Future for the Bailey Scholars Program
Our Senior Director, Glenn Sterner, was charged to develop a vision for the future of the Bailey Scholars Program. The result is this Strategic Framework. Please review this to understand the future goals for the Bailey Scholars Program:
Potential and Promise: Our Work Together in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program
A Strategic Framework
Prologue
As I prepared to write this strategic framework for the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program, I reminded myself of the work we do together. Together is a powerful word. This one word is reminiscent of the work performed to create a program unlike any other; it incites visions of faculty, staff, and students sitting around a table engrossed in scholarly discussion and dialogue and sharing in a meal as peers; it indicates a mindset of inclusion; and yet it embraces individuality to ensure a whole. Together we are stronger than separate. Together we create our future, but in so doing embrace our difference. The Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program reinforces togetherness. Here, each of us creates a vision for our future, individually and collectively. We have the privilege to act and also the privilege to listen. This privilege begets responsibility. As a program, we have the ability to work together for our future, but the responsibility to ensure our work provides opportunity for others.
This document is a representation of the work, dedication, creativity, dialogue, and discourse of a multitude of individuals. After focus groups with faculty, students, and alumni, phone conversations with alumni, feedback from email surveys, reading through historical documents, and reviewing multiple program assessments, this strategic framework for the Bailey Scholars Program emerged. The process of researching to inform the production of this document is just as important as the document itself.
This document will outline a vision for the future of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program, recognizing our potential and promise. The first part will explain our current status as a program; it will give the context in which we currently exist. In the second part, the vision for the program will be discussed and our strategic framework will be outlined, discussing the hopes for the future of the program. This vision builds on the work of the program, and is to add to the work we perform together.
Part I: Our Current Status
The Bailey Scholars Program is a laboratory for innovation in higher education. This prominent statute of our program provided the opportunity for the program to morph and change over the previous nine years. Before we look toward our future, it is important we understand the current status of the program and the current status of Michigan State University.
Bailey’s Current Structure
Over the past several years, the Bailey Scholars Program has continued to provide an opportunity for the community to decide its structural and cultural make up. Together, we have grown, changed, evolved. This will outline our current structure.
The Bailey Declaration
This is the founding statement of intent for the program. This declaration has remained and will continue to serve as the grounding point for the work we perform in the program. It states: “The Bailey Scholars Program seeks to be a community of scholars dedicated to lifelong learning. All members of the community work toward providing a respectful, trusting environment where we acknowledge our interdependence and encourage personal growth.”
The Bailey 5 Questions
Whereas the declaration focuses on the work we perform in community, the Bailey 5 Questions aim at centering the work of the individual in the community. These questions provide an opportunity for an individual to critically and intentionally examine their personal perspective and chart their future direction. These five questions are:
¨ Who am I?
¨ What do I value?
¨ What is my worldview?
¨ How do I learn?
¨ How do these connect?
The Bailey Scholars Principles
Each program and culture holds true to certain guiding principles, whether they are implicit or explicit. These principles for the Bailey Scholars Program came about through a community dialogue at a community retreat in the Fall of 2005. Thereafter, a committee of dedicated community members refined them, and the community adopted these as explicit representations of our implicit principles we have operated on for many years. These principles are:
Space
We seek to create and nurture space-physical, emotional, mental, and time-for diverse people and ideas, creativity, and for joyful and stretch learning. We strive to leave and respect space for individual and collective emergence to promote possibilities, discovery, engagement, and whole-person development.
Community
We expect, embrace, and create spaces for the change that is integral to our community. Bailey is an organic, evolving, and inclusive community. Bailey community members contribute their various strengths to support, nurture, and benefit each other and the community.
Respect and Appreciate
We show the respect and appreciation we hold for others and ourselves that arise from our desire for understanding, our interest in, and our compassion for all learners, learning journeys, and learning spaces we share.
Learning
We acknowledge that we can learn from others. Learning in Bailey is self-directed, co-created, scholarly, self-paced, peer-driven, and internally motivated through individual and collective experiences. We appreciate and practice multiple ways of learning, knowing, and expression, and embrace others’ gifts, worldviews, knowledge, experience, and wisdom.
Scholarship
We advocate for the serious, open, and regular exercise of scholarship. Participating in Bailey is both a privilege and an opportunity that requires individual and collective responsibility to uphold scholarship in all the dimensions outlined in these principles.
Co-Creativity and Collaboration
We co-create our learning with, through, and from one another through dialogue and reflection. Simultaneously, we respect each individual’s freedom of voice, choice, and expression in our collaborative approach to learning.
Transparency
We foster and practice openness in our dialogue, decision-making and shared spaces. We believe that learning, wise choices, and rich creativity emerge through dialogue, clear communication, openness, and inclusiveness. We accept and embrace the challenges, vulnerability, surprises, and joys that come with transparency.
