 A
Note
From
Dean Charles Edwards
For my inaugural Nexus column, I thought I would look back to last fall, when 20-year CBPA faculty member Pat Heaston introduced himself to readers as the college’s interim dean replacing Joe Alber.
Pat’s first Nexus column addressed the importance of the upcoming dean search and a strategic planning effort. To quote from his column: “This ‘year of the interim dean’ is a time to shake whatever complacency may have crept into our College. It is time for everyone in the College to step up and contribute to shaping our future.”
By the end of the academic year, Pat and the faculty apparently had shaken off “whatever complacency may have crept into our College,” picked a new dean and begun developing a strategic plan for the College.
For those of you who know Pat, it should come as no surprise that his yearlong interim deanship was a period of high activity and progress for the College. So first I’d like to thank Pat for his great work this past year as the College’s interim dean, and then move on to why I am so excited about being selected as the College’s new dean.
In my candidacy presentation to the CBPA faculty last spring, I made the following case for my appointment:
1) Although I already had a wonderful job as dean of Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I was deeply flattered by the invitation from the CBPA search committee and, despite concerns about available time and the reaction of the SJMC faculty, was interested in pursuing the invitation.
2) I believed my strengths matched up well with the College’s current needs:
a) I am a strong advocate for Drake’s professional schools — both on campus and in the Des Moines business community.
b) I have a well-documented track record of service to Drake University — first as a board of trustees member and now as dean of the SJMC.
c) I am an experienced administrator/manager — first, as the CEO of a company with more than 1,200 employees (The Des Moines Register); second, as an entrepreneur; and third, as a Drake administrator.
d) My wife Rusty and I are deeply rooted and connected in Des Moines and Iowa.
e) I am an activist and a consensus builder and am committed to Drake’s student-centered approach to higher education.
f) I feel there are many existing and potential “synergies” between the SJMC and the CBPA, for example: the potential of a joint graduate program in marketing and communications; a joint undergraduate major in business and magazine journalism; and joint curriculum opportunities in ethics, diversity and professional communications.
3) Time is of the essence! The college must move with a sense of urgency to address its 2005/2006 re-accreditation, competition in the Des Moines marketplace for its graduate programs, the completion of its strategic plan, the filling of open faculty positions, the raising of development money — the list goes on and on.
Challenges and obstacles to success aside, however, I told the CBPA faculty that I was very optimistic about the College’s future and excited about the prospect of being their next dean.
More later! |
