Empowering Excellence
This past year, I visited Howard University, met with faculty, staff, and students there, and heard from (then) University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. A practicing cancer surgeon during his presidency, Dr. Frederick is a Howard alum, a scholar who started his college studies at age 16 and had graduated medical school by the time he was 22. I came away from his talk encouraged and inspired.
When talking about the mission and purpose of Howard University, President Frederick stated, “At Howard, excellence in not the exception – it is expected.” And he was clear that excellence is expected of everyone: students, faculty, staff, and administrators. But Dr. Frederick also noted that for excellence to thrive, the university had to create the right conditions. I left that discussion thinking about how we, at the UT College of Social Work, might empower excellence.
As we approached the new year, I asked our faculty, staff, and administrators to take time during our retreat to think about how our college might empower excellence. For our students to achieve excellence, they need:
- challenging and innovative coursework that will help them in their professional development;
- connections with outstanding scholars and encouraging mentors;
- vibrant student organizations and extracurricular activities; and
- academic, professional, financial, and practical supports.
To make these possible, faculty and staff need a nurturing and supportive environment that enables the highest quality teaching, cutting-edge research, community engagement, and professional service. College and university policies need to be transparent and consistent—enhancing performance, not hindering it. Financial decisions should support and enable areas of excellence.
As we move forward on our strategic vision (look for our annual scorecard later this semester), we will dedicate our time and resources on empowering excellence at UTCSW. If you have ideas and suggestions about how we might better foster excellence at our college, please feel free to talk with me at the Dean Coffee Connect sessions, which will be scheduled throughout the year, or send me at note at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
I hope you have a wonderful academic year!