Peer-Leadership
We believe each community member has the responsibility and opportunity to participate in peer-leadership by engaging in the process of shared decision-making in class, in the community, and at the Bailey Community Council (BCC).
Mindfulness
We strive to be considerate and mindful of these principles. At the same time, we seek to remain present, respectful, open-minded, and forgiving as we learn and practice these principles.
Peer Leadership
A program serving as an innovation in higher education, the Bailey Scholars Program seeks to practice paradigms on the cusp of advancement. In an effort to further the work of the program and empower the members of the community, the program became peer-led in the Fall of 2005. This concept of peer leadership allows the entire community to develop the direction of the program. Each member of the community holds the opportunity and responsibility for the governance of the program. Through this opportunity, all members hold ownership of the program, rather than the staff of the program.
Current Administrative Structure
The Bailey Scholars Program moved, administratively, to the Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (CARRS) Department as of July 1, 2005. The program remains a College of Agriculture and Natural Resources funded endeavor, but the CARRS department serves as our department of administration. The following is the letter of intent for the administrative move:
This memorandum delineates the proposed administrative affiliation to be entered into between the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program and the CARRS Department.
The Bailey Scholars Program, currently existing as an independent program administratively affiliated with the Deans Office of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will become administratively affiliated with the CARRS Department.
The Bailey Scholars Program will retain its independent budget.
The Bailey Scholars Program will not receive annual budget reductions that are greater than the budget reductions sustained by the CARRS department as a whole in any fiscal year in perpetuity.
The Bailey Scholars Program will independently choose its administrative staff and faculty conveners.
The Bailey Director or his/her designee will report to the Director of CARRS on behalf of the Bailey community of scholars.
The Bailey Scholars Program will retain its undergraduate specialization in connected learning as a program offered by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to undergraduate students across the university, and will be solely responsible for determining any future changes to its specialization, its curriculum and structure.
The Bailey Scholars Program will continue to involve both faculty and students from across the college and beyond in its program, and particularly in its courses.
The Bailey Scholars Program will be independently responsible to balance its budget without creating debt for the CARRS department.
The Bailey Scholars Program and CARRS will seek to build collaborative relationships with one another for the common good.
Bailey and CARRS may elect to share administrative or academic staff or services by common agreement, with cost sharing and responsibilities to be negotiated.
Bailey scholars and CARRS department members may elect to serve on one another’s boards, committees, or task forces, if invited, to engage in collaborative work, share ideas, or support one another’s scholarly endeavors.
CARRS department faculty and students will continue to be invited to be involved in the Bailey Scholars Program and participate in its activities, including convening Bailey courses (faculty with an ongoing involvement in Bailey), and attending Bailey learning events, such as Wednesday lunches, the Summer Colloquy on Teaching and Learning, or circles of engagement.
The administrative affiliation will begin on July 1, 2005, for a trial period of not less than one year, and will continue by mutual agreement until either party expresses in writing its intention to terminate the relationship, with three months notice.
The Bailey Community Council
The Bailey Community Council (BCC) serves as the governing board for the Bailey Scholars Program. It serves as the forum for our peer led program to bring forth discussion items, initiate change, and chart a course for the leadership of the program. The Senior Director and the Student Director reports to the BCC. The following are the articles of establishment for the BCC:
BAILEY COMMUNITY COUNCIL (BCC)
(established April 2004)
Purpose: BCC is a space for conversation and deliberation about issues in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program. It is a reflection of Bailey's organizational design, which includes shared decision making, a networked form of leadership, and open discussion of issues. As a governance body, BCC enables populist voice and connects the Bailey membership with those responsible for administering the program.
Characterization: The BCC is a space for deliberative democracy, that is, for rendering keen insights and judgements on issues of importance to members of the Bailey community. To perform these functions, BCC members will look at issues from multiple perspectives; operate in an open, transparent way; engage respectfully; and honor diverse voices. Among its most important functions is deciding how to engage others in conversations about issues facing the Bailey community.
Membership: BCC participation is voluntary. At least one representative of the various core courses--ANR 210, 310, 410--will be encouraged to participate each semester (when offered). BCC representation will be also sought from each of the following constituencies: Bailey undergraduate students (member(s) at large), Bailey staff, Bailey faculty, Bailey graduate students, the "community" (Lansing area and beyond), Bailey ad hoc groups, Bailey alums, and Bailey parents. Different and multiple people can represent the same constituency group at the same time (on a rotational basis or otherwise).
Meeting Frequency and Agenda: BCC will meet bi-weekly. Any person, group, or entity can bring an issue to the BCC for deliberation. The BCC will also identify agenda items over which it will deliberate. Meeting times and agendas will be announced in advance and meeting minutes will be posted publicly. Sessions will be open to all in Bailey.
