| ask. |
Describe
the future you see for higher education |
| DC |
Well I think the future for higher education is actually
quite bright even though we’re suffering right now
from lack of public support in terms of our state legislature
and even in terms of our federal government. But I think
that the future of our nation, the future of our quality
of life here in America, all depends on a very well educated
populace. And not only well educated in technical fields,
which we all know is extremely important, and in those fields
that contribute directly to our economy, but well educated
in the cultures of the world, well educated in the way that
human nature functions, well educated in the way that their
communities have created traditions and are prospering, well
educated in languages. In short, well educated in all of
the subject areas to which our great research university
has made such a great contribution. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Now you just described a liberal arts education.
|
| DC |
Indeed
I did. |
| |
|
| ask. |
We are a bit prejudiced in believing that liberal arts
graduates are somehow just a titch superior.
|
| DC |
That’s
a very good prejudice to have. And it’s not so far
off the mark. They certainly are superior in their preparation
to handle a very complex world. I would be the last to say
that we don’t have very bright students all across
our curriculum at Washington State University, which we do.
But I think the students who do choose to have a four year
liberal arts education have the benefit of having a very
broad-based education by some of our top faculty in all the
fields that will make them very well prepared to deal with
complex human problems. |
| |
|
| ask. |
We have a number of substantial pride points in the College
of Liberal Arts. Do you think we stand tall in comparison
with other universities?
|
| DC |
I
not only think we stand tall; I know that we stand tall.
We can always reach for higher horizons, and I think that
we are doing that and will continue to do that. Our faculty
are very well motivated to do that. Our classification as
a research extensive university says a lot about the quality
of the faculty here and we’re very proud that much
of that quality is centered in the programs in the college
of liberal arts. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Education was one of two career paths you considered.
|
| DC |
Yes,
that’s true. Before I decided to become a teacher—and
I was first a junior high teacher . . . before I went on
to get my doctorate and ended up here in Washington State
University as dean—I thought for a long time that I
would be a practicing musician, a professional musician. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Piano?
|
| DC |
That’s
right. |
| |
|
| ask. |
And the turning point?
|
| DC |
I
think the turning point really was interestingly set for
me when I made a choice of where I wanted to go to school.
[I chose] the University of Michigan; the choice for music
education [there] would require that I could not get the
well rounded Liberal Arts education that I wanted in all
subject areas. And it was at that point that I realized that
perhaps I wasn’t quite as dedicated to being a concert
pianist or a full time musician as I thought. [Also,] I wanted
to have a role in society that was much broader. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Your
reputation is rock solid: professional, smart, wise are
all adjectives I’ve heard to describe you. Were
you ever frivolous, giddy and boy crazy?
|
| DC |
Oh
yes. My husband on some of my darker days, and we all have
them now and then, always says to me “What happened
to that party girl I knew at the University of Michigan?” |
| |
|
| ask. |
So you knew Paul in college?
|
| DC |
I
did. Paul was the busboy at my sorority, one of the busboys
at my sorority. One of those guys who threw plates at us
and gave us no respect. That’s what we said… we
were sorority girls. But he certainly caught my eye. And
the first conversation I had with him was outside of the
kitchen at my sorority house on the back stairs where we
talked about having our first date. It was quite a memorable
occasion. |
| |
|
| ask. |
For
those who have not met Paul, he is an architect, he’s
very dashing, and he’s got a great sense of humor.
|
| DC |
Oh,
all of those things. |
| |
|
| ask. |
And he picked up and moved to the Palouse with you. He
sounds like one in a million.
|
| DC |
He
is. One in a million and has been for over 30 years now.
We met in college and think it’s going to go well beyond
those 30. He’s just a wonderful guy. |
| |
|
| ask. |
We’ve spoken about this period we’re
in in life. Our parents are getting older and frailer.
What have
you learned during this period of time?
|
| DC |
That’s
an interesting question. I’ve learned that it’s
very important to plan for the future but at the same time
that we have to realize that each new day could bring something
absolutely unexpected into our lives. And it’s the
varied experiences that we’ve had prior to that moment
that are really going to shape how well we’ll handle
those events.
I
had many unexpected things happen when I first came here to Washington State
University. I’m now [tending to my] aging parents… and it’s
taught me a great deal about how fragile our time on earth is and how important
it is that we spend that time well. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Which
leads to the next question regarding your legacy and
what you’d like that to be.
|
| DC |
I
would like people to say that she cared for the college,
[that] she cared for all the people who make WSU such a wonderful
place and that she left it a better place for having been
here. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Many people will be surprised if your career at some point
does not include a university presidency. Is that a role
that you would consider?
|
| DC |
You
know I’m very flattered that you would say that. And
if people are saying that then I feel that I must be doing
something right and I hope that I continue to do those things.
