The Torch - FSU College of Education Magazine, Spring 2019

THE TORCH - COLLEGE OF EDUCATION MAGAZINE

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FROM THE DEAN Welcome to the new version of The Torch, the FSU College of Education magazine! For decades, we have published The Torch to share the accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni, as well as to connect the past, present and future of the College of Education. With this new style, we hope to continue that tradition while adding some modern touches. In the new digital format, you will be able to find more information via links and enjoy video features. The Torch will also be published more frequently. We hope these changes will offer more timely information and updates about the College.

For this issue, we wanted to discuss the idea of leadership. When we think of leaders, many of us picture star athletes, high-profile politicians and historical figures who shaped the world. However, chances are that we all know a leader, whether that is someone who speaks up in a meeting, a teacher who stays late to prepare for the next day, or a student who presents on unique research. A leader doesn’t have to be a public figure or someone famous. In fact, many of us have been leaders at various points in our lives.

As John F. Kennedy once said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” As a proud graduate of FSU’s College of Education, I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. Another former president, John Quincy Adams, added, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” The careers of our graduates in the College of Education very much lend themselves to leadership opportunities in this regard, and as the oldest College of Education in Florida, we have a heightened responsibility to prepare the leaders of our next generation.

Because being a leader means many different things to different people, we thought it would be a great opportunity to spotlight a number of leaders who embody the various definitions of leadership.

And as you’ll see in this issue, while there are many different ways to define leadership, one thing is true for all the people we talked to: they all made an impact on the College of Education.

As you read through this issue of The Torch, we hope you think about the leaders in your life and the kind of leader you hope to be to others. If you know of a leader who you believe we should feature in a future issue of The Torch, we encourage you to let us know by emailing us at education.communications@fsu.edu. We would also love to hear about your latest news and accomplishments so that we may celebrate along with you.

All my best,

Damon P. S. Andrew, PhD, FNAK, FNAKHE Dean and Professor College of Education Florida State University

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CONTENTS 4

A HOMECOMING

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ELEVEN WITH ELEVEN

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TK: A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

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DR. GEORGE YOUNG, III: THE LIVING LIFENET

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PILLAR OF THE PROFESSION

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LEARNING THROUGH LEADERSHIP

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GRADS MADE GOOD

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

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President Mokgweetsi Masisi with FSU President John Thrasher Photo by Jennie Kroeger

A HOMECOMING

By Kent Noel, Ph.D. ’83 Instructional Systems

Note from the editor: This past year, Florida State welcomed Mokgweetsi Masisi, president of Botswana and College of Education alumnus (social science education M.S. ’91). Stateside for a United Nations General Assembly session, Masisi made a stop in Tallahassee to visit his alma mater and meet with FSU President John Thrasher.

Masisi, who is just the fifth president in the history of Botswana, attended Florida State after meeting a number of “really sharp, interesting, pleasant” FSU faculty members, in his words. Most of these individuals were a part of a joint project between Botswana and the U.S. government.

During his most recent visit to campus, Masisi lauded the knowledge he gained at Florida State, joking that the next president of Botswana should “enroll in FSU soon.” Masisi added that he felt like “a lot of what I picked up at FSU, particularly in the Stone Building and courses I took at the Bellamy Building and the business school – and the work I did at Strozier Library – enabled me to do what I’m doing.”

A member of the joint project and alumnus of the College, Kent Noel (Ph.D. ’83) shares his experience working with President Masisi both before and after his time at Florida State.

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BOTSWANA AND EDUCATION nyone who is familiar with the many great countries of Africa will probably know that Botswana is one of the most highly regarded. The country’s leadership has long been known for its careful stewardship of its national wealth and its investment in its people, especially in educating its children. I consider myself very fortunate to have had my first experience in education development on a national level in Botswana.

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While working at my instructional design company in 1985, I received a phone call from FSU’s Learning Systems Institute, asking if I could recommend any former graduate classmates for a position as senior instructional designer on a USAIDsponsored FSU education project in Botswana, a small country in southern Africa. During the phone call, I was able to suggest several people they should contact.

Upon completing the call, I began to think about how intriguing the Botswana project sounded. It offered an opportunity to be part of a large team of Batswana and FSU project educators to improve the education system of an entire country. After thinking about the exciting possibilities of the Botswana project and discussing the potential with my business partner, I decided to apply for the FSU position myself. Shortly thereafter, I was

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accepted for the position, and the course of my life for the next 30 years changed dramatically.

During my tenure in Botswana, the country celebrated its 20th anniversary as a country. At that time, the country–rich in diamonds and beef–was undergoing a systematic, but rapid change. The size of Texas, it had a population of about a million people. Partnering with the U.S. government, Florida State University, and similar entities, Botswana’s leadership was willing to invest its time and resources in developing its human capital.