Organization: BCC will operate with a sense of responsibility to the broader Bailey community. Members will organize deliberately and operate systematically, responsibly completing tasks and fulfilling roles. Major organizing tasks include fixing terms of office for each member (semester-length appointments is a suggested minimum), agreeing on term limits (serving for no more than an academic year at a time is suggested), assuring continuity in membership over time (managing the flow of incoming and outgoing members), deciding how major tasks will be accomplished (and by whom, including preparing and posting meeting agendas and summarizing and sharing meeting minutes), and selecting a leadership model for governing itself (shared leadership with a chairperson or convener is recommended).
Engagement Options: Dialogue at meetings; virtual dialogue in the Bailey community; special meetings and forums to discuss matters of interest; memos and other materials designed to state a position or stimulate dialogue; meetings with administrators and others about issues facing Bailey; referenda in Bailey about issues facing Bailey; and any other option that BCC believes fits (appropriately and respectfully) the nature of issues being addressed.
Accountability: BCC will function with integrity and complete its fiduciary responsibilities with distinction. There will be periodic performance assessments so that members of the community will have an opportunity to comment on BCC's performance record.
Program Membership
Beginning in the fall semester of 2005, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program officially opened its membership to include all university undergraduates. Previously, only those undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources were allowed membership in the program as an option for an academic specialization in Connected Learning. As students moved through their academic course of study, at times they would move to a major outside of the college. At this time, they would have to relinquish membership in the program. Other times, interested students from other colleges would inquire about the program, but were unable to join. In order to remain a space dedicated to inclusiveness and multiple perspectives, we became a university-wide specialization for undergraduates at Michigan State University.
Organizational Structure
As previously mentioned, the Bailey Scholars Program is administratively located in the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (CARRS) in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. Scott Witter, the current Chair of the CARRS department holds fiduciary responsibility for the program. However, we are a stand-alone program in the department, and responsible for our own governance, administration, and leadership.
Previously, the administrative staff of the program consisted of a Director and an Academic Learning Coordinator. In the reorganization process completed by January of 2006, the Bailey Community Council combined the roles of Director and Academic Learning Coordinator into one position, the Senior Director. This Senior Director reports to the Bailey Community Council and also to Scott Witter, Department Chair of the CARRS Department. The Senior Director is responsible for the management of the program, whereas the Bailey Community Council continues to serve as the forum for peer leadership of the program.
Along with the formation of the Senior Director position, the BCC created a Student Director position. This position aims to provide a student the opportunity to gain practical leadership and management training. The Student Director assumes the same decision-making power as the Senior Director, and is not supervised by the Senior Director, but together the two partner to ensure the management of the program is carried out successfully. The Student Director also reports to the BCC. The responsibilities of the Student Director are derived from the learning interests of the student as set out in their Learning Vision Statement.
The program Secretary reports to the Senior Director. This Secretary supervises two student workers, one for technology-based issues and the other for office assistance.
Each course in the Bailey Scholars Program has faculty and graduate fellow conveners. These courses are supervised by the conveners assigned to each course. The conveners report to the Senior Director.
Faculty and staff members from across the institution are encouraged to participate in the Bailey Scholars Program. These members serve in multiple roles from conveners to performing research to other items associated with the program. These faculty members report to the Senior Director.
Graduate Fellows are an integral piece to the Bailey Scholars Program. These individuals are provided the opportunity to gain skills in an innovative place in higher education during their graduate course of study. They gain skills through serving the program in a number of capacities according to their learning interests and career goals. These graduate fellows report to the Senior Director.
Opportunities arise for undergraduates in the Bailey Scholars Program to serve the program in paid opportunities. These range from student conveners, recruitment work, to other special projects as needed by the community. These students report to the Senior Director.
The Current Status of Michigan State University
It is the year 2006, and Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon serves as the President of Michigan State University. Throughout the past three to four years, higher education has seen numerous budget cuts, and the populous is requiring more accountability in spending in higher education as our state and national economies face turbulent times. Accordingly, institutions of higher education are requiring programs to become more fiscally responsible and show greater outcome accountability.
In an effort to move forward with her vision for the institution, President Simon has released a new strategic positioning known as “Boldness by Design.” In her plan, President Simon sets out a new imperative for Michigan State University to be the premier world-grant institution. The central tenets to this plan include:
“Enhance the student experience—by continually improving the quality of academic programs and the value of an MSU degree for undergraduate and graduate students
Enrich community, economic, and family life—through research, outreach, engagement, entrepreneurship, innovation, and diversity
Expand international reach—through academic, research, and economic development initiatives and global, national, and local strategic alliances
Increase research opportunities—by significantly expanding research funding and involvement of graduate and undergraduate students in research and scholarship
Strengthen stewardship—by appreciating and nurturing the university's financial assets, campus infrastructure, and people for optimal effectiveness today and tomorrow”
Michigan State University must embrace these charges to move forward with the plan President Simon has set out for the program, and so too must the Bailey Scholars Program.
