Dear Reader,
About a year or so ago, as I found myself more and more engaged in administrative work, I was asked what I thought the perfect administrative post would be. My response was immediate and certain: I replied that I would like to be Dean of Celebrating the Faculty.
I doubt that any college or university has such a title, but I firmly believe that the pleasures of celebrating faculty achievements are an inherent and important part of my position as Dean of the Faculty at Rhodes. When the College’s Communications staff approached me about the idea of a dean’s blog, I quickly agreed, in large part because I saw that it could be an excellent means for making faculty accomplishments known to the wider community. That is why we ultimately chose the blog’s title of Celebrating Teaching and Learning at Rhodes.
The faculty are at the heart of the learning process, which is at the heart of the College’s mission. Their extraordinary achievements in teaching, research, and creative activity are a big part of why the College enjoys such a strong reputation for the education it offers. This blog is about them and the impact they have on their students.
Here you will find many items that will, I am sure, be of interest to you. Not only will we celebrate the various achievements of faculty, but the blog will also include important news of note. Thus, in addition to being a central point for acknowledging the accomplishments of my colleagues, this will also be a space for sharing information about upcoming events and matters of interest to the campus. I hope you will subscribe or visit often–and even share your thoughts.
I hope you will enjoy reading this blog. To keep it up to date, I encourage all members of the faculty to send news of your accomplishments to me so that they can be featured here. Let the celebrating begin!
Michael Drompp
Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs
What a joy finding your blog was! I fondly remember the example my Rhodes colleagues set when I was new to college teaching, and I look forward to reading your continued celebration of the successes of Rhodes’ faculty. Like you, I find no part of my administrative life more satisfying than celebrating faculty and student successes. It is reassuring to know that Rhodes continues to build on its successes–in particular, the many sustained and sustainable programs that are now aspirational goals in higher education but have always been part of the intellectual and social fabric of Rhodes.
Since I run a blog related website, I always spend some time looking for people that are utilizing blogs in a great way. I really thing it’s a great thing to see a dean that has a blog.
It really allows your students (and staff) to keep up with whats happening. Plus it’s always nice to hear it from the top.
We look forward to following the blog. We’ve bumped into a few graduates of Rhodes in our travels and ended up looking it up to see where it’s located.