While welcoming new ideas, the leadership didn’t blindly go along with what “outsiders” recommended; it kept the ideas that seemed to have the greatest potential to work and rejected those that didn’t in the spirit of honest partnership and cooperation. I was there before much of the world realized that some of the greatest African national parks rest in Botswana. Either through work or during holidays, I had many opportunities to visit the Kalahari Desert, Okavango River Delta and Chobe National Park that borders the great Victoria Falls.

I owe these life-changing experiences equally to FSU and Botswana—FSU for providing me the unique opportunity, and the Batswana people, including President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who welcomed me to their country and into their lives.

THE PROJECT IN BOTSWANA The FSU project in Botswana was called the Junior Secondary Education Improvement Project (JSEIP), and as the name suggests, was aimed at increasing pupil access to nine years of basic education. After our project, all children could attend school for nine years of education, whereas before, they could only attend seven years of basic education, after which they competed on a test for the relatively few spaces available at the eighth grade through secondary school level. Under FSU’s leadership, the project used a systems approach to education, based on principles of cognitive learning and instruction.

Unlike other large projects that might focus only on teacher training, JSEIP took a holistic approach. Not only did the project provide technical and financial support for improving pre-service teacher training, it supported inservice teacher training, training of junior secondaryschool principals, reformation of the assessment and evaluation and education management information systems, establishment of a new teacher training college, and the development of new student materials and teachers guides for eight or more subjects in the curriculum for first through ninth grades.

A great deal of infrastructure was developed in collaboration with the Botswana government, including many new junior secondary schools, two teacher

training colleges, teacher resource centers, and a new Curriculum Development and Evaluation (CD&E) Department building. I was responsible for advising and working with Batswana colleagues in developing and printing the curriculum materials and was based in the CD&E building.

Originally planned as a five-year project, JSEIP was extended an additional year, ultimately spanning the period of mid1985 through the end of 1991. At about the mid-point of the project, several star graduates of the new junior secondary teacher training college were identified to become interns in the Ministry of Education and, more specifically, the CD&E department. They were a remarkably talented and motivated group, and all have subsequently been extremely successful in a variety of fields.

I had the good fortune of knowing and working with all of them. Mokgweetsi Masisi, the current president of Botswana, was among that group. He was assigned as a curriculum development officer for the junior secondary social studies curriculum. He worked with a more senior social studies officer as well as a couple of FSU professors in the social sciences to develop a social studies curriculum, textbooks and teachers guides. During that time, I had a chance to work with Masisi in the context of CD&E’s work as well as to socialize with him and his family, and we quickly became friends. He always

Video by University Communications

Photo by Jennie Kroeger had a great rapport with everyone he met; he had a winning smile, a quick wit, and contributed a great deal to education in Botswana.

Under JSEIP, FSU created a master’s degree program for Batswana educators which helped education officers become better prepared for their roles as educational leaders in Botswana. After having worked at CD&E for a year or so, Masisi was selected for the master’s degree at Florida State’s College of Education. Upon his return to Botswana after receiving his degree, he told me that he had one of his best experiences at FSU, had received a great education, had a lot of fun, and was really grateful for the opportunity.

Over the years of knowing President Masisi, I’ve come to realize that he is not only just a great friend and leader; he is a great educator. Under his guidance, I am sure that the country of Botswana will continue to set an example for the entire continent, if not the entire world, as to the transformative power of investing in people and giving them an education.

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Video by Seminole Productions

Photo by Jeremy Esbrandt/FSU Athletics

T H E M A N , T H E M I TT, TH E L E G E N D

By Josh Duke

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e sat down with legendary baseball coach and College of Education alumnus Mike Martin (B.S. ‘66 physical education) and asked him 11 questions before the start of his final season at Florida State.

stuff. Carol and I were getting married, and we decided we would take our honeymoon and come to Tallahassee and finalize everything. And that’s what we did. We got married, we came down here, and I got a chance to play baseball for Florida State.

What brought you to Florida State originally?

I was at Wingate Junior College in the early sixties. The basketball manager was a guy named Morris McHone. Morris recommended me to the baseball coach, Fred Hatfield. Fred had a couple of scouts check me out at the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

He called after that and offered me a scholarship. I laugh when I say this—I thought I was really hot stuff because I was being offered an out-of-state scholarship, which of course back then would save you close to $1,500. I really thought I was hot

What drew you to the game of baseball?

Growing up in Charlotte, basketball is the so-called king of North Carolina, and I thought I was going to be a decent basketball player, and then I found out I was just a run-of-the-mill player, seeing the outstanding athletes we had at Wingate.