Part II: A Vision for Our Future
As I began my role of Senior Director for the Bailey Scholars Program, I was charged with outlining a vision for the future of the program. My first thought was the community must own our vision for the future. Together we design and together we implement our work in community. For this reason, I turned to our community for feedback via phone conversations, focus groups, and email surveys. I also collected and read historical documents and articles about and associated with the program. In this process, I also reviewed any and all assessments of the program. This process is important. It emphasizes that we are each important in the work of the organization, and each hold a piece of the organization in our hands. Each member of the community has the power to determine the future of the organization, and this vision for the future merely represents the individual responses to what people view as our potential and promise for the future.
The Bailey Scholars Program began as an innovative place in higher education, a laboratory, free to explore and espouse paradigms, theories and thoughts for change in higher education. Bailey continues to be this place here at Michigan State University. The program was also intentionally situated to share the knowledge we gain from our work together. The Bailey Scholars Program has already begun to impact higher education and its important work in our society. We hold the potential to continue to impact higher education by informing others of the innovative work we perform here and to form partners not only here at MSU, but across the nation and world. In my research to formulate the basis for this vision, I asked what would make “Bailey excellent.” It is my promise to work with this program to ensure Bailey is situated to continue its dedication to excellence, to learn and grow from new and innovative paradigms, and promote change across the field of higher education. This vision is a compilation of our thoughts about the future of Bailey; how each of us will continue to make Bailey excellent.
As I look toward the future, I am excited by what I see. Through the eyes of the community, we each plan for the Bailey Scholars Program to perform very important roles, here at MSU and across the nation. In the next 3 – 5 years, this will be the picture of the Bailey Scholars Program: The community will be comprised of 75 – 100 undergraduate students, 5 – 10 graduate students, and 15 – 25 faculty members, all working to formulate their learning interests as well as supporting the learning of one another through community. The undergraduate students will be a representation of all colleges here at MSU with diverse learning interests, opinions, ideas, areas of study, racial/ethnic background, genders, sexual orientations, and future plans. They will be performing research with our graduate students and faculty members. Our graduate students will be those interested in being the new generation of faculty members interested in engaging their students; the Bailey Scholars Program will train our next generation of teachers and scholars through our intentional graduate fellow program. These graduate students will be on assistantships and on fellowships convening courses, engaging the community, performing projects according to their learning interests and professional goals. They will have the opportunity to work with our faculty, which will be comprised of tenured and tenure stream faculty members and staff members from across MSU and may even encompass those from other institutions on sabbatical. These faculty members will represent multiple disciplines and areas of scholarship. Here, they will be introduced to innovative, learner-centered paradigms they may utilize in their own practice and home departments. They will have the opportunity to implement ideas and interests in a working, higher education laboratory and research the impact of their work. There will be a number of different professional development areas each individual may gain from, and when their learning goals are met, they will return to their home departments to add to the scholarly community and educate their peers and colleagues. The faculty and graduate students will be a constant flow of individuals, some remaining for only a year, and some for three or more years, but others will always be encouraged to engage in the scholarship, research, and community of the Bailey Scholars Program.
Institutionally we will be known as a center of innovation, an excellent community of learning, a center for personal and professional growth, a space that supports undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in their learning and personal development, and a place that aids departments, programs, colleges, and the university in achieving their goals through partnerships. Nationally, we will be regarded as a program that forges inter-institution collaboration, a place of scholarship and ground-breaking research, a center of innovation for the entire nation, a community that learns from and educates others, an exciting place of possibility, and a program of excellence. The Bailey Scholars Program will be engaging the MSU Community, the Greater MSU Area, the Nation, and the World.
This section is in seven parts that will provide a strategic framework to achieve this vision of the future. In each section, goals and objectives are set out so we may begin to benchmark our progress and measure our success. These sections intentionally do not have all means set out to reach the ends; it is my intent to formulate our agenda together around this central vision. I look forward to our work together.
Program Recruitment, Engagement, & Outreach
It is imperative we focus our attention on recruitment, both in undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff members for the Bailey Scholars Program. Currently we have 30 undergraduate students, 3 graduate students, and 15 faculty/staff members associated with the program.
