Reflections on Life in Higher Education

Rick D. Saucier, Michael J. Messina, Lori L. Lohman, Kimberly K. Folkers, Nora Ganim Barnes, Lisa M. Lindgren, Frederick B. Hoyt, Kenneth A. Loparo, Kenneth A. Loparo, Stephanie Jacobsen

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781137560452
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

This book explores the challenges of an academic teaching career. The authors discuss the issues that may arise in the tenure process, scholarship activities, publishing, and providing service to their academic communities as well as how to keep teaching lessons relevant and fresh.

1

From the Bookmobile to the Blogosphere

Nora Ganim Barnes

Do young people aspire to be college professors or does life just push some of us in this direction? The only job I remember wanting was one of a social worker. The idea of helping people seemed admirable and suited my middle-child persona.

After four years earning a double major in psychology and sociology and a short stint doing social work in a poor section of Providence, Rhode Island, it was clear I had miscalculated. Where were the immediate gratification and the evidence of change and the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment I had envisioned? No one seemed to know that I was there to “save” them and fix all the problems that held them back. Worse yet, I realized that none of this was plausible, and I was disheartened and now without direction.

It was time to recalculate, which seemed to mean going back to school seeking a new vocation, but all I knew at that point was what I didn’t want to do. This would be the first of many recalculations on my road to a career in academia.

Tip #1: Be open to pressing the reset button. It happens.

During my senior year at a local state college, I had a class in medical sociology. It was an area of one of the senior faculty and sounded interesting. Little did I know that the class would lay the foundation for everything that happened later as I sought my place in the world.

I wrote a paper on the Food and Drug Administration and how it had evolved into an understaffed, over-politicized, and somewhat ineffective group headed by a revolving door of retired industry executives from the very industries it purported to regulate. I was appalled, of course, since my mindset was always to seek out and fix injustice. The professor gave me an A-plus on the paper and wrote, “You should try to get this published.” I’m pretty sure that was the first time there was any connection between me and the idea of publishing. But with no real notion of where to begin with that, my publishing days would have to wait.

My new cause had begun to take over, and I was now a follower of Ralph Nader and all things having to do with consumer protection. I volunteered at the Rhode Island Consumers’ Council and watched its director intervene on behalf of consumers victimized by scams and fraud. I loved everything having to do with consumers and how they related to the marketplace.

Tip #2: Pay attention to the signs around you. They often lead you to a new and better place.

I wish I had done that more often.

This newfound mission helped guide me as I looked for a school where I could secure a master’s degree in the shortest amount of time. This was necessary both from an economic point of view as well as for my tendency to move as quickly as possible. I was not blessed with patience. I figured I could go to our state university and complete their ten-course requirement in two semesters. They even had a new assistant professor who specialized in social movements and would work with me on the consumer movement so that I could explore my new passion … I would save the consumers! Maybe I would even marry Ralph Nader. I admired his work on behalf of consumers. I could help him. It would be perfect! But first I had to figure out how to pay for another year of school.

I had worked two jobs to pay for my undergraduate education. Tuition was affordable as long as I kept my job as a saleswoman at a retail store year-round and tutored on campus between classes. By sophomore year I found out that tutoring was the best paying job on campus and you could be hired to tutor any class you received a B or better in. I was a pretty good student, so each semester brought new opportunities for a tutoring assignment.

This was my first introduction to teaching college students and I loved it. I felt like I was helping, and every time one of my students passed a test or understood a concept I got that feeling that somehow this was a good place for me. But it was just a part-time college job to pay the bills and I never connected the dots. I wasn’t ready yet to consider college teaching as a career.

Tip #3: Try to connect the dots.

By senior year, I was tutoring a range of classes and making pretty good money. I was able to supplement some money left to me by my grandmother and buy my first car, a Plymouth Duster. It was orange. It was the last leftover on the lot from the previous model year and a really good deal. Did I mention it was orange? I took it and learned to like the color.

Tip #4: Sometimes it makes sense to just take the best deal.

Despite my tutoring success, and because of my express plan, all I had was the summer after graduation to earn enough money to get my master’s degree in sociology. I would get in and out in a year and would somehow then be qualified for a job that would be fulfilling. It was a good plan except that I couldn’t quite make enough money being a saleswoman at a retail store to pay rent and tuition. Enter the bookmobile.

The local paper carried an ad looking for a bookmobile driver for our library. The pay was three times what I’d earn working the register and straightening out clothes on the racks. When I called the number listed to inquire, the man on the other end began to laugh. He said he didn’t think it would work out for me to drive the bookmobile but he’d like to meet me.

