded multi-institutional projects on assessment in a research-intensive
liberal arts curriculum
Enrollment Management:
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Led reorganization of enrollment management through hiring new aid packaging and
admissions consultants, implementing new Admissions software, overhauling Admissions
operations, securing Board support for creation of new vice presidential position, and
chairing search for new VP of Enrollment
• Established early intervention program to provide increased support for at-risk students
and contribute to improved retention rates
• Collaborated with Dean of the Faculty and Dean of Students to develop Center for
Academic Advising
Diversity:
• Led campus task force on diversity, resulting in improved Admissions outcomes in
student recruiting, active institutional membership in the Consortium for Faculty
Diversity, membership of the POSSE program, and increased success in faculty hiring for
diversity
Information Resources and Technology:
• Led campus task force on the future of the libraries, resulting in a new vision of the
College libraries in the twenty-first century. Chaired search for a new Director of Libraries
• Collaborated with new Director of Libraries to develop vision for Learning Commons
• Collaborated with CFO to begin implementation of ERP project and with CFO and Chief
Information Technology Officer to ensure successful implementation of Datatel modules
in Admissions, Financial Aid, and Student Records
Athletics:
• Led self-study of Athletics program, reviewing structure of coaching positions,
organization of team sports, and relationship between athletics and the academic
programs
Strategic Organization:
• Worked with Board leadership and campus community to re-engineer institutional
administrative organization and prepare for fundamental restructuring of Academic
Affairs division and related governance issues
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University of Southern Indiana
Faculty Work, Evaluation, and Compensation:
• Developed teacher-scholar model for faculty, with increased recognition of faculty
engagement in scholarship
• Initiated revision of School faculty evaluation procedures to reflect evolving expectations
for faculty
• Provided new faculty development structures to support faculty scholarship: Faculty
Mentoring Program; Liberal Arts Research Awards; Liberal Arts Faculty Colloquium series;
Faculty Writing Group
• Revised salary structure to address issues of inequity, gender discrepancy, and
compression and established new guidelines for salary by rank and seniority
Curriculum Development:
• Promoted curricular development, leading to new programs in: Master of Public
Administration; International Studies; Gender Studies; Classical Studies; Anthropology;
and Criminal Justice
• Developed teaching support structures: School Undergraduate Research Committee;
School Service-Learning Committee; School Distance Education Plan; English Department
Portfolio Awards
• Supported Department of Communication through accreditation by ACEJMC
• Collaborated with School of Education on NCATE reaccreditation and other support of
teacher preparation programs
• Coordinated university-wide initiative to develop writing in the disciplines
• Hired first Director of Writing trained in composition studies
Enrollment Management:
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Enhanced recruiting profile for School by developing new web presence, creating
Admissions brochure, and creating newsletter for alumni and external constituencies
Strategic Organization:
• Initiated review of School governance structure
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Bridgewater State College
Curriculum Development:
• Led development of department’s first strategic plan, coordinated with school and
college-level plans
• Initiated first external reviews of departmental curricula, leading to improvements in the
development of the writing programs and overhaul of undergraduate and graduate
degree programs
• Initiated new faculty positions focused upon writing, leading to the development of
increased strength in rhetoric and composition, technical, and creative writing
• Collaborated with School of Education on NCATE reaccreditation and other support of
teacher preparation programs
Enrollment Management:
• Collaborated with college administration and local community colleges to improve
curriculum coordination and facilitate entry and success of transfer students
• Oversaw growth in number of undergraduate majors from 210 to 320
Information Resources and Technology:
• Expanded departmental commitment to technology through support of computer and
web-based writing initiatives and facilities
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Organized and oversaw Summer Study in London program
Developed Semester Abroad program in England
Chaired Faculty Council and provided faculty leadership during Board initiative to
discontinue the position of department head
• Served as Coordinator of Department of English, 1994-95
Grants and Alumni and Donor Development
Grants
Developing Research and Research-based Teaching through Collaboration with the Research
Society for Victorian Periodicals. Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, University of
Delaware, 2013. A $4000 grant for workshops to promote graduate student development of
research-intensive teaching.
General University Research grant. A $6000 research grant for a project on the relationship
between Charles Dickens and Harriet Martineau. University of Delaware, 2012.