The personal nature of the program does not lend itself to become larger than 100 students, because at that level much of the interpersonal connections and community oriented items would be lost, which many of our students credit to be the largest attractor to the program. In the next 3 years, it is our goal to increase our undergraduate student population to 75 – 100 students. It is our goal to increase the size of the program, and recruit students in the area of 25 students per year. This will cover the loss of student populations due to graduation rates. This will increase the viability of the program and the courses offered each semester. Beyond simple numbers, it is important we also encourage a diverse range of students to participate in the Bailey Scholars Program. As we are open to the entire university, it is important we have representation from each college at MSU. It is also important to encompass a wide variety of majors, perspectives, genders, racial/ethnic makeup, sexual orientations, international students, geographical locations, and cultures. Diverse perspectives encourage growth in our student population, and are a needed focus in our recruitment efforts.
Unlike undergraduates, graduate fellows do not receive credit for their involvement in the program. Instead, they receive professional development through their interaction with the program. Our Graduate Fellows need a more intentional process. As we look to introduce more graduate students into the program, we must refine the process by which we encourage personal and professional growth in our graduate students. As graduate students enter the program, they will perform a process called envisioning. They will discuss their learning goals with the Senior Director, and together the Senior Director and the graduate student will formulate an experience to meet the needs of the graduate student and also the needs of the program. The Graduate Fellow will present this envisionment to the community in a process that fits the graduate fellow’s preferences. All graduate fellows and the Senior Director will meet on a regular basis to discuss their learning as a group of graduate students, and chart their progress in their envisionment and in their respective projects. It is the goal of the program to encourage 4-5 graduate students per semester to be involved in the program, and to rotate new students into this process in an effort to reach a number of different students. In the future, it is a hope that we will gain the opportunity to offer multiple graduate assistantships so graduate students may become students of higher education engagement. The Bailey Scholars Program will be educating the next generation of teachers and scholars for higher education.
The Bailey Scholars Program serves as a place of professional and personal development for faculty and staff members. It is to the benefit of the program, to MSU, and higher education to have a wide variety of faculty and staff members introduced to the paradigms associated with the program, so they may return to their home departments with new skills sets and facilitate the growth of their colleagues and students in multiple ways. It is the goal of the program to be a center for faculty and staff development and growth in an effort to positively influence undergraduate education here at Michigan State University and beyond. Faculty and staff members may contribute to the work of the program for an academic year, a semester, or possibly more. However, we would encourage a greater flow of individuals in and out of the program to promote a wider influence across the institution. More experienced faculty members would mentor the newly involved individuals to support their growth and development. This would greater facilitate a process by which faculty could reach individual learning interests. The faculty members would formulate an envisionment for their involvement in the program, and present it accordingly. From these envisionments, the program would facilitate faculty development by connecting faculty with like-minded people to carry out their personal goals for their professional and personal development. It will be a goal of the program to recruit 2 – 4 new faculty members per semester, offering pay incentives, professional development dollars, and other options to support their work and levy their time with their department chairs and supervisors. It will also be a goal of the program to provide seminars, talks, trainings, and other professional development events for the faculty, staff and others associated with the program.
Beyond simply recruiting new individuals to the program, it is important those individuals associated with the program are representing the Bailey Scholars in an appropriate manner. By encouraging students, graduate students, and faculty/staff to promote the paradigms of the program, and encourage them to speak as representatives and advocates of the program in a positive manner indicating the nature of the work we perform together. We face a tarred reputation in recent years by individuals who regard the work in the program as less than scholarly or even not worthy in the realm of higher education. To call the Bailey Scholars Program value added would not do it justice, instead we need to indicate to others that we are a program serving as a unique opportunity to broaden the scope of the scholarly and excellent work of our students, graduate students, and faculty/staff. We provide the opportunity to make the impossible possible, and we need to communicate this in a way that indicates the importance of our work. This will be through our partners, scholarship, and other opportunities outlined further in this document.
The program must also provide a number of opportunities for students, graduate students, and faculty members to engage with one another through community. Community development must be a focus in the upcoming years. Promoting scholarly opportunities, co-curricular events, and extra-curricular events will allow individuals to become familiar with each other on a number of levels. Many individuals cite the friendly, community and personal orientation of the program as the reason why they have remained at Michigan State University. It is the goal of the program to foster this culture, and encourage participation in community events and committees by all members of the community. It is also the goal of the program to remain open to others that are not affiliated with the program an opportunity to engage with the community in all events.
Research and Scholarship
As mentioned before, the Bailey Scholars Program began as a place of innovation in higher education, and to communicate what we have learned through our work. It is of absolute importance we do not simply perform innovative work as a program, but to research and study the outcomes of this work so we may better inform the practice of ourselves and others in higher education. Thus, it will be a focus for the program to begin studying the outcomes we produce in our students. It will be the goal of the program to produce 1 – 3 articles per year for peer reviewed journals and other outlets on the work of the program and research performed as part of the program. This research will be through faculty/staff, graduate students, and undergraduates. We will continue to provide undergraduates the opportunities to become published scholars, and strongly emphasize this in our faculty/staff and graduate fellows as part of participation in the program.
