News

Dr. Mojgan Behmand Named VP for Academic Affairs, Dean of the Faculty

Dominican University of California President-Elect Nicola Pitchford has appointed Dr. Mojgan Behmand as vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) and dean of the faculty, beginning July 1, 2021. Dr. Pitchford, who currently serves as VPAA and dean of the faculty, begins her tenure as Dominican’s 10th president on that day. Dr. Behmand has served as Dominican’s associate VPAA and dean of the Dominican Experience since 2019. She joined Dominican as a tenure-track assistant professor of English in 2007, earning tenure in 2011 and early promotion to the rank of professor in 2015. Her administrative roles included director of faculty development, director of general education and first-year experience, and associate VPAA and dean of general studies. She also served as acting VPAA during the fall 2018 semester. “The initiatives Mojgan has led have been numerous and enormously significant for shaping Dominican students’ experience,” Pitchford said. “She has been an exceptional faculty leader at Dominican over the past 13 years.” The initial one-year appointment will ensure continuity in academic leadership as Dominican negotiates the pandemic’s impact while also providing an opportunity to confer and consult in the context of shared governance about the longer-term vision for this vital leadership role. Dr. Behmand has steered several key curricular initiatives, including the redesign of the honors program and the 2017-18 overhaul of the former general education (GE) curriculum, leading to adopting the University’s current Core Curriculum with a vote of approval from more than 84% of the Faculty Forum. “Mojgan played key roles in all three components of Dominican’s remarkable collective achievement of rethinking our GE, then rapidly revising the entire undergraduate curriculum, in both content and structure, over the course of only two years — while also bringing to scale the signature wraparound learning model of the Dominican Experience,” Pitchford said. Dr. Behmand successfully sought (or partnered in securing) more than $850,000 in gift and grant funding to support curricular initiatives, including developing the statewide Civic Action Fellowship. This past year Dr. Behmand also worked with both the CARE and HOPE teams to help retain and support struggling students during the pandemic, marshaling the University’s resources to provide coordinated care across the challenges students and families are facing. Dr. Behmand was the founding director of Dominican’s First Year Experience "Big History" program and creator and co-editor of the book “Teaching Big History” published by UC Press in 2014 and written in collaboration with Dominican faculty. She has published and presented widely on comprehensive curricular revision, faculty development, institutional culture change, Big History pedagogy, and medieval Persian epics and passion plays. She has an affinity for specialty courses on individual and communal identity, 19th-century women’s literature, Gothic novels, and world literature. Dr. Behmand holds a master’s degree and a PhD in English from the University of Düsseldorf.

A Culture of Care

Last spring, soon after the University’s sudden shift to remote instruction, Dominican sent out a survey to check in with students. The questions covered a wide range of issues — from technology to academics and finances — to help determine how to best support students during uncertain times. While the results highlighted several positive aspects of remote learning, students reported a wide range of challenges, from insecure housing to increased family responsibilities. Financial concerns topped the list. This initial survey set in place a chain of events that led the University to reimagine how it identifies and supports at-risk students, particularly those experiencing financial problems during the pandemic. The key is ongoing collaboration between offices that are used to working with students — but not necessarily with each other. “We are seeing a real shift in our campus culture right now,” noted Dr. Mojgan Behmand, associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of the Dominican Experience. “We are breaking down silos to focus on supporting our students.” Not long after the spring survey, Dr. Behmand talked with her cabinet colleagues about the impact of the pandemic on students. “Everyone was pretty much saying the same thing — that many of our students needed help,” she said. “But everyone was focused on developing their own plans. We needed to figure out the overlaps and synergies to figure out how to support the students.” As advising for registration for the fall semester approached, Business Services and Financial Aid began noticing an uptick in students with holds on their accounts. Behmand decided it was time to bring together department directors across the University to identify the challenges students were facing and develop solutions to help get them registered. With this goal in mind, Dominican established the HOPE (Help Our Penguins get Educated) Team in March 2020. Comprising members from the Business Services Office, Educational Effectiveness, Financial Aid, Student Life, the Registrar’s Office, the Student Success Center, and Academic Affairs, the group began meeting weekly to address obstacles to student success.

The team’s collaboration has already yielded results, including a record 87% first- to second-year retention rate and undergraduate holds dropping from 100 to 45 at a time when families and students are facing numerous obstacles. Additional outreach later brought the number down to zero holds. Sometimes the hold was due to an easy-to-solve issue, such as a missing signature. Other times the problem was not so easy to fix: unemployment, a depleted financial aid package, or the sudden loss of a home (several students and their families lost homes in the California wildfires). For those facing financial stress, the University distributed additional financial aid, as well as laptops and tools to boost internet capacity. Funding came from multiple sources, including donor and foundation-funded scholarships and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Student buy-in was essential. “While we were working on ways to support the students, it was important for us to see that they also assumed agency and ownership,” Behmand said. “We needed students to realize that, together, we can work out a way through to make sure they remain enrolled and progress toward graduation.” A subsequent check-in survey was distributed in fall 2020. Based on the responses, the HOPE Team created tools for faculty and advisors to use when communicating with students needing assistance. Today, faculty know when and how to direct students toward support, including the Tutoring and Learning Center, Counseling Services, the Student Success Center, Accessibility and Disability Services, or the Connection, Advocacy, Resources, Education Team. This spring, the HOPE team offered students an opportunity to apply for additional scholarships for tuition or on-campus room and board. As of March, 143 graduate and undergraduate students received aid thanks to support from several foundations, including Bill Hannon Foundation, a longtime funding partner to Dominican in providing significant support for needbased undergraduate scholarships. 377 students received help through government funding, and 56 received other scholarships, including the Angel Fund, Close the Gap Scholarship, and the Student in Need fund. “Demonstrating compassion and flexibility is key,” Behmand said. “Our goal is to help students develop action steps to move them toward degree completion. Nobody wins if a student fails to graduate.”

