A Doll's House

As important as it is, sometimes I just need to take a break from Reinventing.

I relaxed this evening with a wonderful performance of Ibsen's A Doll's House, put on by the Loop Players and directed by our own Professor Kathryn Nash.  I last saw the play 30 years ago, and the Loop Players' production brings a contemporary feel to some timeless themes of the role of women (and men) in marriage. It was great to see a packed house, and I met some current staff and faculty as well as some retired professors. What a great way to bring the Harold Washington community together.

There are two more shows - one Friday night April 1, and then on Saturday afternoon, April 2. I highly recommend it.

Opening Doors to Student Success

Hot on the heels of my post on coaching, I saw a PhiloDave recommendation regarding an MDRC study on student success at six community colleges.

His post caught my eye because I am a huge fan of MDRC. I find their research scrupulous and relevant. Their work on Career and Technical Education formed the support for my work at Chicago Public Schools and their efforts to re-vamp CTE in CPS High Schools. (In a nutshell, students who are in well-run CTE programs have significantly higher earnings than the control group. The effects are significant for males at $3,600 per year after ten years, and insignificant for females). 

I recommend the most recent piece highly. To summarize, they found:

• Reforms in higher education practices and policies can help students succeed —even nontraditional students.
• Short-term enhancements can generate short-term effects but are not likely to generate longer-term gains.
• Single-focus, “light-touch” student service interventions can make a difference for students but may not be robust enough to substantially improve outcomes.
• Financial incentives can influence students’ behavior.
• Requirements can increase participation and improve student outcomes.

Read the paper to see which interventions they studied. One of the promising practices was Learning Communities, in this case "a program for incoming freshmen, most requiring developmental English. Linked courses; provided enhanced counseling, tutoring, and a text book voucher."

I am going to share this with the Student Support and Pathways Task Force on Reinvention. We meet every Friday to discuss progress. In the meantime, I welcome thoughts (debate, studies showing different outcomes or interventions, etc.)

Study Finds Academic ‘Coaching’ Boosts Graduation Rates

In October, 2008, as a second-year graduate student at the University of Chicago, I was assigned a first-year student to mentor. I looked forward to mentoring Augustus, who was from Dominica in the Caribbean, and share the extensive knowledge I had gained about the school and the policy world. Would he ask about my experience at Chicago Public Schools? Was he interested in the best classes to take? Would he ask for help on how best to get a summer internship? There was so much I could share with him.

At our first meeting, Augustus said he had only one question. "Will I need a winter coat this winter in Chicago?"

"Winter coat?" I roared, "You need a coat, and a hat, and gloves, a scarf and boots!"

I was reminded of this story when reading the New York Times blog entry about the value of mentoring and coaching to students. The article highlights recent research by Eric Bettinger and  Rachel Baker of Stanford showing that mentoring and coaching help increase retention rates 10 - 15% at colleges and universities. Mentors included faculty, staff and upperclassmen.

I have long believed in the importance of mentoring programs and was heartened to see empirical evidence of their efficacy in an academic setting. Two of the goals of Reinvention are to help students successfully transfer and obtain credentials of economic value. Helping students remain in school is a necessary pre-condition for this to happen. The question we need to answer is how to most effectively do this.

I have seen models that work; I am looking for advice on ways we can make them happen at Harold Washington. I was fortunate to participate in a "Mocktails" speed mentoring event on Thursday evening with a number of Illinois Education Foundation Scholars and was so impressed by the students in attendance (and happy to see many Harold Washington College students at the event). I have been in discussions with Professor Anita Kelley about mentoring programs for our students in her area. In a discussion with Jared Klaeysen this past Friday, I learned of the great work Phi Theta Kappa is doing to serve our students. While on campus on Saturday, I saw a Professor (who I don't yet know) follow an obviously distraught student to make sure she was OK.  I look forward to learning more about what we can do to support students.

The article points out that mentoring and coaching can also be a more cost-effective solution than other approaches to increase retention. That increases the likelihood we will be able to implement mentoring programs at the school. And whatever the cost, I hope it is more effective than buying winter coats, hats, boots and gloves for everyone. On the flip side, Augustus didn't freeze to death - but he did complete the program. Maybe the researchers could next study the types of advice that are most effective. I'll bet winter dress doesn't make the list. 