I did play college basketball at Wingate when it was a junior college, but baseball was something I started playing at a very young age and stuck with it the entire time.

I always played baseball, but basketball—I thought I had a chance to play that in college, but I wasn’t good enough. After looking things over, I thought I had a

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chance to play baseball in college and not basketball.

Baseball is an individual sport played by a team. And it’s a game which requires mental toughness because of the failure situation. If you compare Tom Brady to Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds is going to fail seven out of 10 times, but if Tom Brady fails seven out of 10 times, he’s sure not going to be thought of the same way.

It’s the same thing in basketball. You hit 30%, that’s not that good. You hit .300 in baseball and there’s no telling how much money you could make.

How did you transition from player to coach?

When I came to Tallahassee and played baseball, I was always interested in coaching, but it seemed like basketball was the sport that opened the door. I

back and say, “I’m just so glad you made me do what I was supposed to do in the education arena.”

Photo by FSU Athletics started coaching at Cobb Junior High School, which is Cobb Middle School now.

I just liked the idea of trying to get 10 or 12 people all on the same page, pulling for each other.

I coached a junior college team here for a short period of time, and then I went to coach at Godby High School, and basketball was just a sport where I thought that was where my career would take me.

Then all of a sudden, I got an opportunity to coach baseball at Florida State. Back then, I knew those young men. I played some summer baseball with them. I was, I believe, 27 at the time. One thing led to another and all of a sudden, I’m trying to do the same thing in baseball that we did in basketball, and that is mold everyone together and try to get them all on the same page.

What’s the most rewarding part of being a coach?

I think really, it’s just the relationships you have with players, and it starts as a freshman, when they first come in here. Our demands are very simple. It’s education first. It’s not baseball first, and if you try to put baseball first and neglect your responsibilities in class, you will not play. That’s something that we’re bound and determined a young man understands that he can’t live on baseball all of his life.

Certainly, there are exceptions, but—gosh, I don’t have the percentages, but it’s one that you’re not going to have a lot of guys making the money that people think are being paid to baseball players. You do have, as I said, the Buster Poseys of the world who make $27 million a year. But the point I’m making is they can’t take that education away from you, because baseball is going to end one day and you’re going to have something to fall back on.

I’ve had I don’t know how many guys come

What was it like breaking the NCAA win record?

Everybody needs a goal, whether it’s an insurance salesman or a mechanic or whatever. Our goal at Florida State is to get to Omaha every year. Individual goals for a coach—for me to say that [setting the new win record] didn’t mean anything, that would be a big fat lie. I think everyone wants to feel that they’ve accomplished something, and when it happened, the fact that my family was there with me at Clemson, it was a big moment for me. I’ve always said it’s not about me; it’s about this great university, and what will excite me is that someone will come along and break the record, but for the next few years, it’s going to be Florida State’s Mike Martin. That’s what excites me. That it’ll be Florida State first.

How has FSU changed since you were a student?

It has changed so much that we don’t have enough ink. When Carol and I came down here as honeymooners and drove down 319 headed for Tallahassee, we saw the moss hanging over the oak trees, hanging over the highway—oh man, was that an experience. We were just enthralled riding down there. It was dark, but we could see the moss. Then the next day, when we got up just to ride around and see the city of Tallahassee, the first thing we said was, “Dang, I don’t see many palm trees.” We were used to seeing St. Petersburg when we were in high school. St. Petersburg got a lot of media attention back then, and of course Miami did. We went over to Panama City. We just really fell for the state of Florida. It was quite an eye-opening experience. We had been to Myrtle Beach, but we had never been to a beach in the state of Florida, so it was an experience for us. Let me put it this way: I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but it may be bigger than that because you had two people in their early twenties come down here and never leave.

What does it mean to be a leader in your opinion?

I think leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less. If I act a certain way, the players will act a certain way. There are a lot of things that I feel are very important

in being the kind of leader that you want to be. People see coaches, administrators— they’re looked at as examples of what some of those young men and women want to become, and if you’re showing no interest in them, they could very easily be turned off to the profession that you’re in because of the way that you act.

Who are some of the role models in your life?

Anybody who knows me knows that my faith is very important. I’m proud to say that I read the Bible. I try to lead a life that Jesus taught us to live. I fall short in many areas, but I can think of no better person to try and emulate than my savior.

What’s the greatest challenge that you’ve overcome as a coach?

My temper. I used to have a very bad temper. It still comes out sometimes on the golf course, but not to the extent it did 30 years ago.

What would you say to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps as a coach?