I think that the president’s job is one of the most
difficult jobs I can imagine. To meet the needs of a constituency
that is as complex as this one is a remarkable feat. So,
I’m flattered and pleased that there may be some people
out there who think that I can do that kind of thing. But,
as for my ambitions, my ambition right now is to do the best
possible job of being the dean of Liberal Arts. And I always
have held the philosophy that if you’re doing a job
well,… your future starts becoming clear through making
that choice and making that effort. |
| |
|
| ask. |
But
I get the impression that you’ve never shied
away from a challenge.
|
| DC |
Never.
And I enjoy new challenges. I enjoy change. But there are
ways to find change in the things that you’re doing
every day, too. And I make use of those ways. |
| |
|
| ask. |
What
is the toughest part of being a dean?
|
| DC |
I
think the toughest part of being a dean is being both at
a distance and very close to your constituents. There are
many occasions in which I’m addressing a problem and
I will find out, maybe weeks later, that there were things
I could have known about the situation, that… I wasn’t
able to know at that time. And it’s that which is so
difficult. It is having to assess a situation in a very short
period of time and hope that you have [understood] the issues
as well as you can and have made the right decision based
on that information. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Is it tough considering you are working with your peers
on one level but yet the decisions fall to you and the
decisions cannot always be popular?
|
| DC |
Well
that’s always tough, but any leadership position requires
that you make decisions that may not be popular. I try to
make the reasons for my decisions well known, and [try to]
assure that I get the best possible input from all who are
affected by the decision, before those decisions are made.
I think one of the great joys of being an administrator in
a university setting is working with colleagues as colleagues. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Administrative constraints can be all consuming. How important
is it that you find time to do research?
|
| DC |
It’s
absolutely important to me, not only as a person who has
always been interested in doing scholarly work, but I think
it’s important to my work as Dean. I have to be an
active researcher to understand the struggles and needs of
my faculty who are doing that work and to be continually
amazed at the amount of work it takes to contribute original
knowledge to a field. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Your expertise is rhetoric.
|
| DC |
I
would expand [that to include] particular arenas within rhetoric
such as writing and technical communication. |
| |
|
| ask. |
What are you working on now?
|
| DC |
My
work evolves around the question, “What does it mean
to communicate responsibly?” I’m working on an
anthology that is looking at the relationship between public
rhetoric and private rhetoric. How does life as a private
person affect the work we do in the public arena? I’m
examining that [issue as it is reflected in] the kind of
[rhetorical] work a teacher might do in the classroom to
the kind of [rhetoric] that some of our most famous public
figures [use] when they see their private life connecting
with or sometimes being impinged upon by their public mission. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Any discoveries so far?
|
| DC |
I
think we have a cultural way of approaching private communication
in Western countries, particularly the United States, that
makes a visible and social separation between public and
private rhetoric that sometimes works against us. Some issues
are relegated to the private arena which makes them impossible
to talk about in a public way. Issues [that face] women,
[for instance, like] the raising of children, size of family,
control of family life. Though these issues sometimes come
out in public we tend to think of them as part of the private
domain, a person’s private business, which makes them
difficult to discuss. |
| |
|
| ask. |
Would you say you have a philosophy of life?
|
| DC |
Yes,
I do have a philosophy of life and it will sound very simple
and perhaps to some, corny, but it’s had a very profound
directive in my life. And that is to live life with love.
I
think that, if one does not understand one’s place on this earth, as one
of extending love to others, one has pretty much missed the point of one’s
existence here. I try to live that philosophy. Sometimes when I make some decisions
or I have some interactions with people on not one of my good days, they may
wonder if that’s truly my philosophy, but it is and it is at the bottom
of what drives me and what I do. And I hope that it is reflected in what I do. |
| |
|
| ask. |
If you had the time, what would you learn or study?
|
| DC |
Oh,
so many things I could hardly manage to get through them
all right now. I certainly want to spend some time learning
French. It’s a great embarrassment to me to have this
wonderful French name, which is my husband’s by the
way, and not be able to speak French. And so, it’s
a great ambition of mine. I do have a brother who has a small
home in France, a summer home and I hope I’m going
to be able to visit that more often and that that will be
the inspiration for me to finally take up that language.
Let alone the fact that the foreign language department is
right below my office and I could get down there every day
if I wished to study a little French and I think I might
make that an ambition soon. |