Beyond research, it is necessary to document our work in the Bailey Scholars Program. Here, we perform learning in multiple ways. It is the goal of the program to be able to document our learning outcomes, both explicit and implicit, in the work we perform in courses, community activities, and co-curricular activities. Assessments of our ability to meet learning outcomes will be carried out on a regular basis, as prescribed by our Curriculum Connections Team. As a program, it is imperative we exhibit our assessments and make changes accordingly to meet the needs of our students, graduate fellows, faculty and staff. In the future, an endowed Professor of Learning will be pursued. This faculty or tenure-stream faculty member will be solely dedicated to the Bailey Scholars Program, and center its research and scholarly efforts.
Partnerships
Partnerships create advocates for the Bailey Scholars Program. By formulating partnerships inside our institution, we are better able to address our recruitment and public outreach needs. It is also necessary to formulate partnerships so that the Bailey Community may better serve the needs of the institution. It is the goal of the program to strengthen current partnerships, and meet with new departments and programs to formulate new partnerships. In these new partnerships, we are better able to facilitate staff, faculty, and student trainings for their programs, and so we may gain outside perspectives into the work we perform in our own program through work with development, grants, community programs, research, and assessment. We must also place a high dedication to diverse learning interests, research, disciplines, thought processes, worldviews, racial/ethnic backgrounds, geographical backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations.
Currently we are administratively located in the Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies Department (CARRS) in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. Whereas, we are open for involvement to all individuals in the institution, it is important we promote and collaborate with the CARRS department. We must find ways to intentionally partner with our colleagues and peers in the CARRS department and support its mission and goals. It is the goal of the program to create a stronger relationship with the members of the CARRS department.
It is not enough to simply look within Michigan State University for partnerships. There are a number of various programs at New York University, the University of Vermont, Evergreen State College, and Reid College that also aim to perform innovative work in the realm of learning communities and to transform the work we perform in higher education. It is time the Bailey Scholars Program reach out to like-minded programs across our nation and internationally. It is the goal of the program to establish and fund through grant writing and other development opportunities a national coalition for innovative practices in higher education here at Michigan State University in the next five years. Through our national partners, we will be able to serve as a national laboratory of innovation, rather than only an institutional program of innovation. The Bailey Scholars Program is a unique place, and it is time we take our place nationally to emphasize the powerful work we perform together.
It is also important to increase our local, national, and international community partnerships beyond higher education. Due to the nature of the Bailey Scholars Program, we have the opportunity to serve. At a land grant institution, we have the responsibility to work with our communities to reach out, educate, and also learn from the individuals and organizations that comprise our greater community. It will be necessary to strengthen and create local partnerships with local organizations. We must create partnerships with national organizations beyond higher education that we could serve to educate and learn from. We must also focus our work internationally, and continue to partner with those in other countries. Currently we have a study abroad in County Mayo, Ireland. We are establishing another program in County Monaghan, Ireland. With the growth and innovation in China, it is the goal of the program to establish connections with this country to encourage our own development as a program and to encourage the development of this area of the world in the form of a study abroad program. As Michigan State University continues to partner with China through our satellite campus and other endeavors, so too will the Bailey Scholars Program.
Development and Grant Opportunities
As we move into a place in our nation’s history where we find funding coming less and less from the state and national level, it is necessary to seek opportunities of alternate funding. The Bailey Scholars Program currently has a general account for donations and two endowments. It is the goal of the Bailey Scholars Program to double our endowments in the next three years, and increase giving to our general account t8hreefold. We will increase fundraising events to include an event in the spring semester and also during the summer months to raise funds but to also raise awareness of the program. We will look toward corporate and individual donors, specifically looking toward undergraduate student, graduate student and faculty/staff alumni of the program.
Grant opportunities will also be strongly sought and emphasized in the future. Grant writing will be a focus to increase the number of new and innovative initiatives associated with the program. These programs will be strongly encouraged to include both faculty/staff and students of the program. It will be the goal of the program to produce 1 – 3 requests for grant funding per year.
There must be a focus to fund scholarship in the program in a number of ways. The first will be to pursue multiple reoccurring graduate assistantships. These assistantships will allow graduate students to focus their work solely in the Bailey Scholars Program to perform research, community engagement, and convene courses. It will also be a goal of the program to fund an endowed Professor of Learning. This will be a single, tenure or tenure-stream faculty member to center the efforts of research and scholarship of the program.