Be yourself. Don’t try and be somebody that you aren’t. That old saying, “Know yourself, be yourself, accept yourself” is a great way to approach life. You’ve got to do what you feel is best when it comes to coaching. Just because one person likes to hit and run or likes to bunt a lot, you can’t emulate something that you don’t really believe in. There’s a lot of outstanding coaches today that do things that I totally agree with, and other great coaches that do things I don’t agree with, and you have to maintain your own opinion. There’s a lot of feel to this game. In other words, you go to the mound and you find out by looking into the pitcher’s eyes if you want to leave him out there, and there are other times that, before you get to the mound, you look at him and you know you’re going to take him out. It’s a feeling, and you got to know yourself.

What do you do for fun outside of baseball?

Play golf. I play a lot of golf in the offseason.

Come June 30th, when I retire, I intend to go places that Carol and I have not been before because we haven’t really had a lot of time to do that. Hopefully, we’re looking forward to going to the Holy Land and Alaska and just places that we’ve never been before.

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TK A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

By Jennie Kroeger

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ew people are able to lead in a way that unites others towards a common goal. For Thomas Kent “T.K.” Wetherell, it was his life’s work and an enduring legacy that had an impact on the entire state of Florida. Wetherell passed away in December 2018, and while we still mourn the loss of a great leader, we wanted to commemorate and pay tribute to one of Florida State’s greats.

THE EARLY YEARS While many in Florida knew Wetherell as a great politician and leader at Florida State, it is important to remember that he started his career in education. Long before he became president of Florida State University, he began at FSU as a student and graduated with a B.S. (’67) and an M.S. (’68) in social studies education. He continued on to earn his Ph.D. in education administration in 1974.

After finishing his studies, Wetherell decided to continue his career in education. He found himself in his first faculty position in 1974 at BethuneCookman College as an associate professor of education. From there, he moved on to Daytona Beach Community College where he held a number of positions, including executive assistant to the president, provost/dean of instruction, vice president and provost.

His experience as a leader in the field of education gave him the leadership skills and perspective that would influence the rest of his life.

Photo by FSU Photography Services

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THE HOUSE In 1980, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

He

served for twelve years on various committees, including Higher Education and Appropriations. Both of these committees benefited from his knowledge in education and his belief in the importance of learning and growth. In his last two years as a state representative, he served as Speaker of the House.

Terry Golden, a former House analyst, remembers Wetherell as “one of the most brilliant human beings I have ever known.

Just intuitively brilliant.”

“When he came in as chairman of higher education, he was the vice president at Daytona Beach Community College,” recalls Golden. “When he was chairman of appropriations, he was the executive director of the Independent College and Universities of Florida (ICUF). And then as speaker, he was still with ICUF. As an analyst, I was in a position where I would be making recommendations detrimental to the professional interests that he represented. I went to him about it, and his response was, ‘You give me good policy. I’ll take care of the politics.’

You can’t ask for more than that, so I have an inordinate amount of respect for the work he did.”

Golden credits Wetherell for teaching her a great deal about politics, too. “I learned that politics is really person-to-person,” says Golden. “It’s the importance of making real connections on real issues and really listening and really responding.”

As someone who worked with all kinds of people on all kinds of issues, Wetherell had a knack for being able to get everyone on board with a plan.

“T.K. taught me a lot about the importance of consensus-building and doing it early,” says Golden. “To the extent that you can build support among disparate parties, you had support for the duration. That made the process easier. His consensus approach was probably one of the most important things that I’ve carried with me as a professional.”

FSU In 2003, everything came full circle when he returned to his alma mater as its 13th president. Already an accomplished leader and unifier, Wetherell jumped at the opportunity to bring his skills and passion to Florida State. As expected, his guidance benefited the university greatly during his seven-year tenure as president.

“I know being president of FSU was his long-term dream,” says Golden. “To see him get that at the end of what I thought was a pretty incredible career was just the icing on the cake.”

Mary Coburn, former vice president for student affairs at FSU, remembers Wetherell as one of a kind.

“They broke the mold after he was formed.

He was just a lot of fun and always had a positive outlook on everything.

As a leader, he really trusted the people that he hired to work with him and did not micromanage at all,” she adds. “He was a great mentor in that he’d give you something to do and then let you have the freedom to do it, and he had the confidence in you that you could do it.

That means a lot.”

“ W h e t h e r it was i n a classro o m, a b o ardro o m, o r t h e f l oo r o f t h e Ho use o f Re p re se nt at ive s, We t h e re ll was a leade r. “ Another facet of Wetherell’s leadership style was accessibility and advocacy for students. “He was very recognizable, so he would meet students or parents wherever he went,” says Coburn. “It was very typical for him to come in on a Monday morning and give me a name and a phone number and say, ‘Follow up with this person. His kid needs help.’ He was a tireless advocate for students and valued the importance of growth and learning beyond the classroom.”

