Saturday, April 19, 2008

WASC meeting in San Diego, 4/17-18/08

This was a very good meeting and I got some great references for my dissertation. I have cards or have the reference lists for these talks. In particular, I was interested in the use of story telling in developing understanding and the Case Study for Ethics and the use of mindfulness (meditation) to produce empathy.


Caring and Conflict: The Role of US Higher Education in an Interdependent World

What is the role of US colleges and universities in educating students for an interdependent world? Farooq

Kathwari approaches this question drawing on both his practical experience running a major US corporation

and as an engaged citizen of the world. He sees challenges that are multiple, complex, and contradictory.

Institutions must ensure their short-term survival without losing sight of longer-term goals. They must refine

and improve the education offered today, while working to reinvent it for the future. They must respond

to public demands for career training at an affordable cost, and at the same time rise to a higher level

of accountability for students’ development into ethical and responsible global citizens. They must offer

students ways to learn about inequities and conflicts, in the US and abroad — and to learn how conflicts

can be prevented or resolved. The task, ultimately, is to produce leaders for the 21st century who combine

knowledge with wisdom and courage.

Welcome: Ralph Wolff, President and Executive Director,

Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, WASC

Introduction: Sherwood Lingenfelter, Provost & Senior Vice President, Fuller

Theological Seminary, and Chair, WASC Commission

Speaker: Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer,

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

Email: FKathwari@ethanalleninc.com


Engaging the Community and the Self: The Power of Civic Engagement and Student Reflexivity Marina 3

Critical pedagogy, based primarily on the work of Paulo Freire, proposes a transformative education

focusing on “praxis”: a cycle of action, self-reflection, and further action based on this reflection.

Community involvement is a key element of praxis and lies at the heart of models for implementing

service learning and civic engagement. Both theoretical and practical approaches are explored here, drawing

from experiences at Menlo College; Eastern Mediterranean University (Turkish Cyprus); and the UCLA

Center for Community Learning, which supports undergraduates, faculty, and community partners in their

action, reflection, and research.

Presenters: Kathy O’Byrne, Director, Center for Community Learning, University of California, Los Angeles;

John W. Higgins, Associate Professor, Mass Communication, Menlo College

Email: kobyrne@college.ucla.edu; jhiggins@menlo.edu



“Talking Story” to Support Teaching & Learning about Global Citizenship Exec 2A & 2B

in First-Year Seminars

“Talking story” is a Hawai‘i way of conversing informally that achieves important purposes of communication.

“Talking story” about global citizenship in a global learning first-year seminar initiative created meaningful

contexts for faculty and students to share experiences, learn from each other, and extend teaching and

learning beyond the classroom.

Presenters: Nancy L. Hedlund, Associate Vice President of Planning & Assessment; Linda Lierheimer,

Associate Professor of Humanities, Hawai‘i Pacific University

Email: nhedlund@hpu.edu



Effective Articulation across Educational Sectors

in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and on Maui, Hawai‘i, USA

In conjunction with WASC, the College of the Marshall Islands and the University of Hawai`i, Maui

Community College have undertaken innovative projects spanning multiple educational levels. As a result,

they are offering improved education for their residents and serving as models for island cultures. We will

identify the commonalities and differences in our cultures, institutions, and approaches. We will also share

our successes, what we’ve learned, and the transferability of our work to other settings.

Presenters: Steven (Steve) R. Malmberg, Special Assistant to the President; Max Voelzke, Chair, Department

of Education, College of the Marshall Islands; David Kupferman, doctoral student, University of Hawai‘i,

Manoa; Margaret Christensen, ABIT Program Coordinator, University of Hawai‘i System, Maui Community

College

Email: smalmberg@cmi.edu; christen@hawaii.edu



Meeting the Retention Challenge: The Family Education Model

Improving the retention rates of all students, but particularly non-traditional students, has proven challenging

for all but a handful of institutions in the Western region. Iris Prettypaint’s Family Education Model (FEM) is

based on principles of empowerment, family support, and resilience and is the first of its kind in higher

education. Although it was initially conceived as a model for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), it has

been adopted by many mainstream colleges and universities serving Indigenous students, and it may be

adaptable to other student populations.