Communicating our Impact
As a Bailey Scholar, many of us know the impact the program has its members. This is not an explicit piece to others outside of the program. It is important we communicate the impact the program has on its undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff. Regular tracking of Bailey Scholars students’ statistics will be performed to understand the program make up, and to provide data for assessment of outcomes of our students. Regular assessment and study of learning outcomes, attitudes, and behaviors of members of the community will be performed to indicate how the environment influences the members of the Bailey Scholars Program. It is the goal of the program to perform a faculty study in the next year to indicate the outcomes produced in faculty/staff interaction with the program. It is also the goal of the program to produce a report of the previous year’s alumni study to indicate impact on undergraduate alumni of the program in the next six months. In the next year and a half, it is the goal of the program to begin a comprehensive, longitudinal study on the impact of undergraduate and graduate students in the program.
Recognizing our Scholars and Program Accomplishments
The undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff of our program are excellent individuals who are high achieving. The Bailey Scholars Program reinforces excellence. It is the goal of the program to highlight the achievements of the program, the programs’ participants, research in and on the program, and other highlights associated with the program on a regular basis. It is also the goal of the program to nominate individuals and the program for awards and recognitions on a more regular and widespread basis for those who perpetuate excellence.
As previously mentioned, we have two endowments associated with the program. The first is the Frank and Kathy Fear Student Experiences Endowment. This endowment is to support students and allow them opportunities to explore items of their interest. It is the goal of the program to formulate a scholarship with Frank and Kathy Fear, in their name, to support the work of our students in the upcoming 6 months. Our second endowment is the George and Agnus Greenleaf Endowment. The focus of this endowment is to support international travel of student scholars. It is the goal of the program to establish a scholarship with George and Agnus Greenleaf, in their name, to support the work of our students in the upcoming 6 months.
It is also important to recognize the outstanding work of the Bailey Scholars Program’s students and faculty associated with the program. It is the goal of the program to establish a distinguished faculty award and an outstanding student award in the upcoming year. These awards will recognize individuals who go above and beyond their call as Bailey Scholars. These awards will be presented yearly at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Honors Banquet.
Alumni Relations
During the alumni study performed over the past year, it became evident that alumni are highly interested in participating in the program. It is extremely important we continue to serve the needs of our alumni and encourage and facilitate their involvement with the program. It is the goal of the program to provide alumni opportunities to interact with the program through special events, invitations to host seminars and other events, communicating program happenings through letters and other communications, and by the opportunity to donate to the program. It is also a goal of the program to encourage faculty and graduate student “alumni” of the program to return and join the community for community events and celebrations to recognize the important work they have performed over the evolution of the program.
A Summary of Program Goals
This section outlines the seven parts to the strategic framework & the goals underlined in each. It serves as a summary of the previous section.
Program Recruitment, Engagement and Outreach
¨ In the next 3 years, it is our goal to increase our undergraduate student population to 75 – 100 students.
¨ It is our goal to increase the size of the program, and recruit students in the area of 25 students per year.
¨ It is also important to encompass a wide variety of majors, perspectives, genders, racial/ethnic makeup, sexual orientations, international students, geographical locations, and cultures.
¨ As we look to introduce more graduate students into the program, we must refine the process by which we encourage personal and professional growth in our graduate students. It is the goal of the program to encourage 4-5 graduate students per semester to be involved in the program, and to rotate new students into this process in an effort to reach a number of different students. In the future, it is a hope that we will gain the opportunity to offer multiple graduate assistantships so graduate students may become students of higher education engagement. The Bailey Scholars Program will be educating the next generation of teachers and scholars for higher education.
¨ It is the goal of the program to be a center for faculty and staff development and growth in an effort to positively influence undergraduate education here at Michigan State University and beyond. Faculty and staff members may contribute to the work of the program for an academic year, a semester, or possibly more. It will be a goal of the program to recruit 2 – 4 new faculty members per semester, offering pay incentives, professional development dollars, and other options to support their work and levy their time with their department chairs and supervisors. It will also be a goal of the program to provide seminars, talks, trainings, and other professional development events for the faculty, staff and others associated with the program.
¨ We provide the opportunity to make the impossible possible, and we need to communicate this in a way that indicates the importance of our work.
¨ It is the goal of the program to foster this culture, and encourage participation in community events and committees by all members of the community. It is also the goal of the program to remain open to others that are not affiliated with the program an opportunity to engage with the community in all events.
This section outlines the seven parts to the strategic framework & the goals underlined in each. It serves as a summary of the previous section.
Program Recruitment, Engagement and Outreach
¨ In the next 3 years, it is our goal to increase our undergraduate student population to 75 – 100 students.
¨ It is our goal to increase the size of the program, and recruit students in the area of 25 students per year.
¨ It is also important to encompass a wide variety of majors, perspectives, genders, racial/ethnic makeup, sexual orientations, international students, geographical locations, and cultures.