The Senior Capstone: Transformative Experiences in the Liberal Arts. A $284,960 three-and-ahalf year grant to assess universal capstone experiences at four liberal arts colleges. Project
initiator and development leader. The Teagle Foundation, 2009. Principle Investigator
"Capstone Research Experiences in the Liberal Arts: An Assessment of Student Learning
Outcomes." A $15,000 planning grant for a project to develop a multi-year project on the
assessment of universal required senior capstone experiences at Allegheny College, Augustana
College, Washington College, and The College of Wooster. The Teagle Foundation, 2008. Author
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Faculty Expansion. A four-year $800,000 project to support an expansion of the faculty in order
to enhance undergraduate research and increase campus diversity. The Mellon Foundation, 2007.
Member of project development team
Undergraduate Science Education. A four-year $1.0 million curricular, undergraduate research,
and diversity project. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2007. Member of project development
team
Collegiate Entrepreneurship. $1.56 million. A five-year curricular and undergraduate research
project. Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Burton D. Morgan Foundation, 2006. Member of
project development team
“Creativity and Critical Thinking: Assessing the Foundations of a Liberal Arts Education.”
$297,353. A consortial project with the Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc. The Teagle Foundation, 2006.
Principal Investigator
“Value-added Assessment: a Consortial Project with the Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc.” $25,000
planning grant. The Teagle Foundation, 2005. Principal Investigator
“Social Entrepreneurship.” $228,000. A three-year curricular and undergraduate research project.
Burton D. Morgan Foundation, 2005. Member of project development team
“Environmental Analysis and Action.” $270,000. A three-year curricular and undergraduate
research project. Henry Luce Foundation, 2005. Member of project development team
Undergraduate Science Education. $800,000. A four-year curricular, undergraduate research, and
outreach project. Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, 2004. Co-chair project development
team
“Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association.” $5,312. The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, 2002.
Author
"Writing-Across-the-Curriculum in the Massachusetts State Colleges.” $215,000. Massachusetts
Board of Higher Education, 1999. Co-author
Development, Donor and Alumni Activities
• “Celebrating Mr. Dickens.” Saturday Symposium to mark the bicentenary of the birth of
Charles Dickens. University of Delaware, February 2013.
• “A Christmas Carol.” Alumni and community readings with Richard Figge. Cleveland and
Wooster, December 2006; Philadelphia and Chicago, December 2007; Wooster, June
2008; Baltimore and New York, December 2008
• “Undergraduate Education in Different Eras.” Class of 1960 Reunion Committee. Wooster.
June 2008
• Donor cultivation: $150,000 gift for research internship in the Department of History. Fall
2006
• “Lifelong Learning for Alumni.” Class of 1958 Reunion Committee. November 2006
• “A Christmas Carol.” Alumni reading. Boston. December 2005
• “Wooster Today.” Class of 1959 Reunion Committee. Wooster. October 2005
• “The Novels of Dickens: Victorian England’s First Reality Show.” Alumni talk. Chautauqua,
NY. September 2005
• Donor cultivation: $200,000 gift for curricular innovation. Spring 2005
• “Academic Life at Wooster Today.” Four alumni lunch talks. Florida. February 2005
• “Wooster Today.” Class of 1956 Reunion Committee. Wooster. November 2004
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“Wooster Today.” Class of 1934 lunch. Wooster. June 2004
“Wooster Today.” Class of 1958 Reunion Committee. Wooster. October 2004
“Wooster’s Evolving Curriculum.” Alumni reception. Nashville, TN. February 2004
Private and corporate donor fundraising, New Harmony Theatre, Lincoln Amphitheatre,
University of Southern Indiana Theatre. 2000-03
Private and corporate donor fundraising, Evansville Philharmonic and Lincoln
Amphitheatre. 2002-03
Private and corporate donor fundraising, USI / Kennedy Center American College Theater
Festival Region III competition. 2001-2
Reviewing
FIPSE Comprehensive Program
FIPSE Congressional Priorities Program
NEH Publications Subventions Program
US Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement Program
Professional Training and Development
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Wye Institute Seminar for Chief Academic Officers, 2008
CIC Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Seminar. 2006-07
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Institute for Educational Management. 2004
CCAS Workshop for New Deans. 2000
