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Kingdom Conversations Return

Kingdom Ambassadors with Professor Peter Meilaender - Courtesy of Michael Blankenship
By  Jiana Martin ('26)

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the second Kingdom Conversation will be held at 7 p.m. in Schaller Hall located in the Paine Center.  

Professor Peter Meilaender and President Wayne D. Lewis, Jr. will continue their discussion on the classical debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois regarding education’s nature and purpose. The first conversation centered around Washington and his emphasis on vocational training in education. In the upcoming conversation, the speakers will examine Du Bois’ viewpoint and his emphasis on a liberal arts education.  

This series of three conversations is the first of its kind hosted by the university’s new program, the Kingdom Initiative, in hopes of promoting academically oriented discussions.

“We thought a great way to introduce the initiative to the campus would be to start with an inaugural series of conversations,” President Lewis explains.

When thinking about the topic for the first series, Professor Meilaender wanted to work with President Lewis. He also searched for a topic that has academic seriousness drawing on classical discussions in American history. Together, they chose this famous debate, not only because of its importance in American history, but also because it is a part of President Lewis’ field of education. He has background and expertise in this area, and their works and scholarships significantly influenced his own. 

Furthermore, Washington and Du Bois’ debate continues to influence public discussions today around higher education. As a university, Professor Meilaender believes these conversations provide a great chance to look at pieces of historical literature that discuss education. 

“There’s still a lot of relevance to what they are talking about,” Professor Meilaender comments. 

In addition, he hopes these events are a chance for people to learn more about Washington, Du Bois and this part of America’s history and cultural heritage. 

The Kingdom Initiative plans to hold many Kingdom Conversations in the future.  

“The initiative is an effort to bring together several things that the college deals with in issues of race, diversity, equality, and God’s kingdom in the broadest sense,” Professor Meilaender states.

They do not have a planned schedule, but are open to suggestions relating to the above mentioned issues.

Along with this effort, one of their goals is to look at these topics through a distinctive and authentic Christian worldview. They hope the conversations will take people across cultural context and into different issues, in order to explore diversity in all its forms. 

President Lewis wants to see the campus community come together and engage with rich ideas, history and literature to have conversations that explore different viewpoints.

“I think we can create something really beautiful at Houghton,” expresses President Lewis, “when we bring together our diverse community through a decidedly Christ-centered lens and consider the gift of diversity.” ★

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Obama Proposes Free Community College

Last week in the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama outlined America’s College Promise, a plan to “lower the cost of community college — to zero.”

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the proposal aims to waive tuition for community college students who maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA and “make steady progress toward completing their program.” The plan applies to both half-time and full-time students and includes certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degrees. The plan would cost the federal government an estimated $60-billion over ten years, which would cover 75% of projected costs, while participating states would be asked to fund the other 25%.

358209_Obama-Community-College.18Dr. Linda Mills Woolsey, Dean of the College, who said she has “mixed feelings” about the plan, described it as a “well-intentioned” attempt to “meet a projected education gap” and to “make sure that there’s access to education for people from all economic backgrounds.” Woolsey said doing this solely through the community college system, however, encourages the mass-production of education,“we’re imagining a kind of Henry Ford type way to get students through their first couple years of education.”

Eric Currie, Vice President for Enrollment Management, said while initially the plan might “create a challenging moment” for Houghton, the already existing “great transfer processes” Houghton has with community colleges will be an important asset. Currie said Houghton is likely to continue to prioritize the continued development of online programs and of the Buffalo campus of Houghton, both of which more closely meet the needs of the demographic of students primarily targeted by America’s College Promise.

President Shirley Mullen said her primary concern is the current prominence of cost in the dialogue about higher education would make it “easy for the idea of a free two-year college to just be too tempting for students for whom that really isn’t the best option and not the only option,” and usually the rhetoric about cost “underestimates the impact of [four year] education on even one’s financial resources over the long haul.” She described a sadness in the potential loss, not just for Houghton, but for all students pursuing higher education if the proposal draws students away from four-year learning communities that in general provide “a more coherent education overall.” However, Mullen also said, “we would like to have more transfer students” as they often bring a greater appreciation for Houghton and a more focused drive. Currently, transfer students make up 18% of incoming students and 15% of the student body.

Currie said while he supports anything that will bring education to more people, he would have liked to see the government offer to pay two years of tuition for eligible students at any college that was able to meet a given price cap. “I would say challenge us all to rise to the occasion. Not just community colleges,” said Currie. “Challenge whoever is willing to go and make it happen…I think that that edifies some of the best things about our society which is innovation, entrepreneurship…and the kind of take charge personality, and yet still meeting people’s needs.”