Introduction

Dear Colleagues:

Please allow me to introduce myself to the Harold Washington College community. While my future communications will be focused on you, our college, and most importantly our students, I learned from early discussions with some of you that I am somewhat of a mystery to many of you. With this letter, I seek to dispel some of that mystery. In addition, since I will be asking many of you about yourselves in the coming weeks, I thought it only fair to share my background with you.

Before I start, I want to thank John Metoyer for his service as our interim President. Serving in a transitional role is not easy, yet John’s grace and steady hands have made my start easier. I thank him for his work and look forward to working with him.

As I told the Search Committee for the President, which included representatives from the faculty, staff and students of Harold Washington College and the City Colleges of Chicago, I aspire to live my life by a set of core values. These values are:

• Integrity

• Respect for the individual

• Passion for lifelong learning

• Stewardship – the obligation to leave an institution
and those I serve better off than when I entered

• Commitment to Chicago - a desire to help ensure Chicago
remains a great global city

• Serving and mentoring others to achieve their fullest potential

• A bias toward action – particularly in correcting things
I perceive as wrong

• Personal responsibility and accountability

I am excited by the opportunity to lead Harold Washington College where the mission of our institution, our core values, and our vision are in alignment with my personal values. Serving in an organization where the institutional values are in alignment with my core values is a life’s goal. I feel fortunate to have this opportunity at Harold Washington College.

I grew up near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1979, I enrolled in the College at the University of Chicago, where I majored in an interdisciplinary major called Politics, Economics, Rhetoric and Law. During this time, I also spent a year working for the National Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in Washington, DC. This public service experience, advocating for an issue that mattered greatly to me, was deeply rewarding. It taught me, however, that there were skills I wanted to develop further in order to be as effective as possible in the public sector. Therefore, upon graduation, I joined the firm now known as Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing firm, where I worked as a consultant, partner and managing director. I have deep respect for and gratitude to Accenture for the wonderful people with whom I worked, the clients I served, and the leadership skills I developed.

As rewarding as my Accenture experience was, I always knew I would one day return to public service. In 2007, I enrolled in the Harris School for Public Policy at the University of Chicago to build on my management skills by adding expertise on the tools policy makers are using in the public sector. Over the summer of 2008, I advised the Chicago Public Schools on their strategy for Career and Technical Education. That fall, I started as a Principal with the Civic Consulting Alliance, an organization that builds pro bono teams of business experts, government leaders, and its own staff to develop workable and enduring ways to make our city more livable, affordable, and globally competitive.

My final project at Civic Consulting Alliance was working at City Colleges on Reinvention. I am familiar with the goals of Reinvention – in fact, they are in my job description – and with the processes City Colleges is using to help achieve those goals. I was so impressed by the people I met and their commitment that I applied to become the President of Harold Washington College, so that I could take a more direct role in achieving these goals.

In many ways, the chance to lead Harold Washington College is the fulfillment of a life-long dream. I cannot imagine a better way to contribute to making Chicago an even more competitive, global, livable city than leading an institution that prepares students to be civically engaged and gives them the tools to ultimately get jobs and successfully participate in society. Education transforms lives. I believe we have a sacred trust with every student who walks in our doors to do our best to help them fulfill their dreams. I am passionate about helping develop our next generation of leaders who will take Chicago to even greater heights. Based on the faculty members with whom I have already met, I know many of you share that passion.

As a first step, I am committed to learning as much as possible about what you like about Harold Washington College and what you feel we need to change by spending time meeting with members of our faculty, staff, and students. In his book “On Leadership,” Max DePree said that the role of a leader is in the beginning to define reality, at the end to say thank you, and in the middle to serve. That sums up my view of my role as your new leader. My goal is to be accessible to you, listen more than I talk, provide us with a clear vision, give you the support to achieve our common goals, and support your growth as professionals.

Our mission is central to who we are. All of us bring that mission to life. I am trying to learn how you do that and what you need to do an even better job for our students. I look forward to working with you to support our students and prepare them to realize their dreams. In the meantime, feel free to reach out. My email address is dlaackman@ccc.edu, and my blog is at www.donsdesk.blogspot.com.

Regards,

Don