After a short interview, the library director said that if I could go to the garage (about two miles away) and bring back the bookmobile safely, I could have the job. He seemed amused but willing to give me a chance. I didn’t get the joke until I saw the bookmobile for the first time. It was as long as a school bus, but wider. When I got to the garage and pulled up the door, I froze: clearly, I hadn’t thought this through. But I wanted—no, I needed—this job. I climbed in to see what I could do.

At five feet tall, reaching the pedals was a problem. I moved the seat all the way up and sat on the edge. I was determined to drive that thing. After a few prayers and with my heart pounding, I found reverse on the manual shift (thank goodness my dad had taught me to drive a standard) and I slowly backed up. I will never forget the huge smile on the director’s face as I pulled up in front of the library. I was hired!

I became the first female bookmobile driver he knew of, but without Google at that time, we couldn’t be sure. He arranged to get blocks for the pedals, and that summer was just one more side trip on my winding road to academia.

Tips #5a, b, and c: Take a chance. Be brave. Push yourself to do things that seem impossible.

I liked grad school, but it was more of a means to an end for me. I think there’s a theme here. I immediately signed up to be a tutor and took five courses in apparent violation of some grad student rules, but no one seemed to notice. Life was good.

The university was in an ocean resort community. I lived with two friends from my undergraduate college in a small beach house that was rented to us during the off-season. Much of the student housing was provided in that way. Needless to say, young people living by the ocean in an array of beach houses make for some great times. My memories of that year are mostly of parties and people coming in and out of each other’s houses like a bar crawl.

Tip #6: Have fun along the way!

I enjoyed the people in my classes. It was an interesting group that included a mature mother of four who had left her rather affluent lifestyle after beginning the master’s program and falling in love with a recently married, young associate professor at our school. There was a tall and handsome young man we called “Wild Bill” since he rode a motorcycle and was seeing a woman some 20 years his senior. He was unpredictable and not someone you’d normally picture getting a master’s degree. He was headed for a career in law enforcement, but I have no idea if he made it there.

My roommates were in the program too and we did have that beach house, so we became the hub for social events. One memorable party for the grad students and faculty found us with no working toilet. I’m sure that made a great impression on our guests! We arranged for them to use the facilities of our neighbors and no one really complained. It was fun to be in the same program and share all this with friends from my undergraduate institution. It was a good year.

I wrote every paper that year on some aspect of consumerism and flew through classes at lightning speed. I signed up for my final five classes and announced I’d take my comprehensive exams in the summer. That’s when the faculty began to notice that I had just arrived and was planning my exit. They weren’t happy. I guess graduate school is supposed to be more of an experience than a drive-through, but I was in a hurry to find my place and I couldn’t afford to hang around the graduate lounge. The consumers were waiting to be saved and I needed a real job.

It was in that last semester of grad school when the next twist came. I wrote a paper for a course in collective behavior about how consumers were becoming a force in Detroit, and how Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed was changing how people viewed the car industry. The paper examined collective behavior theory using the consumer movement as an example and how a social movement could become an instrument of organizational change.

I got an A on the paper. The professor suggested I send it to a conference he knew about that was having a session on the sociology of consumption. I did. I also finished my last five classes, took my comps, and began looking for that elusive perfect job.

Tip #7: Take advantage of every suggestion/opportunity along the way. You just never know where they will lead.

I knew that with a master’s degree I could pick up part-time work teaching in higher ed. As soon as I finished, my undergraduate college hired me to teach, as did the graduate university I had attended. I taught five nights a week in five different cities. Fortunately, living in Rhode Island, nothing was ever more than an hour away. During the day, I continued to tutor at the university. I moved with friends to another beach house. There was no “real” job in sight as I prepped and taught class after class and drove around to teach them.

It was during this time that I realized I really enjoyed college teaching and was pretty good at it. I was always excited about getting to class, learning everyone’s name, and creating a great experience. I planned classes that included lectures, experiments, group work, and participation. I wanted them to love being there as much as I did. I taught sociology and psychology classes of all levels and began to realize that if I did this as a career, I’d have benefits, job security, and probably an office. It wasn’t hard to figure out that teaching a full load as a part-timer paid maybe 25% of what a full-time person could earn. It was a no-brainer. Time to hit the reset button again.

My list of professional goals was getting longer. I wanted to feel like I was making a difference, I wanted to have something I felt passionate about, I wanted to be involved in college teaching, and I wanted a “real” job with one employer and maybe even a career in higher ed. This time I did connect the dots, and my next move was obvious: I’d need to go back to school and get a PhD.