His leadership style and belief in the faculty, students and staff at Florida State transformed the university both physically and academically. As a lifelong educator and proponent of education, Wetherell made it his priority to raise the academic profile of the university. During his time as president, he increased the number of doctoral degrees awarded and research spending, as well as advocated for new construction on campus. The millions of dollars invested during his time as president ensured that Florida State would remain one of the top universities in Florida.

THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION After retiring from his position as president, Wetherell served as a professor in FSU’s higher education program and director of the Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching & Innovation. In these roles, he continued to make a positive impact on students in countless ways.

“Of all the classes that were a part of the [higher education] master’s program, the three with Dr. Wetherell were the most impactful, influential – and most importantly – enjoyable,” says Leslie Mille, associate director of the FSU Career Center and former student of Wetherell’s.

Mille recalls a particularly impactful assignment in a directed independent study (DIS) she had with Wetherell.

“I had to write a paper on the Affordable Care Act and its impact on higher education. He asked me to assume the role of a higher education professional who must deal with this issue and describe why a clear solution may not appeal to everyone. I had to take into consideration my own personal moral values and assumptions that would affect my decisions, negative consequences of my resolution, and any personal risks involved to me as a higher education professional.

This was by far the most impactful assignment throughout my entire time in the program because it placed me in a relevant, topical, real-world scenario.

Very rarely was I ever challenged to think about how an administrator’s personal beliefs could impact policy. I loved the fact that at the end of the DIS, we just sat down and chatted about the process of coming to those decisions. There was no right or wrong answer – it was more about understanding the impact of decisions on all your stakeholders.”

It is both amazing and heartbreaking to consider that Wetherell accomplished so much for Florida State University—both as president and educator—all while battling cancer. Wetherell courageously dealt with a cancer diagnosis for 16 years before losing his battle on December 16, 2018. He passed away just a few days from his 73rd birthday.

Despite his passing, his legacy and vision lives on in all who call Florida State University home. Whether it was in a classroom, a boardroom, or the floor of the House of Representatives, Wetherell was a leader.

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father, George F. Young, ran a successful construction business. His mother, Virginia Shuman Young, was the first and only female mayor of Fort Lauderdale, among a number of leadership roles in her 40-year career as a public servant in Broward County.

Nancy Turner, COE alumna (B.S. ‘61 elementary education, Ph.D. ‘77 higher education) and Hardee board member, describes Young as coming “from a family of leaders and he knew he had a responsibility to live and participate in the world of his city and his profession.”

Responsibility figures prominently in Young’s outlook on life, and he gives credit to those responsible for shaping him into the man he is today.

One particular faculty member at FSU who taught him to take responsibility for his education, his actions, and ultimately his career was Dr. Melvene Hardee.

DR. GEORGE YOUNG, III T H E L I V I NG L I FEN ET

By Kevin Derryberry

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he principal of Fort Lauderdale High School told George Young that college would be a waste of time for a guy like him. For a few misspent semesters in his freshman year, Young admits that principal could have been right, if not for the words of a campus leader he respected.

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good brain. Why don’t you start using it?”

Dr. Larry Chalmers, Young’s psychology professor who later became dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Florida State, asked him, “Aren’t you tired of being a big dumb jock?” Young is tall with an athletic build, an easy demeanor and a friendly smile, but as Chalmers knew, he was far from dumb.

Well, use it, he did. Young buckled down and earned three degrees from FSU (B.S. ’59, M.S. ‘61, Ph.D. ’66). The onetime “dumb jock” worked for 30 years as the vice president for student affairs at Broward College, led the higher education organization Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), and co-founded FSU’s Hardee Center for Leadership and Ethics in Higher Education. But the first thing he did in 1966 was drive back to Broward County and give a copy of his Ph.D. diploma to his high school principal.

Young recalls his dean’s encouragement: “I have detected that you have a pretty

Broward County leadership has always played an important role in Young’s life. His

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“My mother and Mel Hardee were somewhat similar; neither accepted excuses.” Young speaks very fondly of Hardee and shared that the two remained close long after he left FSU. Hardee was the notoriously tough, yet caring founder of the FSU higher education program’s LifeNet and the Hardee Center for Leadership and Ethics in Education, which maintains her views of ethical leadership for higher education professionals.

Perhaps Hardee’s most enduring legacy is the LifeNet, the network of higher education administrators and student affairs professionals across the world who have shared their knowledge and opportunities in the spirit of working hard, helping others and acting honorably.