CASE Workshop for Deans. 2000
NERCHE Department Chairs Think Tank. 1996-2000
ADE Summer Seminars for Chairs of English. 1995-1999
Representative Professional Service and Activity
Service to Other Universities
• Consultant on undergraduate research: University of Tampa, Carroll College, St. Norbert
College, University of Louisiana system, California University of Pennsylvania, Lawrence
University
• Program reviewer, Department of English, Eastern Connecticut State University
• Consultant on faculty evaluation, Mount Union College
• Workshop on careers in English Studies, University of Delaware
• Ph.D. examiner, Andhra University, India
• Program reviewer, Department of English, Pine Manor College
• Promotion and tenure reviewer, University of Pittsburgh—Johnstown
Scholarly Journals and Presses
• American and British Book Review Editor, South Atlantic Review, 1994-2000
• Associate Editor, The Mid-Atlantic Almanack
• Editorial Board, South Atlantic Review
• Manuscript reviewer, University of Kentucky Press, University of Alabama Press, Ashgate
Publishing
Professional Organizations
• President, Dickens Society, 2015-17
• Council on Undergraduate Research, Task Force on Assessment, 2014• Peer Reviewer, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 2014• Treasurer, Research Society for Victorian Periodicals, 2013• Chair, Arts and Humanities Division, Council on Undergraduate Research, 2011-13
• Peer Review, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 2009-11
• Chair, Academic Committee, The Five Colleges of Ohio, 2008-9
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Chair, Deans’ Council, Great Lakes Colleges Association, 2008-9
Councilor, At-large Division, Council on Undergraduate Research, 2007-8; Arts and
Humanities Division, 2008Peer Reviewer, the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association: PEAQ and
AQIP programs, 2000-09
Great Lakes Colleges Association, chair, review of Philadelphia Center Program, 2006
Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc., co-coordinator, Library Storage Facility review, 2006
Invited speaker: “Lost, or found, in Translation? Faculty Work, Faculty Lives, and Study
Abroad.” GLCA Symposium. St. Olaf College, April 2005
Trustee, The Dickens Society of America
Invited speaker, “Addressing Faculty Turnover,” New England Resource Center for Higher
Education
Workshop Leader, Seminar for New Chairs, ADE Summer Seminars for Chairs of English:
2001, 2002, 2004
Comprehensive Universities Committee, Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, 200203
Scholarship
Books and Chapters
Harriet Martineau, Charles Dickens, and the Formation of the Victorian Press. Book project, in
progress.
“Harriet Martineau: Women and the World of Journalism in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Britain.” In
Journalism and the Periodical Press in Nineteenth Century Britain. Ed. Joanne Shattock.
Cambridge UP, 2017. In press.
“Harriet Martineau: Travel and the Writer.” In Harriet Martineau and the Birth of Disciplines. Eds.
Valerie Sanders and Gaby Weiner. Farnborough: Ashgate P, 2016.
“Massachusetts and America: Dickens, Martineau, and the Republic They Came to See.” In
Dickens and Massachusetts: The Lasting Legacy of the Commonwealth Visits. Eds. Diana
C.Archibald and Joel J. Brattin. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 2015.
How to Get a Tenure-Track Job at a Predominantly Undergraduate Institution, 2nd edition. With
Michelle Bushey, Deborah Lycan, Patricia Videtich. Council for Undergraduate Research. 2015.
How to Get Started in Arts and Humanities Research with Undergraduates. Edited with Sara Orel
and Jenny Shanahan. Council for Undergraduate Research, 2014.
“‘Hunted and Harried by Pseudo-Philanthropists’: Dickens, Martineau, and Household Words.” In
Charles Dickens and the Mid-Victorian Press 1850-1870. Eds. Ben Winyard and Hazel McKenzie.
Buckingham: U of Buckingham P, 2013.
“Undergraduate Research in the Fine Arts at The College of Wooster.” With Shirley HustonFindley, Peter Mowrey, Kitty McManus Zurko. In Undergraduate Research in the Arts and
Humanities. Eds. Jenny Shanahan, Naomi Yavneh, and Greg Young. Washington, D.C. The
Council on Undergraduate Research: 2011.
“‘Casting aside that fictitious self’: Chopin’s The Awakening and Dickens’s The Old Curiosity
Shop.” Teaching English for Life. Osijek, Croatia: Josip Juray Strossmayer University, 2003: 41117.
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“Oliver Twist’s Chronological Structure.” Readings on Oliver Twist. Ed. Jill Karson. San Diego:
Greenhaven P, 2001: 42-52. Rpt. from “Time and Structure in Oliver Twist.” The Dickensian 77
(1981): 23-31.
Martha Berry's Library: A Descriptive Catalog of the Books Owned by Martha Berry and Her
Family. (With Joanna Grant). Berry College, 1994. 340 pp.
“Sex and Seriousness in David Copperfield.” Major Literary Characters: David Copperfield. Ed.
Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1992: 159-72. Rpt. from The Journal of
Narrative Technique 16:1 (1986): 41-54.
A Social and Cultural History of Britain 1688-1980. (With Sonia Wild-Bićanić). Zagreb, Yugoslavia:
Liber University Press, 1982. ix + 254 pp.
Articles
“Harriet Martineau, Charles Dickens, and the Rise of the Victorian Woman of Letters.”
Nineteenth-Century Literature 68:4 (2014): 449-83.
“Faithful Sympathy”: Dickens, the Edinburgh Review, and Editing Household Words. Victorian
Periodicals Review 44:1 (2011): 42-68.
“Increasing the Validity of Outcomes Assessment.” With Kathleen Langan Pusecker,
Manuel Roberto Torres, Delphis Levia, Donald Lehman, Gordana Copic. Peer Review 13:4 (2011):
27-30.
"Undergraduate Research as Faculty Development: The College of Wooster Experience." With
Shila Garg, John Neuhoff. CUR Quarterly. 29:1 (Spring 2008): 14-17.
“Department Chairs, Faculty Evaluation, and the Evolution of Departments of English.” ADE
Bulletin 137 (Spring 2005): 34-38.
“Encouraging Faculty Participation in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.” With Charles F.
Harrington, Chuck Price, Scott Gordon, Julia Galbus. Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual
Conference for Academic Chairpersons: The Changing Role of Department Chairs. 2002: 65-81.
“Dickens in the Whaling City.” Dickens Quarterly 18 (2001): 173-85.
“‘You Want to Be a What?’ Transitioning from Chair to Dean.” ADE Bulletin 128 (Spring 2001):
66-70.
“Art Garfunkel.” The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Ed. Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne.
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 2001.
“Dickens, Classical Myth, and the Representation of Social Order in Barnaby Rudge.” The
Dickensian 93 (1997): 185-97.
“Reading TV: Intertextuality in Northern Exposure.” The Mid-Atlantic Almanack 3 (1994): 14-22.
“Popular Culture and Intertextuality in Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show.” Journal of
Popular Culture 27:2 (1993): 31-42.
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“‘Nature . . . drenched in Blood’: Barnaby Rudge and Wordsworth's ‘The Idiot Boy.’” Dickens
Quarterly 8 (1991): 38-47.
“‘Machinery in Motion’: Time in Little Dorrit.” The Dickensian 84 (1988): 30-41.
“Wading Through Slaughter: John Hampden, Thomas Gray, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.”
Studies in the Novel 20 (1988): 249-61.
“Pip and the Monster: The Joys of Bondage.” Studies in English Literature: 1500-1900 28 (1988):
624-48.
“‘Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere’: Gray's Elegy, Theme, and Intertextuality in Great
Expectations.” Dickens Quarterly 4 (1987): 195-99.
“‘Shades of the Prison-House’: Religious Romanticism in Oliver Twist.” Dickens Quarterly 4
(1987): 78-90.
“Evaluating Composition.” Yugoslav English Language Teaching Review 4 (1983): 7-9.
Representative Recent Papers & Presentations
“Dickens, New York, and the Press: American Notes and the Formation of a Journalist.” Research
Society for Victorian Periodicals. Kansas City, September 2016.
“‘Yield to the mighty mind of the Popular Instructor’” Dickens, America, and the Press. Dickens
Universe, UC Santa Cruz. Invited plenary. August 2015.
“‘One of the greatest women that our generation has seen.’ Harriet Martineau, the Obituary, and
the Transatlantic Press.” Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. Ghent, Belgium. July 2015.
“Harriet Martineau: Taxonomy and the Woman Travel Writer.” NAVSA. London, Canada.
November 2014.
“In this Place: Dickens, Delaware Irish Nationalists, Daniel O’Connell and the Transatlantic Press.”
Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. Wilmington, DE. September 2014.
“Lost in Translation” Martineau, Thackeray, and the New Monthly Magazines. Research Society
for Victorian Periodicals. Manchester, UK. July 2013.
“Critical and Creative Thinking: Accreditation and Institutional Change.” New England Association
of Schools and Colleges. Boston. December 2012.
“Writing against Type: Household Words and the Unsentimental, Anti-Sensational Journalism of
Harriet Martineau.” Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. Austin, September 2012.
“A giraffe . . . forced into a flower-pot”: Dickens and Martineau on America. 16.5 Annual
International Dickens Society Symposium. Lowell, July 2012.
