During my first year as president of Westfield State University, I presented the theme “A Bridge to the Future: Restoring Our Health” as my investiture message. I chose that theme for several reasons. Locally and nationally, we were working to restore our public health with COVID-19 vaccine promotion campaigns and ongoing safety measures. Many of us were also working to restore our community’s mental health after the strain of the pandemic took its toll.
Our next step at Westfield State is a focus on IDEAs.
This structure of an IDEA — Innovation, Diversity, Engagement, and Advancement — is a framework for us to adapt and grow.
Westfield State University is a place of IDEAS. We were born of an IDEA for an equal, just, educated society built on participatory democracy. Our campus is a space for big thinking, for engaging with other thinkers, for learning new things and rethinking what we already think we know.
We will focus on “innovation.” We will ask what education should be and seek new ways to do our work of teaching and learning. And we will invest in this innovation.
We will also commit ourselves to “diversity.” Diversity of persons, of backgrounds, but importantly, diversity of thought. Westfield State will be a place of inclusive excellence where people are welcomed, supported and heard.
“Engagement” is also an essential element. We must engage with each other, with our students, with our alumni, with our community, and with our business and government leaders. We must seriously engage by letting others challenge us and pushing ourselves to challenge others.
Higher education is facing a time of uncertainty and we must fully engage with all our stakeholders. We must be willing to provide academic programs that meet the needs of our business, government, non-profit, healthcare, and legal communities.
And finally, any good IDEA must make an impact. Our IDEAs must “advance” our campus, our community and each other.
We must advance our shared ideals of social justice and inclusion, advance a focus on environmental sustainability and a commitment to health-based practices. We must be “actionable” in our plans, “active” in our thoughts, and search for “agreement” over discord.
We will work on our efforts to increase diversity in our hiring practices, how we create an environment where all people feel welcomed, heard, and respected on campus, and how we teach each other to have greater cultural competence, but “diversity” must be something we embrace to the point of being personally challenged to grow.
In each of these areas, we have actions and goals that we will measure.
While the damage from the pandemic is still not completely understood, our students will take on roles of foundation building, addressing the future needs of an ever-changing and evolving socioeconomic climate. It is our roles as educators to help guide young minds to effectively tackle this critical task. Our future depends on our students who are our future leaders. And our public education systems are in a prime position to reach them wherever they are.
The egalitarian charge of Westfield State founder Horace Mann reminds us that we have a sacred and solemn duty as educators to develop the leaders of tomorrow with equity in mind: To uplift the voices of those who are unheard, to support and strengthen those downtrodden or disempowered, and to resolve to be a resource and advocate for those in need.
The concept of IDEA complements Mann’s message as we continue our mission to provide a relevant, thoughtful and purposeful educational experience for our students.
Linda Thompson is president of Westfield State University. To learn more about Westfield State, visit westfield.ma.edu.
"Idea" - Google News
November 24, 2022 at 06:00PM
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Westfield State University is place of ‘IDEA’s (Viewpoint) - MassLive.com
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