A Minute with Dr. Harmon

As a new dean, what is your overall impression of ENMU’s College of Education and Technology?

I am impressed with Eastern’s College of Education and Technology (CET). I have had the chance to interview most all the faculty and staff and find that we have marvelous people who really care to make a positive impression on our students. There are so many components that are very impressive. These include: the professional development schools; the Child Development Center; the Instructional Resource Center; the Center for Teaching Excellence; the collaboration that exists between the Departments of Health and Physical Education and Athletics; the desire to provide quality distance education; the influence of alternative education models in English as a Second Language, Elementary Education, Secondary Education and Special Education; the influences on children, youth and families in our communities; and the economic and educational influences in agriculture.

I am also very proud of our faculty who participate across campus in rodeo, learning communities, developmental reading courses and freshman seminar courses.

What are the most obvious strengths, and what needs to be improved?

The most obvious strength is in the talented and respected faculty and staff of the unit. There are current needs in distance education policy and protocol and improving the assessment system. The CET has a very good TREC (theory, research, effective practices, commitment) model for its central belief system. I also believe that the CET needs to become more of one voice for education within our University, service area and state. The CET has four very good departments and a one united CET needs to reflect this goodness.

Other strengths are our online instructional program in Professional Technical Education, and the Resource and Referral Library (Toy Library) in the Education Building.

In your opinion, what role does ENMU play within the state and region in educating future public school teachers?

I am constantly amazed at the large geographic area that ENMU serves. The largest role seems to be one of professional development for the eastern school districts and a constant flow of good quality rural educators for our immediate service area. The role of the Center for Teaching Excellence is also critical to the future of education. Even though the center is not officially a segment of the CET, it serves teachers and the greater educational world with cutting-edge knowledge and skills associated with active classroom research.

What is ENMU’s reputation in education in the state and region?

ENMU, as a matter of fact, is the largest regional comprehensive university in the state of New Mexico. ENMU has the third largest teacher education program, second only to the two flagship universities. At this time, I believe that ENMU has the potential to become the leading teacher education university in the state. If you look at the benchmarks of assessment data, quality of faculty, resources, and field experiences, we only need to show more continuous improvement in our assessment efforts to bypass the other institutions in the state and Texas region. All other benchmarks are at the same level or exceed those of our sister institutions.

If you had a mantra or marketing slogan for the CET, what would it be?

The CET has a phrase that speaks to “A Learning Journey … TREC” that represents the conceptual framework that all programs contain as a philosophical foundation. TREC stands for the four elements that students learn in all our programs: theory, research, effective practices and commitment to the profession. After interviewing most of the faculty and staff, I am proposing an addition to this saying. I believe that I am hearing faculty say that the ENMU CET is preparing future educators for “A Learning Journey to Enlightenment and Empowerment on the High Plains of the Southwest.” This motto speaks to the direction of the journey and some of the contextual clues along the way.

What is your impression of the distance education challenges/opportunities for the ENMU CET?

Again, there is great potential at ENMU. The geography is beautiful for a coordinated distance education network with spokes leading out of Roswell to all locations east of the Rio Grande. The WebCT and Polycom technologies offer the tools to distribute our good products. I look forward to more CET courses touching the Web and becoming the leading producer of NMPED (New Mexico Public Education) licensure coursework for our service area.

Morale of overworked and underpaid faculty and staff is always a major personnel issue. What is your philosophy and associated strategies to help your employees cope?

I would like to say money. However, we all know too well that what we need/want is not what we are going to get. I do, however, support our administrative team and legislative partners to be advocates to the utmost degree and will do anything to support their efforts as they struggle through the political processes. I also expect these results to be commensurate and compatible to the functions and responsibilities of any position, administrative, faculty or staff.

I always urge the people I work with to take pride in the contributions that they provide to the overall credibility of the college and University. It is not about supporting me or any other administrator or faculty, it is about supporting the mission and student successes of this University. The reward that comes from the good name of Eastern, the successes of our students, fuel a lifetime of memories and accomplishment. Money can not touch this feeling. But, do let us all earn a continuously improving wage and working conditions that are associated with a university culture.

How do you define a culture of assessment as it relates to the ENMU CET?

A culture of assessment is a simple phrase that says that we measure what we do (such as a learning journey to enlightenment), look at the results in a systemic way, and make changes as necessary to lead our professions in a proactive manner. I check my blood pressure and sugars every day, adjust diet or exercise, and move through the day accordingly. What’s so new about a culture of assessment?

Promotion and tenure is always a major personnel issue. What is your philosophy and related strategies to advocate for faculty?

I love promotion and tenure reviews. Ever since my elementary teaching days, I have become quite good at looking at the positives of personal accomplishments. Now, it’s just a grown-up playing field with teaching, service and scholarship as the goals. I go back to my suggested motto on this question. I believe that each faculty has the right to self-select their contributions to the profession and subsequently to the University and college based upon their own enlightened views and the feeling of having an empowered voice to project it. If you take care of business, then there is no way that presentations, publications, grants, contracts, teaching recognition and other promotion and tenure criteria will be avoided. Show me a faculty member who knows their strengths, capacities, weaknesses and threats, and I will show you a promotable and tenurable professor in due time.

Do you have other major goals for the CET?

Look in the future for a summer charter school, more grants and contracts moving through an institute arm of the CET, national recognition for quality in teacher education, a family, youth and children counseling center, more special summer offerings to children, families and teachers, and a Baldridge Academy for schools. More important than these possible ideas is the spirit of collaborative outreach to the Eastern community while serving families, youth, children and educational systems in new and effective ways.