Year: 2015

After serving as Associate and Academic Dean for eight years, Dr. Linda Mills Woolsey has decided the time has come for her to leave the office.

Through her time as Department chair and in the CCCU leadership development program, Mills Woolsey entered her role as Dean with the necessary leadership experience and skills. Yet the office of Dean was not something she was seeking. When encouraged to apply to the CCCU leadership development program, Mills Woolsey said at the time, “I have no intention of being a Dean,” even noting on the application “I don’t feel I have a calling.” She felt a deep calling to teaching, and had teaching positions at Nyack, King, and most recently, Houghton College.

A phone call from President Mullen several years later changed her course. “She wanted to have an Associate Dean who knew the college,” Mills Woolsey remembers. She thought and prayed. “I thought, if I’m needed three years I should consider it. I said ‘yes.’” She moved on to become Academic Dean from there. Mullen noted, “After doing a national search we didn’t find a candidate. We realized our best available candidate was right here among us.”

Mullen says now, “Dr. Mills Woolsey has been exactly the right person to be in the position at this time.” Her husband, Dr. Stephen Woolsey, noted her strengths in the position. “She loves to problem solve and help people find resources.” He described her also as “absolutely fair minded,” an important quality in an office where you must “support equally all parts of the college.”

Although Mullen and Mills Woolsey herself noted her years of office have occurred during a “a time of great turbulence in American higher education,” Mullen asserts “in general she has helped to move our academic program forward.”  Mills Woolsey has brought about the new fields of music industry, data science, and the beginnings of an engineering program, as well as “creating the academic master plan for Houghton’s future development and curriculum.” Mullen says additionally “she strengthened our connection with the Lilly network of historically faith based colleges as well as such groups as the AAC&U.”

After eight years in office, the average being five as Dean, Woolsey noted she is ready to go back to teaching. She expressed “very mixed feelings about leaving the Dean’s office,” but explained also she was “pretty burned out” by last spring. “I thought I’d only be a Dean for a short time. I didn’t pace myself.” She is stepping down from the position after prayer about timing, in hopes of finishing her career with her “first love,” teaching. “After all these years, that’s what I’m really excited about,” she says. She hopes as well to finish a book manuscript of her poetry, which she has not had time to devote to while serving as Dean.

Mills Woolsey will end her term as Dean by summer 2016. While a new Dean has yet to be found, Mullen says “We’re in the process of looking for a new Dean at this point” and when a decision is made, “we’ll certainly let the student body know.” “Dean Woolsey has decided that this is the right time to leave, so we need to make it the right time for the institution.” She looks on Dr. Mills Woolsey’s term as Dean as “a testimony to her love of faculty and students,” which Woolsey herself expressed. “Even though I love teaching I saw the calling as a chance to serve Houghton students and faculty,” she said, noting the dedication of Houghton faculty and the “energy and intensity” of the students.

Three off-campus programs were recently approved at last week’s staff meeting as affiliated program options for students.  The new options will provide opportunities for students to study in Australia, Uganda, and Southern Oregon.  Now that these programs are affiliated, students can apply for Houghton financial aid to go off-campus with them.  However, only four students per semester will be granted the approval to receive this aid.

Marcus Dean, Director of Off-Campus Studies, shared that Houghton has chosen to approve these programs for a few different reasons.  Faculty gathered to vote and discuss each of the reasons before approval.

Houghton previously ran their own Australian studies program which is currently on hold.  Not wanting to limit students’ options, the Off-Campus Studies Committee recommended the approval of the Australia Studies Program through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).  Students from Houghton have yet to participate in this program.

The Uganda Studies Program (USP), again through the CCCU, was also considered.  Originally, Houghton did not approve this program because it competed with the Tanzania program.  Both the Tanzania and GO-Ed Africa options have become very popular, so Houghton is approving USP to include even more off-campus choices for students.