The needs of the people are not just financial. Woolsey said she embraces the social good of widely-available free education, but is not sure “it will do what we want it to do if in the process we lose the richness and variety of higher education.”  Woolsey said, “These small private colleges and even some of the midsized, private Christian colleges offer an education that’s more varied, sometimes more creative, and certainly more focused on the individual.”

Though at this point it seems highly unlikely that the proposal will make it through congress any time soon, Currie said, “Whether it’s President Obama or the next President or the President after that, I think that something like this is going to come through…it’s on the radar in the federal government and in the state governments that they feel that they really want to have an impact on this issue, and I think they feel it’s important.”

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Russian Educators to Visit Campus

During the week of March 10 through 14, Houghton College will be hosting six English teachers newly arrived from the city of Perm, Russia. The arrival of this group of Russian guests continues a practice of over 12 years in which Houghton has welcomed visiting professionals from Perm.

Perm_RussiaThe teachers have been familiar with Houghton, and friends with many of the faculty and staff, for many years due to the efforts of the Perm Mission Network (PMN). Susan Hice, former director of Student Academic Services (now known as CASA), along with numerous other Houghton constituents, have traveled to Perm every summer for more than twenty years. According to Daniel Moore, coordinator of audio-visual services and PMN group member, these groups have built an extensive network of friends in the process of ministering to orphanages, schools, businesses, prisons, churches, universities, and summer camps.

It is during the PMN’s summer ministry that the invitees to this program are selected for an educational exposure in American, and specifically Christian, higher learning institutions. The group of six this year, said Moore, “are very excited to see America and curious to interact with students….  They plan to visit a few classes and are eager to observe how American higher education compares with their system. They hope to collect a few ideas that may be useful to them when they return.”

Moore added, “The fact that they are investing their own money to pay for travel, taking time away from employment, enduring the rigors of bureaucracy, and leaving the security of their family, is testament to their curiosity and excitement.”

Another visit to Russia with the PMN is being planned for this coming June. Students interested in participating in this group ministry should contact Daniel Moore at daniel.moore@houghton.edu.

 

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New Associate’s Degree Program in Buffalo

Houghton’s educational involvement in the city of Buffalo has had a long and storied past, with new endeavors just about to get started.

For several years, the college has run the City Semester program, headed by Cameron Airhart, professor of history. The City Semester, one of Houghton’s ongoing off-campus programs, is intended to take Houghton students into western New York’s main city to explore, according to the web page, “living in community on the West Side of Buffalo, reading and thinking intensely about urban life and culture with others who are reading and thinking about the same things.”

Courtesy of http://springflingcny.wordpress.com/
Courtesy of http://springflingcny.wordpress.com/-

Soon, however, Houghton will be expanding even more into the city with Houghton Buffalo, an associate’s degree program set to launch in Fall 2014. According to Dr. Mark Hijleh, the idea for Houghton Buffalo was first conceived in April of 2012. Soon, Dr. Hijleh explains, it was determined “that there were good reasons to launch a program to serve students in the Buffalo area that need and want a Christian liberal arts alternative to community college and other options, but would not be likely to consider Houghton’s residential campus for the first two years of study.”

In October of 2013, Dr. Scott McClelland was hired as Dean of Extension Studies and has joined with with Dr. Hijleh to launch the program. Added McClelland, enrollment coordinator Aimee White has also been an integral part of the project.

According to the Houghton College website, Houghton Buffalo will offer students the opportunity to take courses in traditional subjects, including history, literature, communications, and mathematics. In addition, McClelland explained that Houghton Buffalo will also offer courses such as, “Life in the City”… [which] will enhance local students’ knowledge of their area and the challenges (and great opportunities) of urban life.” The credits earned at Houghton Buffalo will be transferrable to many 4-year institutions, including at the Houghton College campus itself.

In Buffalo, classes will be taught at First Presbyterian Church, near Kleinhan’s Music Hall.  In describing the learning environment, McClelland said that the church has two classrooms, one of which doubles as a library, another room which is divided into a computer lab and student lounge, as well as an office, and a sanctuary. McClelland also noted that the area where First Presbyterian Church is located is safe, which should be reassuring to prospective suburban students wary of colleges located in the city.

When asked what excites him most about the program, Dr. Hijleh explains, “This new initiative marks an historic opportunity for houghton to bring its distinctive brand of excellence in christian higher education to a new group of students in Buffalo. thus, it allows us to extend our mission beyond the houghton residential campus in ways we have not been able to do previously.”