¨ As we look to introduce more graduate students into the program, we must refine the process by which we encourage personal and professional growth in our graduate students. It is the goal of the program to encourage 4-5 graduate students per semester to be involved in the program, and to rotate new students into this process in an effort to reach a number of different students. In the future, it is a hope that we will gain the opportunity to offer multiple graduate assistantships so graduate students may become students of higher education engagement. The Bailey Scholars Program will be educating the next generation of teachers and scholars for higher education.
¨ It is the goal of the program to be a center for faculty and staff development and growth in an effort to positively influence undergraduate education here at Michigan State University and beyond. Faculty and staff members may contribute to the work of the program for an academic year, a semester, or possibly more. It will be a goal of the program to recruit 2 – 4 new faculty members per semester, offering pay incentives, professional development dollars, and other options to support their work and levy their time with their department chairs and supervisors. It will also be a goal of the program to provide seminars, talks, trainings, and other professional development events for the faculty, staff and others associated with the program.
¨ We provide the opportunity to make the impossible possible, and we need to communicate this in a way that indicates the importance of our work.
¨ It is the goal of the program to foster this culture, and encourage participation in community events and committees by all members of the community. It is also the goal of the program to remain open to others that are not affiliated with the program an opportunity to engage with the community in all events.
Research and Scholarship
¨ It is of absolute importance we do not simply perform innovative work as a program, but to research and study the outcomes of this work so we may better inform the practice of ourselves and others in higher education.
¨ It will be the goal of the program to produce 1 – 3 articles per year for peer reviewed journals and other outlets on the work of the program and research performed as part of the program.
¨ It is the goal of the program to be able to document our learning outcomes, both explicit and implicit, in the work we perform in courses, community activities, and co-curricular activities.
¨ In the future, an endowed Professor of Learning will be pursued.
Partnerships
¨ It is the goal of the program to strengthen current partnerships, and meet with new departments and programs to formulate new partnerships.
¨ It is the goal of the program to create a stronger relationship with the members of the CARRS department.
¨ It is the goal of the program to establish and fund through grant writing and other development opportunities a national coalition for innovative practices in higher education here at Michigan State University in the next five years. Through our national partners, we will be able to serve as a national laboratory of innovation, rather than only an institutional program of innovation.
¨ It will be necessary to strengthen and create local partnerships with local organizations.
¨ With the growth and innovation in China, it is the goal of the program to establish connections with this country to encourage our own development as a program and to encourage the development of this area of the world in the form of a study abroad program.
Development and Grant Opportunities
¨ It is the goal of the Bailey Scholars Program to double our endowments in the next three years, and increase giving to our general account threefold.
¨ It will be the goal of the program to produce 1 – 3 requests for grant funding per year.
¨ The first will be to pursue multiple reoccurring graduate assistantships.
¨ It will also be a goal of the program to fund an endowed Professor of Learning.
Communicating Our Impact
¨ It is the goal of the program to perform a faculty study in the next year to indicate the outcomes produced in faculty/staff interaction with the program.
¨ It is also the goal of the program to produce a report of the previous year’s alumni study to indicate impact on undergraduate alumni of the program in the next six months.
¨ In the next year and a half, it is the goal of the program to begin a comprehensive, longitudinal study on the impact of undergraduate and graduate students in the program.
Recognizing our Scholars and Program Accomplishments
¨ It is the goal of the program to highlight the achievements of the program, the programs’ participants, research in and on the program, and other highlights associated with the program on a regular basis.
¨ It is also the goal of the program to nominate individuals and the program for awards and recognitions on a more regular and widespread basis for those who perpetuate excellence.
¨ It is the goal of the program to formulate a scholarship with Frank and Kathy Fear, in their name, to support the work of our students in the upcoming 6 months.
¨ It is the goal of the program to establish a scholarship with George and Agnus Greenleaf, in their name, to support the work of our students in the upcoming 6 months.
¨ It is the goal of the program to establish a distinguished faculty award and an outstanding student award in the upcoming year.
Alumni Relations
¨ It is the goal of the program to provide alumni opportunities to interact with the program through special events, invitations to host seminars and other events, communicating program happenings through letters and other communications, and by the opportunity to donate to the program.
¨ It is also a goal of the program to encourage faculty and graduate student “alumni” of the program to return and join the community for community events and celebrations to recognize the important work they have performed over the evolution of the program.
Epilogue
As I think about my role as Senior Director of the Bailey Scholars Program, I am reminded that we have the opportunity to forge new pathways that build on our solid foundations set so many years ago. It is important we never stray from our founding principles, but continue to add to the innovation that is synonymous with The Bailey Scholars Program. The future is ours to build with our potential and promise. It is my privilege to serve as the Senior Director, and I look forward to our work, together.