According to Nancy Turner, “To me, George Young is the embodiment of the LifeNet.” “Early in the 1970s during my coursework days,” says Turner, “I took the practicum trip with Dr. Hardee and George was the larger-than-life host of our visit in Ft. Lauderdale. It was clear the mentor had great respect for him and his work in student affairs. In addition to all that he and the staff at [then] Broward Junior College taught us, he introduced us to Ft. Lauderdale. After that visit, I ran into George, who was chairman of a NASPA committee, while I was ‘subbing’ for my supervisor. Before I knew it, George had appointed me to the committee and thus began my long association with NASPA

and the many professionals who worked in student affairs across the country.

Many of the leaders were members of Hardee’s LifeNet. George opened doors that gave me the opportunity to participate and thrive in the profession.

For this I am grateful.”

For Young, the support was a no-brainer; he was just passing on what he was taught by Hardee. Helping Turner and others like her was part of the role of a Hardee graduate. After all, it was Hardee who got Young his first job out of FSU. In his interview with Valdosta State College President Walter Martin, Young still remembers hearing, “I’ve always wanted a student of Melvene Hardee.”

The LifeNet also gave Young the opportunity to return home to Broward County, when fellow three-time FSU alumnus Hugh Adams (B.S. ’50, M.S. ’56, Ed.D. ’62) gave him a call. The two men first met while working in the FSU Housing office, but in 1968, Adams was hired as the second president of what was then Junior College of Broward County. The school was only eight years old, and threats of political corruption had threatened the school’s accreditation.

Young’s charge from President Adams was to develop a full student affairs program for a school that Adams himself described as having a “desolate” campus.

But Young came well prepared, thanks to the work he’d done under Hardee. “It was a project for her class. We had to present a complete organizational structure for a College of the Clouds.”

leadership in all that he has done. As one of Dr. Melvene Hardee’s early doctoral graduates, he understood the importance of leading locally and nationally. He has been a noted leader in state, regional and national student affairs organizations.

And now, with his generous gift to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Dr. Young is ensuring that he will impact future generations of leaders.”

“George opened doors that gave me the opportunity to participate and thrive in the profession.”

The Hardee Young Fellow will be selected by the higher education and Hardee Center faculty to recognize excellence in the classroom, with preference given to those who choose to serve community colleges.

It is important to Young that his fellowship bears both names, for as he puts it: “Mel Hardee is responsible for who I am as a person.” From mentor to colleague, Hardee and Young remained friends, through good times and bad.

Young recalls a letter he received from

Hardee after her husband, Thomas Hardee, passed: “Here I sit upon the sands,” it began, describing her grief as she looked out upon a life without her husband. He says his heart went out to her in her loss, and regrettably those words come back to him now in the Florida Keys, where he and his wife Dawn built their retirement home.

Young and his wife met at Ft. Lauderdale High School, and after she earned her bachelor’s in elementary education from the University of Florida, the two married and built their family together.

They have two children, George W. Young, IV, and Jenifer Young Pfleger (Jeff); and three grandchildren, Henry John Pfleger, Jeffrey Alan Pfleger, Jr. and Katherine Jane Pfleger. Dawn was by George’s side for nearly sixty years until she passed away at their home in Islamorada in December of 2018.

Young knew from his conversations with a grieving Hardee that he should not simply sit upon the sands. He made an appointment with a local grief counselor named Dr. Ruth Dailey Knowles (Grainger). The two had never met, but he was pleasantly surprised to learn that Grainger (B.S. ’63, Ph.D. ’75) had also been a student of Hardee’s. How could it have been otherwise for the man whose life and career so fully embodies the ideal of the LifeNet?

Young brought his College of the Clouds home to Broward County, and over the course of the next thirty years, he built programming on multiple campuses and saw his student population increase from 5,000 to 60,000 students.

In late 2018, Young continued his support of educational leaders and higher education through a gift of property to the FSU Real Estate Foundation. The proceeds from the sale of the property will create the Hardee Center – George Young Fellowship in Higher Education.

Young’s contribution is the single most generous gift in the history of the Hardee Center.

Dr. Mary Coburn, the former director of the Hardee Center and vice president for student affairs at FSU, claims that “Dr. George Young has exemplified

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“It was an honor to be nominated and then selected as a Pillar,” Schwartz says.

The award was made even more special by the fact that the nomination came from Schwartz’s colleague in the Higher Education program, Kathy Guthrie, and former student, Tom Fritz, who is now a doctoral student at Michigan State.

While Schwartz may be a bit taciturn when it comes to his career and his legacy in the field of higher education, his former students fill in the gaps, praising their instructor.

“Dr. Schwartz was with me my whole doctoral journey, from my first course to hooding,” says Allison Peters (Ph.D. ’19 higher education). “As a major professor, he was encouraging and made sure I took time to enjoy the process of dissertation work. His perspective on my topic was invaluable, his feedback on each draft was helpful and reassuring, and he reminded me often that my work was meaningful.”