When asked if there was anything specific he wanted students to know about Houghton Buffalo, Dr. McClelland said, “As in any urban environment, there will likely be a greater diversity in our student demographics than normally available in our residential context. We hope both urban and suburban students, who otherwise could not consider our residential option, will come together and be as ‘iron sharpening iron’ in [Houghton Buffalo]. In our more globalized world, this dimension, I believe, is crucial to a well-rounded education.”

 

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College Undertakes New Initiative in China

Courtesy of chinatoday.com
Courtesy of chinatoday.com

In an effort to further its mission of global engagement, President Shirley Mullen, along with vice president of admissions, Eric Currie, and vice president of alumni relations, Dan Noyes, embarked on a two-week tour through the People’s Republic of China this past summer. Houghton College currently has preparations underway to increase its presence in Asia, with special focus on China, intending both to increase enrollment of Chinese students and to establish potential study abroad programs and internships for current and future Houghton students. Explaining the college’s rationale for focusing on the area, Mullen said, “I began to realize that both in our recruitment of international students and also in the parts of the world that Houghton grads were most engaged in, we really were doing very little in Asia.”

Initial efforts toward recruitment, though small, were made about a year ago after Houghton partnered with Zinch, an American website which allows prospective college students to browse a database of profiles of American universities and colleges by entering certain credentials. By having Zinch profile the college as part of a weekly spotlight, Chinese Zinch users have also been introduced to the school. Currie says that the college’s partnership with Zinch has worked out well. “We’ve resourced students out of there. Actually, a student here right now came through our Zinch contacts.”

However, faculty and staff involved in the recruitment initiative emphasize that their main strategy is a long-term one with a focus on forging relationships with Chinese schools. Initially considering working with intermediary recruitment agencies, the college decided to pursue other avenues, opting for a more direct and personal approach. “We’re trying to do something more creative than the agent system, and something that is more organic, more systematized, more on the ground, rather than the agent system, where basically institutions pay agents a certain fee for recruiting a Chinese student,” she said. She expressed concern with many of the tactics employed by the agencies. “As I began listening to the ways that a lot of recruitment in China was happening, I began to think, ‘Good grief, there’s going to be a huge reaction to this someday because it just seems so much more sensitive to what to American schools want out of this than what the Chinese people might want out of it.” Another concern was the ability of incoming Chinese students to adapt well to an educational experience in the U.S., something often unaccounted for by agent groups. “These young people sometimes just get sent over by agents and they are left to sink or swim,” Noyes added.

Other possibilities, mostly for Houghton students, have been explored through alumni contacts in China, amongst whom a network has already been developed. “The alumni connections are so strong, going all the way back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, that there’s a real benefit,” said Noyes.

The majority of Chinese alumni being based in Hong Kong, the college is leaning towards initial programs in the area. “We’d like to start with a student or two who are interested in doing an internship in Hong Kong. It would most likely be a business student at this point because of the connections they have,” Noyes said, naming one contact who runs trade shows for a German company in the city and another alum who works for an IT company as two contacts among many. Although initial programs are hoped to be established in Hong Kong, Mainland China is also a possibility. Said Noyes, “Hong Kong is more like low-hanging fruit for us. We have more of an alumni presence there, we have some potential partners there, so it would make some sense to begin there… but as we uncover more, then I think we could also expand to some different places as well.”

In addition to potential expansion to other areas in China, programs for larger groups also remain a possibility. “We’d love to explore a Mayterm there,” said Noyes, “but it takes a little while to build these relationships.”

Those involved in the project are quick to stress that this initiative is still very much a work in progress. “By December or January I will know where we really stand in those two particular areas I’m looking at,” stated Currie. “I would say we would have it moving forward in its strongest development by spring.”

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Common Core Curriculum in Western NY

Allegany County schools are currently grappling with new curricula and state-mandated Common Core standards, a new set of national educational guidelines that are intended to bring diverse curricula across the United States into a common standard. Some, however, are questioning if schoolchildren are “getting lost along the way.”

“There’s no time in the day now for share or play time,” says Wendy Butler, Pre-K-4 principal at Fillmore Central School. “Extra support time just doesn’t exist. We used to have a half hour of recess a day; now if kids get 15 minutes they’re lucky.”

Courtesy of www.teachthought.com
Courtesy of www.teachthought.com

The Common Core presents rigorous expectations for student learning in grade-level content areas. Teaching materials and literature for parents show a narrower, more specific curriculum that will educate students in fewer topics but with the benefit of a more complete knowledge knowledge of approved subject material. John King, New York state’s commissioner of education, shared his vision of the Common Core “raising standards to reflect college and career readiness in the 21st century.” Teaching must now reflect these standards and prepare students for Common Core-based testing.

