Speech to the University Assembly at

University Convocation, October 24, 2003

Remarks by W. Andrew Marcus

Vice President, University Senate

I am here today to welcome you on behalf of the University Senate, which is the elected body representing students, staff and faculty at the University of Oregon. Lowell Bowditch, the President of the Senate, sends her regrets that she could not be here, and adds her warm welcome to my remarks.

While I want to welcome ALL of you to the university, I want to place special emphasis on welcoming faculty to this assembly, and especially those of you who are new faculty. I myself am a relatively recent addition to the university, having been here just two years. As such, I can both empathize with the transition that you are making as new faculty, and reflect on special qualities at Oregon you may find set it apart from your experiences at other institutions.

Like all major public, liberal arts universities, we focus our work lives on the triumvirate of teaching, scholarship, and service – no surprise to you I am sure. And, like the other 61 members of the Association of American Universities, which represent the cream of the crop in terms of research, and produce approximately 2/3 of all Ph.D. degrees in the nation, there are many examples of brilliant scholarship taking place at the University of Oregon. But today I want to concentrate my welcoming remarks on experiences that are common to all faculty, staff, and students, regardless of college, discipline, or subfield – that is, the experience of teaching and service at the University of Oregon.

As a faculty member, and having taught at four other pubic universities, I can attest that one of the real sources of pleasurable surprise at Oregon has been the way in which staff, students and faculty work collaboratively to create a supportive, active and exciting learning environment. These words are often mouthed by administrators at other institutions I have attended, to the point where it can be hard to take such pronouncements seriously. But I am here as a fellow faculty member to say that there ARE differences at Oregon that truly set it apart. One could go through a long recitation of programs, activities, and student data to make this point, but I want to focus on three recent and personal experiences that have captured – for me – much of the essence of what makes teaching at Oregon a cut above the rest.

Just this Monday, I was brought to a halt in front of 200 1^st year students, when asked a question that I could not even begin to answer (which, perhaps, comes as no surprise to those of you who know me) But I was surprised –

o surprised because the question had been thought of on the spot by a student applying complex concepts I had just presented

o surprised because the question revealed a deep knowledge of variations around the world

o and surprised because this is a course I have taught for 20 years, with no student ever before raising this point,, including students at two other AAU universities that will go unnamed.

My point from this experience, and other recent ones like it, is that as a new faculty member at UO you can expect to be pushed by students in a very positive manner, and pushed beyond what you may have experienced in other public institutions. As a quasi-new faculty member myself, I have found the transition to teaching the students at Oregon to be, intellectually stimulating, at times daunting, and always motivating. Much of the enthusiasm for teaching that pervades the hallways of this university relates directly to the students – we need to be passionate about teaching simply to keep up with them.

My second experience, also this week, reminded me of the rich liberal arts tradition of the University of Oregon and what it contributes to our lives as teachers. I found myself advising a new student who is leaving a successful 8 year career as a computer analyst to embark on a graduate program structured around restoring streams. What struck me was that this student had intentionally shied away from Oregon State – which, on paper at least, seems the more immediately obvious place for studying stream work that often falls in the category of engineering. But this student, a now ex-computer analyst, had chosen UO precisely because we ARE a liberal arts school. He wanted to learn not only about the mechanics of restoring streams, but also about the humanistic traditions that are critical to understanding how people characterize, use, and relate to streams and nature. Without understanding this humanistic component, he knew that his elegant plans might well fall on deaf ears. Personally, I was also taken by the rich symbolism of his decision. Beavers, after all, are the greatest dam builders on earth. He knew that to undo the damage done by Beavers, one had to become Duck.

My third experience relates to teaching a College Connections class last year. College Connections classes are small seminars for 1^st year students offered to help individuals make the transition to university life. As I experienced this class, however, I quickly became aware that I was probably learning more from the experience than the students (although I felt they too gained a great deal from it). To put it in crude terms, expressed so eloquently 5 years ago by my then 13 year old daughter, I discovered that I am QUOTE Terminally out of touch END QUOTE. This pronouncement occasioned by my asking who that voice on the radio was. When told it was Britney Spears, I made the fatal error of saying “Who?”