Recent alumna Amanda Monday Buckley (’14) had nothing but positive things to say about her USP experience.  She said, “I still am talking about the most wonderful four months of my life where my eyes were opened and my worldview changed drastically.  I had an extremely positive experience… I left a piece of myself over there and I dream of when I can visit East Africa again.”  Upon hearing the news of the recent approval she went on to say, “I am so happy it is finally approved because I loved it and I think other Houghton students would enjoy it too.”

At one time, Houghton College was the transcript school for the Oregon Extension (OE).  Meaning, students who participated in the program received Houghton College credits on their transcripts.  Dean explained that about ten years ago, Houghton made the decision to discontinue their relationship with the OE, as our core values did not align.  Because of this, students were not allowed to participate in the OE for a number of years. Dean discussed that the OE has completely new leadership and professors so he considers it to be the “OE 2.0.” 

Senior Holly Chaisson spent the fall 2015 semester at the OE.  When asked about her experience in the program she said, “My experience at the OE was extremely positive….this opportunity allowed me to structure my studies around my niche interests and was an exercise in academic independence and creativity.”  She said the experience “reinvigorated” her academically and reaffirmed her vocational aspirations.  According to Chaisson, “The OE is a radically different type of college experience, one that offers students a slower and deliberately paced way of life, one invested in both deep thought and in community.”

Senior Allyson Murphy also went with Chaisson to the OE.  She said, “I was given an opportunity to think in a capacity not as readily available at Houghton. College life is stressful. . . Multiple commitments bog down the average dedicated college student. The OE simply asks that students intentionally read, discuss, and reflect in communal openness. . . I still daily think about the work I was able to do at the OE.”  About the cultural experiences she was able to engage in, she shared, “My group went backpacking in the Trinity Alps of Northern California for a week, the Oregon Coast, and San Francisco.  Each of those trips were incredible.”

Despite having incredible experiences, Buckley, Chaisson, and Murphy each had to creatively fund their experiences with grants, loans, and small scholarships since their programs had not yet been approved by Houghton and they could not take their financial aid with them.

As the Director of Off-Campus studies, Dean recommends students interested in creating their own off-campus experiences should discuss options with their advisors.

Marlene Collins-Blair, Associate Professor of Spanish, recently accepted the position of dean of distance education. Distance education is a form of education that takes place outside of the traditional classroom. Once based in West Seneca, all adult education programs and online initiatives are now based on the home campus.

“As we have developed our vision for Distance Education at Houghton College,” commented Linda Mills Woolsey, Dean of the College, “we have been aware that we can offer a stronger program by basing our online and distance programs on the main campus.”

Collins-Blair accepted the position in June. In addition to teaching eight credits’ worth of classes, she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of online and summer coursework and adult education.  According to Mills Woolsey, this includes “budgets, curriculum development, program accreditation, faculty recruiting and development, and program assessment.”

“There was a need to have everything centralized,” said Collins-Blair. She noted the adult education and summer online initiatives had previously been handled by separate administrators.  Collins-Blair plans to expand into the pre-college network to reach juniors and seniors in high school who may be looking to earn college credit. She also hopes to hold faculty training sessions about teaching courses online, and eventually offer entire Bachelor’s degrees online.

Both Mills Woolsey and Collins-Blair mentioned within the next few years, the Distance Learning Department also plans to offer classes online throughout the school year instead of just during the summer. This would allow students studying on the main campus to supplement their regular semester with online coursework.

“It would be like an independent study, but with more guidance in a way… I’d be interested in something like that,” commented junior, Christina Moyer. Sophomore, Clarice Thibault said, “It could bring in more people because someone might want to take just an online course and then they may want to come visit and see what the campus is like.”  Senior, Luke Rosamilia, said while it would be good for the college, he wonders whether doing online coursework as well as regular on-campus studies would be the best thing for students and faculty involved.

When asked what she looks forward to most about her new role, Collins-Blair said she is excited “to see the programs grow and expand,” and hopes to show both students and faculty how exciting online learning can be.

“Our hope,” said Mills Woolsey, “is that her vision and passion will inspire Houghton faculty as they explore distance education possibilities and that she will initiate a renewal of Houghton’s distance education programs by shepherding new program development and faculty development.”