Introduction: Michael Whyte, Provost, Azuza Pacific University, and WASC Commissioner

Presenter: Iris Prettypaint, Co-Director, Research Opportunities

in Science for Native Americans (ROSNA), University of Montana

Email: iris.prettypaint@mso.umt.edu



Creating a Culture of Evidence: Gathering Data and Making Meaning Exec 3A & 3B

For most institutions, the first challenge is not a dearth of data – it’s a data glut. Often those data are

unclearly presented, unfocused, un-interpreted, and applied to no particular issue or question. Instead of

enlightening the campus, the data are confusing, unhelpful, and end up shelved until the accreditors come.

This session describes steps that can be taken to link data throughout the institution, generate documents,

support institutional change, and make data meaningful.

Presenters: Maria Zack, Professor and Chair, Mathematical, Information and Computer Sciences, Point

Loma Nazarene University; ChrisTina Leimer, Director, Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning,

CSU Fresno

Email: mariazack@pointloma.edu; cleimer@csufresno.edu



The Voluntary System of Accountability was created in response to the call for higher education to “become

more transparent about cost, price, and student success and ... willingly share this information with students

and families.” It was our hope that a voluntary response would supply information to prospective students

that would aid them in their college search while avoiding the harm to the academy that might follow from

a legislative or administrative mandate. Panelists will describe the development process, points of controversy

that had to be resolved, the resulting VSA-College Portrait template, its California State “public goods”

addition, and its current adoption status.

Presenters: F. King Alexander, President, CSU Long Beach; Jolene Koester, President, CSU Northridge;

David Shulenburger, Vice President for Academic Affairs, National Association of State Universities and

Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC)

Email: fkalexander@csulb.edu; Jolene.koester@csun.edu; dschulenburger@nasulgc.org



Preparing Citizens for the 21st Century: Why Traditional Testing Won't Get Us There, and What Will

In this talk, Linda Darling-Hammond discusses the implications of the knowledge revolution for higher

education. She argues that all the basics — curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and accountability, as well

as articulation across sectors — require radical rethinking. If we are serious about deepening our students’

knowledge base and developing higher-order intellectual skills along with qualities such as adaptability

and ethical commitment, our teaching and assessment practices must become more ambitious and creative.

The possibilities are there, and Darling-Hammond shares her vision with us.

Introduction: Horace Mitchell, President, California State University, Bakersfield,

and Vice Chair, Senior College Commission WASC

Presenter: Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education,

Stanford University

Email: ldh@suse.stanford.edu



Ethics Education: Awareness, Affect, Action Marina 2

How do universities educate students for ethical conscience, compassion and action? What does this look

like in practice? Santa Clara and Long Beach faculty describe the philosophies they use and the strategies

they developed to foster student empathy and ethical behavior. Additionally, their research efforts assess

changes in students’ behavior and impacts on academic programs.

Presenters: Shauna Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University; Lesley

Farmer, Professor of Librarianship, CSU Long Beach

Email: slshapiro@scu.edu; lfarmer@csulb.edu



Clicks and Mortar in the 21st century Classroom: Exec 2A & 2B

Reaching and Understanding Millennial Students

As the classroom's bricks and mortar are replaced with megabytes and mpegs, we find ourselves in a new

educational context. Our students entering this space possess skills and expectations that must be better

understood. It’s up to us to do more than translate what we knew to what we will do – we must identify

new educational practices that exploit the benefits and overcome the weaknesses of new technologies. By

creating a culture of evidence supported in a digital environment we can positively impact student learning.

Presenters: Nina Bakisian, Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco; Colin J. Marlaire, Assistant

Professor, National University

Email: Bakisian@usfca.edu; cmarlaire@nu.edu


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