Three people have been selected as potential candidates to fill the Outreach Dean position.
The candidates include Susan Frye, an English professor and director of the MA English program, Brent Pickett, associate dean of the Outreach School, and Anne Alexander, director of UW International Programs.
The candidates were selected by the University of Wyoming’s Office of Academic Affairs, a committee headed by the Dean of Education, Kay Persichitte.
The candidates participated in a public forum this week, which acted as their public interview.
“The idea behind this is to have a forum where people from around the university, as well as from around the state, can talk to the candidates for this outreach school position,” Alexander said.
Each candidate gave the public an idea of what their vision would be for the future of outreach education at the university.
Frye has a particular interest in distance education as she has taught courses in the program and has also developed a Master of Arts program in English for the Outreach School.
As an American Council on Education Fellow in the English Department, Frye recently spent a year at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. During her stay, she studied and shadowed members of its administration.
“While I’ve been there, I’ve studied a number of administrative issues, among them change management, budgeting, fundraising. And also internationalization, which was one of the reasons I wanted to go in the first place to Claremont is because they’re renowned for their internationalization and globalization efforts,” Frye said.
With her experience in distance teaching and the knowledge she has gained by traveling to different institutions, Frye feels as though she would be fully prepared to take on the position of the Dean of Outreach.
“Wouldn’t you know that Dean Maggi Murdock, whom I so much admire, is stepping down from this deanship just when I feel like I’ve learned the most I possibly could about distance education nationwide,” Frye said.
During her travels and studies, Frye became particularly interested in the use of “MOOCs” as a learning tool for outreach use at UW. MOOCs are massive open online courses, which open up education to a broader audience and are taught by university professors.
“Anybody like me who wants to see as many people have as much access to education as possible, then this is perfect,” Frye said.
Alexander spoke yesterday at her forum titled “Meeteetse to Munich: Providing Education Without Borders for Wyoming.”
Those attending the forums received evaluation forms where they were asked about the candidate’s strengths and biggest challenges as well as whether they thought the candidate was acceptable for the position.
These forms, which will be handed in to Persichitte, will help the Outreach Dean Search Committee determine which candidate is best suited to be next year’s dean of outreach.
Pickett has had eight years of experience as Assistant Dean of Outreach. If chosen for the position, he plans to act on his vision of moving the Outreach School.
“There are two things at the heart of it. The first involves the full inclusion of the International Programs Office within the OS, advancing not only IPO’s mission, and international education more broadly, but also the pursuit of the opportunities this merger creates,” Pickett said. “The second is maximizing the benefits of the new revenue sharing structure the OS has with its academic partners.”
Alexander’s vision consists of working with new models to expand and improve distance education.
“I believe that the keys to successfully navigating the transitions ahead are flexibility, openness to innovation and the recognition that experimenting with new models and ways of thinking can lead to failure that may pave the road to success,” Alexander wrote in her application.
If selected, Alexander plans to provide the staff, administrators and faculty with the flexibility, support and resources they need to deliver Outreach programs to UW students.
“The idea of exploring new support and delivery modes in outreach and international education, continuing to provide the services that work, and helping to steer the new, expanded Outreach School is extremely exciting to me,” Alexander said.
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