Dominican in National Top 10 for Post-Grad Salaries

Dominican joins Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and Stanford University among the nation’s top 10 schools for post-graduate salaries, according to new college rankings based on early-career salary data from the U.S. Department of Education. The ranking, which is based on data and student outcomes, highlights and reinforces the importance of the Dominican Experience to student success. “I am confident that Dominican is the only institution near the top of this list whose student body includes such a high percentage of students who are the first in their family to attend college, who are from underrepresented groups, or who are Pell Grant-eligible,” Dominican President Mary B. Marcy said. “Not coincidentally, we are the only institution in the top tier that articulates its commitment to student success clearly through the Dominican Experience.” GradReports compared the salaries of more than 4.6 million college graduates to determine “Salary Scores” for more than 885 college degrees, then used the scores to rank the 2021 Best Colleges at the associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s levels. A pool of more than 900 colleges was ranked in the bachelor’s degree category, with data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Each college is ranked based on median earnings in the first year after graduation for students who received federal financial aid. The Salary Score compares the median alumni salary for a specific program at one school to the median alumni salary for the same program at other schools, allowing prospective students to see which institutions offer top earnings for that program. Each school then receives an overall Salary Score by degree level to recognize colleges that prepare students for a high-paying career regardless of major. This overall score is based on how well the school performs across all of its programs, weighted by student enrollment in each program. Scores compare alumni salaries to those of alumni from the same programs across all schools, which makes Dominican’s overall Salary Score and placement among the nation’s top 10 schools a remarkable achievement. “This announcement comes on the heels of a series of exceptional accolades for Dominican,” President Marcy said, “and reinforces that we are a University of unsurpassed opportunity for students from all backgrounds.”

Dominican Plans In-Person Instruction for Fall

Following more than a year of virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dominican University of California intends to return to primarily in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester. “As we look to fall 2021, we are developing plans to configure classes, residence halls and shared spaces in accordance with state and county public health guidelines,” said President Mary B. Marcy. “We will leverage our small size to make decisions based on research, advice, best practices, and experience while continuing to work in close collaboration with Marin Public Health.” The University’s optimism for in-person instruction is buoyed by the rollout of the COVID vaccine, which is currently being distributed to Dominican’s front-line health professions students and faculty. The University is working closely with public health officials to track wider vaccine distribution for all Dominican faculty and staff. “The health and safety protocols we successfully introduced this academic year, along with a comprehensive testing program, have kept our campus community well protected,” President Marcy said. “Our diligence allowed more than 500 students and 200 faculty and staff to continue to work, study and live on campus this year. This has given us both information and confidence as we work with county and state health departments to offer our students a more traditional on-campus college experience this fall.” Dominican will adapt as needed to any changing public health requirements. “We will continue to invest in exciting new approaches for enriched learning to provide all students with the highest-quality education, a structured network of personal and professional support, and opportunities to safely interact with our greater community through internships and public service,” President Marcy said.

Dominican To Add PhD, Graduate Programs In Art Therapy

Dominican University of California is set to acquire the well-regarded graduate programs in art therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU). Effective summer 2021 and pending accreditors’ approval, the acquisition will allow Dominican to offer its first earned doctoral degree, the PhD in art therapy. The transfer, which will be finalized upon approval by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, will also include the Master of Arts in art therapy and Master of Arts in marriage and family therapy. The result of months of collaborative discussions with NDNU leadership and the faculty and staff of the Art Therapy department, the plan has the enthusiastic support of Dominican’s faculty and board of trustees. The universities will coordinate closely on the programs’ transfer, ensuring that both current students and new applicants experience a seamless transition. “These graduate degree programs align seamlessly with Dominican’s mission and existing strengths, the University’s focus on the intersection of the liberal and fine arts and the health sciences, and our longstanding commitment to service and social justice,” said Dr. Nicola Pitchford, vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty, and President-Elect. Art therapists are master’s-level clinicians trained in psychology, human development, counseling, therapeutic techniques, and the visual arts. They work in a wide variety of settings, including schools, mental health organizations, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and private practice. In recent years, art therapists have been included in medical and mental health support teams deployed to communities in the aftermath of disasters. Established in 1979, NDNU’s Master of Arts in art therapy is the only program of its kind in Northern California and one of only two programs in the state. Enrollment has increased steadily in recent years, with 65 students enrolled in the program in fall 2020. The program’s success led NDNU to establish the PhD in art therapy in 2013. As one of only two PhD art therapy programs in the country, it attracts a diverse student body from throughout the United States and overseas. Dominican is eager to welcome these established and respected programs, the accomplished faculty, and the students engaging with both the practice and scholarship of art therapy psychology. The programs will be housed in the School of Liberal Arts and Education.