Photo by Jennie Kroeger

PI LL A R O F T HE PROFESSION

By Josh Du ke

T

o call someone a pillar of a profession is no small gesture. Such a distinguished designation implies that the person’s legacy and career have shaped the direction of a given profession.

He or she might not be the most vocal or visible, but they are a constant presence, supporting those new to—or just getting established in—a profession. When it comes to the field of higher education, Robert Schwartz is one such pillar.

Recently, one of the leading higher education professional associations acknowledged Schwartz’s contributions to the field and presented him with the Pillars of the Profession award.

Schwartz received the award from NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) and was one of just 17 individuals named a Pillar of the Profession in 2019. Schwartz also holds

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the distinction of having received the Robert H. Shaffer Award for Academic Excellence as a Faculty Member from NASPA in 2017. Closer to home, Schwartz has also won the Florida State University Faculty Seminole Award (2008) and the Transformation Through Teaching Award (2016).

If the picture isn’t clear, Schwartz is an accomplished professor and a passionate educator. Talking to him, however, offers another perspective.

Despite his impressive résumé, Schwartz is easily approachable and humble during conversation, always willing to provide his insight but not quick to interrupt or talk over others. Perhaps it is his years of experience, or perhaps it is part of what it means to be a leader in the field of higher education.

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Brandon Bowden (Ph.D. ’14 higher education) shares a similar opinion of Schwartz. “If not for Dr. Schwartz, I would not be where I am today,” he says. “Dr. Schwartz not only guided me through the entire doctoral process, he also served as my major professor and helped me to stay focused, on schedule and on task to complete my dissertation. There were many days that I wanted to give up because it was so hard working full-time and completing the degree, but he was always there to encourage me.”

Bowden went on to become the assistant vice president for student affairs at FSU and he attributes his success to Schwartz and his mentorship. “I have no doubt I would not be in this position had I not completed my doctoral degree under his guidance and support,” he says. “I am forever thankful for the role he has played in my life!”

Schwartz invests his time and energy into his students long after they leave his classroom. Ted Stratton (Ph.D. ’16 higher education) says that one of his favorite parts about being around Schwartz was that “he loved to sing the praises of the students in the program. Throughout the semester as we worked our way towards summer, he would send an email each time he learned of a new graduating student landing a job. He was genuinely happy for us and it meant a lot to have Dr. Schwartz send an email expressing how

proud he was.”

So many students look up to Schwartz and consider him a leader in the field. Schwartz says that a good leader succeeds by “setting a good example, working well with other faculty and administrators in the field. We are setting an example for others and for our profession by our actions and behaviors.” In this way, Schwartz hopes that his interactions with his students will be emulated and the importance of caring continues.

Schwartz acknowledges that investing so much energy into the next generation can be challenging, yet he sees it as a critical way to ensure that Florida State’s higher education program remains one of the best in the nation. “I hope I have, over the last 20 years, done what I could to maintain and improve that reputation,” he adds. “We are only as good as the students we put out and many of our students have been very successful.”

“We are setting an example for others and for our profession by our actions and behaviors.”

The students Schwartz has worked with over the years have changed in a number of ways, in his estimation. As a part of the field of higher education in some capacity for decades, Schwartz believes that being a student these days is more challenging.

“It is hard to be a graduate student as the expectations are high and the challenges of paying for two years or four years of school is an expensive commitment,” Schwartz says.

Despite these challenges, Schwartz understands that many students are interested in following in his footsteps and pursuing a career in higher education. To that, Schwartz says, “I have enjoyed my time as a faculty member far more than I would have expected.” He acknowledges that a career in higher education might be difficult, especially since the field is so competitive; however, he also feels that his time working in higher education has been a rewarding experience.

As much as Schwartz has gotten out of higher education, he certainly has contributed back as much, if not far, far more. Through his leadership and compassion for his students, the field will forever be changed for generations to come.

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LEARNING THROUGH LEADERSHIP

KAT HY GUT HRIE HONORED BY THE AC PA

By Josh Duke

E

very year, the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) selects an outstanding leader for its prestigious Contribution to Knowledge award. One of the most important awards this professional organization gives out, the Contribution to Knowledge award is reserved for the best of the best— individuals who stand out as contributors to institutions of higher education.

This year, the College of Education’s own Kathy Guthrie was chosen as the recipient of this ACPA honor. Guthrie is an associate professor of higher education in the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, as well as the director of the Leadership Learning Research Center (LLRC) at FSU. Over the years, Guthrie has published more than 30 refereed journal articles, six book chapters, two books, and served as co-editor on three monographs and one book.

It’s clear that Guthrie has an undeniable presence in the field of higher education, and winning the Contribution to Knowledge award only solidifies her place as an important mentor and scholar among her peers.