Fortunately, my College Connections students were kinder and gentler in their treatment of me. But the reality remained, that as I worked one-on-one with then, talking about their aspirations, hearing their concerns, I realized that my aspirations and concerns had perhaps become too far removed from those of this generation of incoming students. This discovery has since reverberated into my other classes, where I am now trying to re-pitch my materials to a generation that – contrary to the prevailing stereotype – is, I believe, far more socially engaged than mine ever was.

I take several lessons from these examples.

o One is that students, faculty, and staff take great pleasure in teaching and learning, and that this attitude fosters an ethos of camaraderie and shared endeavor that is different than any other institution at which I have worked. The words – “We value teaching” – are not just words at the University of Oregon.

o A second is that the liberal arts tradition is alive and thriving, and that regardless of our field of specialization, we need to maintain an individual commitment to helping our students perceive the value of and engage in a classically broad education. As a new faculty member, this has influenced how I advise students, the materials I teach, and the goals I set for my work.

o The third is that we have remarkable tools available to us for teaching and that these tools may transform us as much or more than the students. Whether it be College Connections, Freshman Interest Groups, Pathways, the Student Teacher Effectiveness Program, or one of the many other teaching/learning activities on campus, I encourage you to participate. As new faculty, you will find that these activities enrich your lives.

I have to say, however, that I would be remiss if I pretended that everything were perfect at Oregon. In particular, as faculty or students new to the joys of the quarter system, are any of you waking up at two in the morning, thinking “It’s not possible! I can’t believe it! We’re almost halfway through the term! I’ll never finish…” To those of you encountering the gout-like pangs of mid-quarteritis, I offer these reassuring words. Faculty who have been here 30 years are waking up thinking “I can’t believe it! We’re almost halfway through the quarter…” New faculty – you are not alone.

Some view this as frazzling. I prefer to think of it as… energizing.

Finally, much of what makes the teaching and learning environment so supportive at Oregon is an intangible that I have never before encountered at a large public university – a remarkable sense of community within the campus. This sense of shared mission amidst diverse perspectives comes from many sources, with shared governance being perhaps the most important source of all. There is remarkable work going on behind the scenes at this university – work being done by faculty, students, classified staff, and administrators. This work is carried out by the 27 Standing Committees of the Senate, the 16 Administrative Advisory Groups, and the 8 Externally Mandated Boards, not to mention short-term task forces, internal committees, and working groups. Policies, recommendations, and actions coming from these committees provide the framework for all aspects of university life, ranging from ensuring our commitment to diversity to overseeing curriculum changes. But just as most of us don’t think very consciously about the structure of the buildings we are in – I believe most of us are not conscious of how much work is being done on our behalf by these many groups.

As new faculty, or new students, or new staff, I ask that you consider how you might contribute to the continuation of this structure – to making sure that this sense of shared community continues into the future. This is all the more critical in present times, when fiscal constraints and the need for rapid change are pushing Oregon – and all public universities – into uncharted waters. We literally have no guideposts or obvious existing models for how a public university should evolve in order to respond to, and lead, the world around us. How do we maintain diversity at all levels, when escalating costs place limits on access to the academy? How should we interact with the private sector to replace lost public revenues – or if we should at all in certain circumstances? Should curricula respond to a workplace changing by the day? These decisions, and many more, are upon us now. And decisions we make now will reverberate far into the future. By your participation, you can therefore help mold the future at Oregon for many years to come. Never has there been a time when it is more critical to have the diversity of your thoughts, experiences, and imagination at work on behalf of our university. Please join us in this endeavor.

Lastly, word are words, and you may think it is easy for me or administrators to stand up here and heap laudatory praise upon the university. But actions say far more. What you will find at Oregon is an action that – to my mind -overwhelms any other indicator of our deeply we believe in the quality of this institution. That action is the sending of our daughters, our sons, our loved ones, to this very institution, despite the fact that they had a host of universities from which to choose. My daughter, the one who told me I am terminally out of touch, is now taking first year classes - but not from me. As I look across the stage and out at the floor, I see many other parents whose loved ones are attending or have graduated from Oregon. We are all proud that our children are here. We are proud of them and their accomplishments, but also proud that we work in an institution which we regard so highly that we entrust to its care, the people most precious to us.

To this special place called the University of Oregon, I bid you welcome.

Welcome!

Back to Marcus home page

Link to UO Senate 2004/2005 home page