“‘Hunted and Harried by Pseudo-Philanthropists’: Dickens, Martineau, and Household Words.”
Philip Collins Memorial Lecture. Dickens Journals Online Conference. Buckingham, UK. March
2012.
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“Popular Sentiment and Parables of Progress: Dickens and Harriet Martineau Revisited.”
Victorian Futures. Santa Cruz, July 2011.
“Never done: Dickens, Martineau, and Women’s Work in the Victorian Press.” Research Society
for Victorian Periodicals. Canterbury, July 2011.
“‘In his peculiar artistic light’: Dickens, Martineau, and Representing American Nature.” INCS.
Pitzer College, March 2011.
”Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking in Student Learning.” “The Creative Campus.” A meeting
sponsored by The Mellon Foundation. New York, NY. 2008.
“The Senior Capstone: Undergraduate Research and Student Learning.” (With Jeff Abernathy,
Lori Bettison-Varga, Shila Garg) American Association of Colleges and Universities Annual
Conference. New Orleans, 2007.
“Supporting and Valuing Undergraduate Research: The Role of the Chief Academic Officer.”
(With Jeff Abernathy) Council of Independent Colleges 34th National Institute for Chief Academic
Officers. St. Petersburg, 2006.
Teaching
Lower division:
Baseball and the American Experience
Basic writing
British literature surveys
English as a Second Language
First-year Writing
Introduction to literature and film
Upper division/graduate:
Arthurian literature
Contemporary British fiction
Dickens
Dickens, Martineau & the
Victorian Press
Victorian Literature
Plays Produced (University of Southern Indiana)
New Harmony Theatre (LOA to LORT D, Equity summer theatre)
Pump Boys and Dinettes
Anna Christie
Private Lives
Sleuth
Twelfth Night
Godspell
The Foreigner
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
Eccentricities of a Nightingale
Lincoln Amphitheatre (Outdoor professional summer drama)
Young Abe Lincoln
The Sound of Music
Civil Suite
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Fiddler on the Roof
University of Southern Indiana Theatre
Sexual Perversity in Chicago
In the Boom Boom Room
The Odd Couple
The Sea Plays
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Oedipus the King
American Dreams
Tartuffe
Extremities
Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
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IainCrawford
CandidateStatement
ItishardtoimagineahistoricalmomentwhentheworkofCURcouldbe
moreimportant.Ontheonehand,formorethanaquarterofacenturyallofus
involvedinundergraduateresearch(UR)haveseenitexpandenormously,growing
intonewdisciplines,becomingintegratedwithcurricula,andincreasingly
recognizedasoneoftheverybesthigh-impactteachingandlearningpractices.On
theother,afterabitterlydivisiveelectionwefaceaprofoundlyuncertainfuture
withthecurrentadministrationcharacterizedbyitsinward-lookingnationalism,
rampantanti-intellectualism,andlackofdemonstratedcommitmenttoeducation.A
distinctivelyAmericancreation,URhasbecomerecognizedmoreandmore
internationallybothforitsintrinsicqualitiesandalsoforthewaysinwhichit
embodiesthevaluesofliberallearningthathavemadethiscountry’shigher
educationsystemamongthemostfertileandcreativeintheworld.Atthis
challenginghistoricalmoment,then,CUR’sroleinsupportingthedevelopmentof
URacrossallthesectorsofhighereducationanditsadvocacyworknotonlyinthe
UnitedStatesbutincreasinglyacrosstheworldseemsmoreurgentthaneverbefore.
InthedecadeandahalfthatI’vebeeninvolvedwithCUR,theorganization
hasgrownanddevelopedenormously.Wehavecontinuedtoadddivisions,our
membershiphasgrowndramatically,andourmembershavecomefroman
increasinglybroaderrangeofcollegesanduniversities.Moreandmore,those
membersjoinusnotasindividualsbutaspartoftheirinstitutions,whichseethe
valueoftheirentirecampusbecomingengagedinURandwithus.Correspondingly,
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CURitselfhasevolved:stillessentiallydrivenbythepassionandcommitmentofits
members,ithasalsoneededtocreatewaystofocusourenergyandadvocateforUR
atatimewhenitmustnotonlycompetewithotherbestpracticesforever
diminishingresourcesbutnowmustaddressalmostunprecedentedlevelsof
polarizationinournationalconversations.
