It was 1986.  Could it really have been that long ago? More than 20 years?  Yes, indeed, it was more than 20 years ago when I became a baccalaureate program director at Florida International University.  I had four years of experience as an Assistant Professor at Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) and was a newly minted Ph.D. from Florida State University.  So, with 4 years experience on an undergraduate social work faculty and a doctoral degree in hand…how hard could the job be?  I was about to find out!

           

Perhaps it was my naiveté …my excitement…my love for undergraduate education that influenced me in accepting the position.  After all, I was ready…right?  WRONG!  There I was – in a new city, with a group of faculty I didn’t know, and a group of students (most of whom were first generation college students, many who were from various countries around the globe) who were as fresh and enthusiastic as was I.  All of a sudden, I had courses to schedule, a host of students to advise, adjuncts to train, a budget to manage and a tenure clock that was ticking.  This was indoctrination by fire at its very best! 

           

In retrospect, I was crazy to take this on.  In retrospect, it was one of the best experiences of my life!  As I look back on my seven years as a BPD I realize that it shaped and influenced my career in profound ways.  Here are some of the ways:

           

Students.  Ah….students!  In my opinion, the best part of the job!  In fact, I enjoyed working with the students so much that I had a tendency to spend more time with student organizations, in student advising and in teaching than in other less fun (but equally important) tasks.  They challenged me to think in ways I never had before.  They brought life experiences which boggled the mind.  They often saw and experienced the world differently than I and differently from each other as well. 

           

It was a steep climb to enter an institution I did not know and advise all of these students in general education requirements as well as the social work curriculum.  The bulletin of general education requirements became my best friend as I tried to wind my way through “what could count for what.”  And the transfer student advising?  Good grief!  How was I to learn what transfer credit taken in courses (and languages) from other countries could be transferred in place of our courses?  But, learn I did!  And, as I helped students, I helped myself.  I grew personally and professionally learning about other cultures, other lifestyles, differing learning styles and how best to help these young people adjust to a university which had high expectations and a multitude of instructors and fellow students who spoke a variety of different languages and were from different world views. 

           

Budget Management.  Even when you don’t have a large budget to manage it can be a confusing and daunting task.  Personnel dollars could be transferred to operating.  Operating dollars could not be used for personnel.  Acronyms were used to refer to all kinds of budget issues I didn’t understand.  How come I could use the money to purchase a printer but not a computer?  And the rules governing travel changed on a daily basis.  But, I was responsible for this budget and I soon learned that my management skills would affect every aspect of the program – from the number of sections offered to the quality of support for faculty research.  Nothing had prepared me for this.  So, I took a financial management course, and then a budgeting course, and then a course in budget projections.  It was a good thing and has served me well throughout my career.  I may not have had all the money in the budget that I wanted but I sure learned how to squeeze the money that we had to our best advantage.

           

Faculty.  This was my first job where I was in charge of faculty assignments, evaluations and shared governance.  There I was... a tenure-earning faculty member who had mostly tenured faculty in the department.  Not an ideal situation to say the least.  In the beginning this was the most terrifying part of the job.  I was a person who had always wanted to be liked and now I was faced with making decisions that could not make everyone happy.  I struggled with the tough decisions and I struggled during the times when I made decisions which I believed were in the best interests of the department but not to everyone’s liking.  I was fortunate.  Several of the seasoned faculty took me under their wing, helped me understand shared governance and provided me with enormous support.  I finally came to realize that my job was to always do what I believed to be in the best interest of the students and the department.  There was no room for my individual likes or dislikes regarding people.  There was no room for partiality.  And there was certainly never room for my personal discomfort with being disliked or having someone disagree with my decisions.  Shared governance is an important part of academia and I believe it should be valued and upheld.  But, when the chips were down it was my final decision which would affect the operation of the department and the lives of our students.  This was a heavy responsibility which often weighed me down. 

           

The University Community.  Once I entered administration I quickly learned that I had a role to play not only in the social work department, but in the university as well.  I had no idea that I would be called upon to serve on so many university-wide commissions and committees.  I often found myself seated in a large room with experienced administrators from various disciplines.  Our charge was always different – strategic planning, best practices in faculty evaluation, crafting a contemporary general education curriculum, for instance – and in each instance the learning curve for me was high.  Once again, I learned from those around me and I am eternally grateful to them for their tutelage and their patience.  I studied every topic and I learned to come to those meetings well prepared.  Those experiences helped me understand higher education beyond the world of social work.  I learned how social work education fit in and complimented other academic units.  And I learned how much social work has to offer the higher education community.  Oddly, it was those from other disciplines who taught me to appreciate and value the contributions we can make to academia.

           

The Community.  Oh my!  It wasn’t enough that I had to respond to students, faculty, upper administration and colleagues throughout the university!  I was expected to reach out to the community, involve them in the department, promote the social work department and through my visibility with the community, help faculty link to community agencies.  At first I was shocked that I was received with such high regard simply because I was an administrator in the university.  Didn’t they know that I didn’t know what I was doing?  Thank goodness most of them didn’t – and those who did wrapped their arms around me and helped me make the transition.  Soon I came to realize how important what we did was to the community.  After all, it was our students interning at their agencies, our students who they would eventually hire, and our graduates who would spend a life career helping to make the community a better place.  It was, I came to realize, our product – our students and graduates- who were truly the face of the department of social work.  And it was the quality instruction they received, and their good work, which linked us so successfully to the community. 

           

Fundraising.  Okay, let’s be honest….nothing in my education prepared me to go out and ask graduates, community agencies, foundations and community constituents for money.  I was scared to death.  But, the reality of being in a public institution of higher learning quickly became apparent.  If we were going to thrive we needed to find additional resources.  And it was my job to find them.  So, I studied everything about development that I could find.  I asked a seasoned dean who was known for his successful fundraising if he would mentor me.  I went on development visits with my mentor and I discovered why he was so successful.  It was because he believed in the importance of his profession and he had a well crafted, direct and documented message.  He used his community work for visibility and relationship building and he wasn’t afraid to tell the story of the good works of his students, faculty, graduates and profession.  He was a great role model and I sucked up every bit of knowledge I could.  I would role play fundraising visits with him and a few times he went with me on visits and critiqued me.  At times, it was tough on my ego, but the more I involved myself in development activities the better I got.  My visibility in the community merged with my fundraising activities and it all became easier.  And the three best lessons I learned: 1) No ask, no get 2) the worst they can do is say no and 3) they may say yes the next time!

           

BPD, BPD and BPD.   If you are thinking about becoming a baccalaureate program director my best advice is this:  GO TO BPD!  You will never find a better organization to provide you with the knowledge and support you’ll need to make it through successfully.  If you are a seasoned director you already know this.  The networking opportunities, both formal and informal, provide an opportunity for real learning and mentoring.  They have been through it and not only have they survived – they have thrived!  And best of all – they want to help you do the same. 

 

Concluding Comments

 

So, I did survive my first year as a baccalaureate program director.  And I loved it so much I did it for seven years.  It was harrowing and challenging, it was work intensive and wearying, it was enormously satisfying.  What made it all worth it? -  the relationships with students, watching them grow professionally and personally and the tremendous outpouring of support that I received from colleagues.  The satisfaction as a leader of knowing that you played a part in nurturing a program to health and prosperity is enormously gratifying.  

    

I want to thank Carol Williams for giving me the opportunity to relive a wonderful time in my life.  I especially want to thank all of my past students for the important part they play in my development.  And, thank you to those FIU colleagues who gave me the opportunity to grow both professionally and personally and nurtured me along the way.  To BPD, thanks for being there for me and for all our new and yet to be program directors.