Who better then to talk to about leadership than someone named a leader among people studying leaders? We sat down with Guthrie to get her thoughts on what it means to be a leader, how it felt to be recognized for her contribution to the field and more.

What did it mean to you to win the ACPA award? How did you feel?

Receiving ACPA’s Contribution to Knowledge award is such an incredible honor. Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming because I have been reflecting on the notion of creation, really co-creation of knowledge. Sometimes we view creation of knowledge as a single action, like a research study, but in fact knowledge is cocreated by many. Research studies build upon frameworks and previous scholarship in order to move forward and hopefully fill a small gap, so this award has allowed me to think about all of the shoulders of giants I truly stand on.

What would you say is the most important work of the LLRC? Can you describe a particular accomplishment that you are proud of?

I am extremely proud of the LLRC’s work in theory-to-practice-totheory. Since we not only engage in research focused on learning leadership, and therefore teaching leadership, we also practice it with the large number of undergraduate courses that we develop

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Photo by Ken Higgins

and offer for students across campus. We are in a unique place where theory informs practice and practice informs theory. It is a beautiful continuous process, one all scholarship hopes to truly have.

How has the study of leadership changed over the years? Do you have any thoughts on what’s next?

When looking at the evaluation of leadership theory, we have come a long way in the last century. The first documented leadership theory was the “Great Man Theory” which, as you can probably guess from the title, only certain people were considered leaders. Leadership theories were then based on specific traits of a leader, then on behavioral styles of a leader. However, in the 1970s it evolved to focus on the situation the leader was in and then to transformational and relational focuses in the 1980s and 1990s. Aligned with the post-industrial paradigm of leadership, which is based in relationships, I think we will continue to study leadership in terms of how identity influences how a person leads and engages in the process of leadership.

What do you think is your greatest contribution to the study of leadership?

I hope I can contribute to the conversation of the importance of higher education’s role in leadership learning. Not only for creating and providing leadership learning environments that are culturally relevant, but that leadership learning focuses on the development of leadership identity (who you are as a leader), capacity (overall ability to be successful in process of leadership) and efficacy (belief in one’s capabilities in engaging in leadership) of all students in both curricular and co-curricular contexts.

What does it mean to be a leader in your opinion?

I strongly believe that leaders are not just those who hold positions or titles, but anyone who engages in the process of leadership. Since leadership is socially constructed, this can mean a lot of different things depending on your identity and context in which you are serving as a leader.

GRADS

made GOOD

Each year during Homecoming, the FSU Alumni Association recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding alumni who have pushed the limits and challenged the status quo in their respective fields with the Grad Made Good award. This year, two of the four winners were College of Education graduates.

JOANNE GRAF

PH.D. ’92 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Photo by FSU Photography Services

Video by University Communications

SANDRA BARKER

M.S. ’76 REHABILITATION COUNSELING, PH.D. ’78 COUNSELING & HUMAN SYSTEMS

Video by University Communications

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ST UDENT S POT L IGH T MARSHALL ANTHONY, JR.

O

n paper, my undergraduate outcomes reflect success, but coming from a low-income and racially underrepresented background, my transcript does not capture the barriers I faced to obtain my degree. These barriers, such as financial literacy, academic and social integration, cultural and social capital, and impostor syndrome, are something I continue to combat as a first-generation graduate student; however, through support from spiritual family, faculty, staff and peers, I have been able to continually overcome them.

I always planned to go out of state to pursue my doctorate, but I did not plan on going any more than five hours from my home of North Carolina. One of my friends encouraged me to look at the higher education program at FSU, despite it being about 10 hours away. Upon speaking to Dr. Robert Schwartz, my major professor, FSU became my top choice! Coming to FSU was one of the best

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decisions I made. The faculty are kind, available, and genuinely care about my academic, professional, and personal well-being.

The higher education program at FSU is a pillar in the field, composed of a plethora of prominent alumni in the local, state, national and global community. The specific public policy track along with the program being situated in the capital of Florida makes for rich theory-to-practice discussions and professional opportunities. Recently, I was selected as a Florida Gubernatorial Fellow for the 2018-19 academic year, serving at the Department of Education in the Division of Florida Colleges.

Upon receiving my degree, my short-term goal is to serve as a policy research analyst at an education think tank, association or school system in the D.C. area. My long-term goal is to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Credits DEAN Damon Andrew OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & RECRUITMENT Jennie Kroeger Josh Duke Ken Higgins Jordan Harrison CONTRIBUTOR Kevin Derryberry Kent Noel

Stay Connected facebook.com/fsueducation twitter.com/fsueducation instagram.com/fsueducation issuu.com/fsu_education youtube.com/fsueducation bit.ly/FSUCOE education.fsu.edu

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