Principal Butler described the struggle in implementing these standards, “You need to remember if you’re a 4th grade teacher, those kids haven’t had the Common Core instruction in grades 3, 2, 1 and kindergarten. There’s a lot of pre-requisite knowledge the kids just don’t have.”

Considering this lack of knowledge, Bethany Hackett, a Houghton student-teacher in Belfast Central School, described the pressure and stress this Common Core change is inflicting on teachers. She felt “teachers were knocked down” and “joy was sucked out.” She said the problem was not the standards themselves, but the way they were being implemented.

Mike Roche, principal at Belfast Central School, believed schools just need time, and the current stress and schedule changes are purely “growing pains.” He said, “Right or wrong, I think it’s the only way to adopt the Common Core curriculum. If you have a band-aid on, you can either do it slowly and painfully or you can do it quickly and get it over with.” He later reflected, “I worry about the children. Adults will all survive, but I worry about the children who will get lost along the way.”

Professor Freytag, associate dean for education and physical education, said, “Any time you implement systemic change, there’s going to be a gap.” She affirmed that the intent of the Common Core is excellent and that educators are still navigating its implications. She said, “A lot of administrators are facing challenging decisions, and it’s going to call for a lot of hard work, determination, creativity, and good sound pedagogical delivery.”

This issue is not only the concern of educators; it impacts each student and staff member at Houghton. Kristen Schnitzer, senior Inclusive Childhood Education major, believes that Houghton students, as possible future parents, should be aware of the changes in education since they are impacting “how students are going to grow up and learn.” Professor Sullivan, chair of the education department, emphasized that “schools are a major part of our communities” and parents and community members need to realize their power in “speaking into school districts and supporting their teachers.”

In midst of the change, pressure, discouragement, and hope, Bethany Hackett shared that she and other teachers hold onto the moments “when a child’s light bulb goes off” and when children yell for her to “keep reading” a Beauty and the Beast fairy-tale. She said, “You just remind yourself that you’re passionate about kids and you’re there for them.”

“The message people need to hear right now,” said Principal Butler, “is that our teachers are working very hard.” She shared that although teachers often feel “beat up” and people hear the problems of public education, teachers are “seeking the best for kids.”

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New Dean of Extension Services

In hopes of expanding Houghton’s education opportunities, Scott McClelland has been hired as Dean of Extension Studies. McClelland will have an office in Buffalo and will be primarily located there when the adult education program is launched. In addition, he will be traveling back and forth to Houghton in order to work with faculty in exploring the college’s options for a potential online program for students who want a Houghton education but are not able to attend on campus.

Courtesy of Scott McClelland
Courtesy of Scott McClelland

Mark Hijleh, Associate Academic Dean said that “as Houghton considers how we will translate our mission of providing access to high-quality Christian Liberal Arts to students from diverse backgrounds, we need to expand the entry points to what we have to offer.”

Recently Houghton has had to make cuts in the areas of faculty, staff, and athletics. This leaves many wondering why a full time position is needed for this job. Academic Dean Linda Mills-Woolsey explained, “One of our current initiatives aimed at strengthening Houghton’s ability to serve a diverse range of students while creating a sustainable economy for all areas of the college is expanding our arena of vision and service.” Mills-Woolsey also stated, “to be a viable college for the current age we need to explore more ways to use online options to provide flexible access to Houghton College programs. In order to move forward we need someone to manage all our extension study endeavors.”

McClelland will be moving from southern Florida to Buffalo on October 7th in order to work with the Houghton City Semester program which is already underway.“Houghton is exploring how to best make its top tier education available to a wider group of students than it has traditionally,” said Dr. McClelland “So my work will be to explore several options to do this within the Adult Education, online and by offering some new teaching opportunities in Buffalo.”

McClelland has experience in extension studies from his time as the Director of the San Francisco Urban Program based out of Westmont College. He then gained more experience at Trinity College. “My experience with Westmont and Trinity allows me to know how special it is when a campus wishes to reach out to meet the needs of ‘non-traditional’ students by working through many delivery systems now available to higher education institutions like ours,” said McClelland.

Students currently attending Houghton could also benefit from the online program. Junior Glenn Hampson said “I’m thrilled that Houghton is looking into expanding their online education programs. I’m graduating this year, and although I want to continue my education, I got to start paying off my loans here pretty soon. If I could take classes offered by Houghton online, I would be able to fulfill my academic goals while sticking with the school I love.”

 The extension program is seen by many as a crucial next step for Houghton. Mills-Woolsey said, “In the long run we hope that investing in this position will provide benefits not only for our extension programs, but for students on the main campus, as our extension programs provide more visibility and accessibility while contributing revenues to the overall college.”