Aswebecomealargerandmorecomplexentity,thestrategicplanthatthe
EboardadoptedinJanuary2016feelsabsolutelyvitaltoourfuture.Builtaroundthe
fivestrategicpillarsthatdefineareaswherewecancontinuetogrowandareas
wherewesimplymustdomore–mostnotably,indiversityandinclusion–theplan
pushesustofocusourtime,energy,andresources.Wedependuponacombination
ofvolunteerworkfromourmembersandthededicationofaterrific,butverysmall
staffintheNationalOffice;thestrategicplanwillhelpusbothtokeepinsightthe
grassrootscommitmentthatistheheartofCURandalsotoresistthecentripetal
forcestowhichweknowwecanbevulnerable.
Workingwithintheframeworkthatplanprovides,CUR,Ibelieve,hasmajor
opportunitiesbothinternallyandexternally.Internally,twospecificareasfor
growthare:first,infindingwaystoengageourrapidlyexpandinganddiversifying
membershipsothatwesustainoursensethatallofus,andallourdifferentkindsof
institution,areavitalpartofCUR;andsecondindevelopingwaystouseassessment
ofURsothatwecancontinuetoenrichourownworkasteachersandmentorsand
sothatwehavewaystotellourstorytostakeholdersrangingfromstudentsand
familiesgoingthroughtheprocessofchoosingacollegetofunderswhosesupport
weseek.Externally,continuingtobuildCUR’sprofile,achievinggreaterrecognition
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asthego-torepresentativeofUR,willgiveusamoreeffectivevoiceforthevital
importanceofURinhighereducation.AdvocacyforUR,bothinthedisciplinesin
whichithaslongbeenestablishedandintheareassuchasarts,humanities,
education,andhealthsciences,whereitisincreasinglytakinghold,willbe
especiallyimportantgiventhecurrentpoliticalclimate.
UndergraduateresearchandCURhavebeenahugepartofmylifeformany
years.I’veservedCURinavarietyofcapacities:asaCouncilor;asChairofthe
DivisionofArtsandHumanitiesandmemberofEboard;asco-founderofthe
InstituteonCreativeInquiryintheArtsandHumanities;aschairofthesearch
committeefortheeditorofCURQuarterly;andonnumerousothercommitteesand
taskforces.In2013Ico-editedHowtoGetStartedinArtsandHumanitiesResearch
withUndergraduatesandin2015Iwasoneoftheco-authorsonasecondeditionof
HowtoGetaTenure-TrackJobataPredominantlyUndergraduateInstitution.In
2013,IwasmovedandhonoredwhenIwasnamedCURVolunteeroftheYear.
So,whatcallsmetothisposition?Andwhynow?WhenIwasaskedifIwere
willingtobenominated,Ithoughtbackoverwhathighereducationhasgivenme
overthethirty-plusyearsI’velivedintheU.S.Mypathhasbeenanunusualone,to
besure:Iarrivedherein1984foravisitingpositionattheUniversityofAlabama
andthenwentontoworkattwopubliccomprehensiveuniversitiesandtwosmall
liberalartscolleges.Afterfifteenyearsservingaschair,dean,andthenchief
academicofficer,Icamebacktothefacultyatmycurrenthome,theUniversityof
Delaware.IfeelblessedtohavebeenapartofsomuchofAmericanhigher
education,tohavehadopportunitiesrangingfromtakingontheroleofprofessional
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theatreproducerwhenIwasadeanattheUniversityofSouthernIndianato
workinginoneofthepremierundergraduateresearchprogramsintheworldasthe
chiefacademicofficeratTheCollegeofWooster.SincecomingtoDelaware,I’ve
beenablebothtoexperiencetheabsolutejoyofrekindlingmyownscholarshipand
teachingandcombinethatwithleadingandgrowinganundergraduateresearch
programthat’sbeenvitalpartofthiscampusformorethanthreedecades.My
deepestcommitmentsare,Iknow,asamemberofthefaculty,butIalsorecognize
anddeeplyappreciatetherichvarietyofexperiencesIhavehadinacademic
leadershipatwhat,asIthinkbackoverit,seemsaremarkablerangeofthekindsof
institutionthatmakeuphighereducation.Ifhonoredtobeelectedasournext
President,then,myhopewouldbetogivebackforallthatIhavebeengivenandto
drawuponmydedicationtoundergraduateresearchandexperienceinacademic
leadershiptohelpCURfulfillitsgrowing,increasinglystrategic,andabsolutely
essentialmissionatanacutelydifficulttimeinournation’slifeandwheneducation
needsitsvoicemorethaneverbefore.