August 30, 2008
St. John’s administrators work tirelessly to ensure that our
students are provided with a quality, affordable education that
embodies our Vincentian mission. In an effort to give new and
prospective students, their parents and friends, as well as our
returning students, a glimpse into the responsibilities, challenges
and concerns of St. John’s leadership, we’re presenting a series of
interviews with those who make a St. John’s education the
stimulating, student-centered and rewarding experience that it
is.
In this interview, Dr. Kathleen Voute MacDonald discusses the
program innovations taking place in CPS and the very special
faculty who make it all happen. Dr. MacDonald joined St. John’s as
CPS Dean in 1994; previously, she had been with Polytechnic
University.
We spoke with the Dean as she prepared for the 2008-2009
academic year
Q.: Dr. MacDonald, tell us about CPS and
its students.
A.: The College of Professional Studies is a marvelous place to
learn. At the moment we have approximately 4,200 students on both
the Queens and Staten Island campuses. They come to us because
they’re interested in one or more of the professional programs and
yet, we have a number of students who are not sure what they want
to go into—maybe computer science or telecommunications or
journalism—and we work with those students to help them find their
major.
Q.: Today’s marketplace is continually
evolving. Can you discuss how innovations occurring there impact
your programs?
A.: One example that immediately comes to mind is the
Division of Computer Science, Math and Science. After the dot-com
bust, we saw a drop in enrollment in that division but leadership
responded by lining up their curriculum with what was happening in
the marketplace. They effectively turned things around by
introducing new, more relevant programs, e.g., Computer Security
Systems and Cyber-forensics.
We’ve also instituted new, web-based courses, e.g., a Web
Services concentration. In addition, when a Pharmacy faculty member
advised us that there is much interest in health care informatics,
the Division Chair began looking at possibly developing a degree in
health care informatics that would relate to a new and emerging
theme within that industry.
We’re also very conscious that because a number of our programs
deal with mass communications, it’s very important that we keep up
with the technology involved. Every year the University
provides us with funding to ensure that our equipment is absolutely
up-to-date and that our students receive a state-of-the-art
education. That’s always a prime concern.
Q.: Your faculty come from many different
professions…
A.: As of fall ’08, there are 107 full-time faculty
members and to a large extent they mirror the diversity we see in
our students in terms of the vast assortment of academic interests.
They have strong academic backgrounds, extensive industry or
professional experience—one of our Journalism professors joined us
last year from The New York Times—and are extraordinarily
collaborative. We also rely heavily on our adjunct faculty; they
bring us great strengths and help us stay current with the
professions. And because we operate in a cross-functional fashion,
faculty from all departments and divisions interrelate and support
each other. Their commitment to students is obvious.
Q.: One of your faculty won a Fulbright
award this year.
A.: Yes, she was named a Fulbright Senior Specialist and taught
in Italy this May. And it looks like another faculty member
will be going abroad with a Fulbright this year. We’ve had any
number of Fulbright Scholars. I expect more and more of our faculty
will be interested in applying for the Senior Specialist option, as
they can go for short periods of time in the summer or fall.
This works with their home and academic situations, and it gives
them the opportunity to teach and do research abroad.
Q.: Fr. Harrington has challenged us to
serve our students in an extraordinary manner. How are you doing
that?
A.: Our dean’s office is very active and the advising deans
engage with many students on a daily basis. Recently, we changed
the way we engage students in our reception area to provide better
service. We removed the counter, which was a barrier of sorts, and
now the area is open and inviting. Now a student can walk in and go
directly to one of the receptionists. We have also
incorporated the idea of an “Express Desk” to assist those students
who only need a particular form or change of appointment and
such.
We also ask students as they leave the office to complete a
short questionnaire that asks if they were satisfied with the
visit, did they get the information they needed. And then we
analyze those very carefully. If we can do something better, we’re
going to do it!
Q.: Studies tell us that advisement is
very important to student success. What advisement do you
provide?
A.: Focus groups have told us that students want to know
their deans better and would like to have the same advisor
throughout their years with us. So when we get their files from the
Freshman Center, we assign them alphabetically to one of 12
dean-advisors, who keep those assignments for the duration of
students’ time with CPS.
We offer both “walk-in” and by-appointment advisement. Obviously
we prefer that students make an appointment so that we can pull
their files and schedule them with their assigned dean-advisor but
we also recognize that sometimes that’s not possible. We insist
that academic advisement occur in the advisor’s office because
every student deserves a private, one-on-one meeting with an
advising dean. We’re pretty diligent on that, although sometimes,
if it’s only a matter of needing a form signed, that can be done at
the Express Desk.
Q.: One of the University’s strategic goal
is to provide a global education. How are you doing
that?
A.: We’re promoting the University’s Global Studies programs
wherever we can. We’re also looking at offering more CPS programs
abroad as we believe they will flourish even more with those global
opportunities. We do offer an international component in our
undergraduate Sport Management program and in the graduate
division, we offer “International Dimensions of Sport Management,”
designed to meet the need for managers in the increasingly complex
global sports industry, as one of two specializations.
We know that corporations are looking for people with global
experience as well as those who speak more than one language. In
response to that need, our Mass Communication division has, for the
first time, instituted a language requirement. Some of our
other divisions will most likely do the same whether the student
stays in New York or goes abroad to Paris. The knowledge of
another language brings with it the knowledge of a culture and its
people. That’s very important.
Q.: What would you like to tell a
prospective student about CPS?
A.: If they’re interested in a career-oriented program at the
undergraduate level, this is the place to be. Certainly I
would like them to be aware of our five major programs—Mass
Communications, Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Sport
Management and Legal Studies—which are extraordinarily strong. I’d
like them to be aware of our many niche programs: Hospitality
Management, Human Services, and Health Service Administration;
Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising Communication; and
even within Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, we have programs in
Homeland and Corporate Security, which address national issues that
have arisen since 9/11.
Q.: What is your vision for
CPS?
A.: Our vision is that, committed to academic excellence and
student-centeredness, we will design, develop and deliver
professionally oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Through a clear focus on interdisciplinary education in the
professions, the faculty will fuse traditional liberal education
with current, new and emerging disciplines and technologies. Our
graduates will be enabled to pursue successful careers, demonstrate
ethics in their practice, and compete in the global
community.