My friends and I continued to rent beach houses near the university, moving twice a year as the rental seasons came and went. They were still in the master’s program, working as teaching assistants and taking two years to finish. I needed to continue teaching part-time to support myself and also needed to find a PhD program that met my standard criteria: short and inexpensive. But it also had to be within driving distance, and at that time Rhode Island had no PhD programs in sociology.

I never considered any other field because I had already acquired a master’s degree in sociology, and so it seemed to be the most efficient thing to do. Besides, I always felt like a sociologist. I still do. I love learning about collective behavior, group influences, and societal impact on everyday life. What I now consider my best work as a marketer has its roots in sociology. What I like best about marketing is that there is so much room for interdisciplinary work. I never felt out of place in my newly adopted field and I think I’ve made some contributions along the way.

I would need to go to the University of Connecticut, about an hour-and-a-half away. They accepted all my master’s credits and I needed an additional eight classes, exams, and a dissertation to get my PhD. Of course, I once again calculated that I could do all this in less than two years, on my typical express program.

A letter arrived during this time period letting me know that my paper on consumerism and General Motors had arrived too late to be included for presentation at the sociology conference I had submitted it to, but the session chair wanted to talk to me about the possibility of working on a book with him! Dr Gerald Zaltman was a sociologist who also specialized in consumer issues but was working in the Marketing Department at the University of Pittsburgh where he was head of their PhD program. Little did I know, that letter would be just one more game-changer for me.

After exploring my options with Dr Zaltman during a trip to Pittsburgh, I learned that his school would not accept any more than six of my master’s credits. To work on the consumer behavior book with Dr Zaltman, I’d have to commit to three to four years in Pittsburgh getting a PhD in marketing. I had no idea at the time what an honor and opportunity this was. Dr Zaltman was a legend in marketing and one of the very best consumer behavior experts in the country. But what was all this about being in marketing? None of it seemed to make sense, and I have to say, I did not fall in love with Pittsburgh on that visit.

Tip #8: Research every opportunity and take the time to meet every person who offers to help.

I opted to come home, teach courses at night, and commute to Connecticut for my eight courses and a PhD in sociology. Looking back, this is one of those “what if” situations, but what happened next was the final event that brought the real start of my career in academia. It was just a simple poster at the University of Connecticut that caught my attention as I searched for the location of my first PhD seminar in the Sociology building: Consumer Behavior Instructor Needed, contact Chair, Marketing Department in the School of Business Administration.

Thanks to Dr Zaltman, I came to understand that what I was calling the sociology of consumption was actually a required course in all marketing programs, called Consumer Behavior. Both courses included perception, learning, attitudes, cultural influences, and societal factors that influenced purchase behavior. He had made the leap. It was my turn.

When I met with the Marketing Department chair, I mentioned that I had recently come from a visit with Jerry Zaltman to discuss writing a consumer behavior text with him. That was all it took. I would become the consumer behavior specialist at the University of Connecticut for the next year and a half, teaching three sections a semester.

I had a contract and the title of Instructor. I had arrived. This was my dream job. My PhD classes on the other side of the campus were again a means to an end. I needed that degree to secure a tenure-track position in a marketing department teaching Consumer Behavior! For now, this would pay the bills and help me to understand my new discipline.

With that teaching job, I could cover my expenses and move to Connecticut. I completed my course work while I began my transition from sociology to marketing. I worked on a PhD in sociology while teaching in the Marketing Department on the same campus and never really had an issue with it. I would soon leave my liberal arts roots and join the campus archrival, the dreaded business school, but I was passionate about consumerism and I had fallen in love with college teaching.

Tips #9a, b, and c: Be true to yourself. Do what you feel is right. Believe in your decision.

I loved talking about how consumers approached the marketplace and how students could become more aware in that role. At the same time, I was watching young people learn and grow. It wasn’t really social work, but it was all the things my warped version of that field garnered. I felt like I was helping people and that I was making a difference.

The summer after I was “all but dissertation” (ABD), I went to the American Marketing Association (AMA) meeting in Boston and interviewed for marketing positions as a consumer behavior person. The University of Conn...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• About the Authors
• 1 From the Bookmobile to the Blogosphere
• 2 An Unexpected Calling: From Practitioner to Educator
• 3 You Should Have Been Here Last Week; the Fishing Was Great
• 4 Musings of a Corporate Retread
• 5 Teaching as Vocation: Reflections and Advice
• 6 How to Revive the College Experience
• 7 How to Succeed in a Higher Ed Career (Disclaimer: No Guarantees!)
• 8 Getting into Oz: How I Was Able to Peek behind the Curtain
• 9 What Have We Learned?
• Index