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Show I l COMME ARY 11-IETHUNDERBIRD•SOUillERN UfAH UNIVERSITY•lllURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1993 • PAGE .f PRESENT-DAY MENTORS FOUND A s SUU commemorates Thomas Jefferson as "the an:hitect of democracy," it is important to remember our present-day mentors as well. Although the colorful figures of history serve as standards of greatness, sometimes it is difficult for us in the modem age to think of them as "real" rather than storybook ideals. It would be well to look for aspects of their characters in the leaders of the present. In doing so, it is much easier to relate to our mentors. Thomas Jefferson was a multi-talented architect, naturalist, linguist, and politician who is still much-admired and spoken of today. SUU President Gerald R: Sherratt keeps a bust of J~erson in his-Ci>ffice, admitting thali "He is probably, one of my gr~atest heroes." Indeed, Sherratt himself se~;.es as a mentor for no .only the students of SUU but for younger members of the faculty as well, due to his unflagging commitment to learning which also characterized the life of Jefferson. Sherratt was perhaps above all others, most instrumental in the reformation of this university in its current embodiment, much in the same way that Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Jefferson made numerous contributions personally to further education, and Sherratt himself ha:s been known to not only sacrifice whatever spare time he might otherwise have for the university, but to donate money for scholarships out of his own pocket. While Jefferson served an important role as a French diplomat during the American ~ Revolutionary War, Sherratt now serves a similar role as friend and diplomat to Moscow's former Mayor Gavriil K. Popov. He not only broke political barriers, but furthered and improved, the relationship between SU and Russia's entire educational system. Perhaps some of his devotion to the university springs froll). his deep background of family involvement at SUU. Sherratt's ancestors were among the fir& to settle the Coal Creek region in 1852. James Sherratt, the president's grandfather, was one of the men who hauled logs down Cedar Mountairt_ to use in founding the college. Although Sherratt does oa:asionally go.on vacation, he has said that "You have to do a lot of things you wish you didn't have to in this job.. .lt's a great obligation-to all the students who come to school here. If I talce off too much time, I feel guilty." In general, students know little about the president of SUU. He is, as Jefferson was for a different generation, a personable mentor for students. When many university presidents have little interest, or small amounts of time for students, Sherratt is almost always accessible to the SU oommunity. Such dedication may not be noted in history books, but it ought to be recognized at Southern Utah University. THE THUNDERBIRD SOlJiliERN lITAH UNIVERSITY • CEDAR CITT, UTAH Milan )mnifn Morley and 8ndy H. Pttmon Tlw ~ ii publlmecl ..ti Mondor and Thundoy al !ht ...i.mlc ,iar br ond lot ,ho OIUClmt boclr cl Soud,,em u..11 Unroen1cy onc1 11 ,_ a8llioed with dq:iamnmt "'a,mrnunladon. n.. .;... and oplnioN ~ In n.,.........., - """" ol lndMduol wrillm and do not r.oaaartly rdect che .;.., "' oho inltilullon. r..a.hJ, ll!.ldmt body In ...,.,..i. Tho unli&ned oditorial di..at,, ...._ lo lht opinion ol Tlie Tllo,...i.rM,d 11 1 linc:I< ......,. L«tam D oho aliDr mua be .,.pod and indudo tho , _ ond pt._ number. Only tho ......., will be prlnotd. Noma will not be trilhhdd wm any dn:u.....,_... and lht edilnr _ , _ edidnc prt,,iltp. 1 be oubmiiRd br noon Frldap b Monday cdiaoris; S p.m. n. me u~. ..«'" ""* T...i.,o b-Thundoy tdidona. 0 . . . - An, indMduol wld, I pte,,or,ce oplnll Tl,, ~ ,hould cflr.a ,ucb p,obkm 6nt ID 1M edioor. If un........i, .... ,.__ ,bo.,l,J dial be cllftmd IO h odriaT. tf llill un-,1,ai, lht piovanc:e abould be cliftmd ID lhe SUU l'llblicodons Coundl, S86, 77I 0. n.. ~ o111ca 1n suu Technaqy l!uildinc 001. Mall • suu e.. 9384, Cec1u 0cy, vr a.mo. n-(801) J86.nS1. J86.77~. •nso, '86-54811. FAX J86.5487. WACO, .... ~Ht ,urURE ,., Ol(A~ ICDR~SH, FoR ?'HE 1, 18S, o,z IJl1 ~fM£- CoM6 OVT!! PLEASE, .. , ACCESS Mentors make education successful 'Aaas' is a 1'tcuning column th'l'O'Ugh which mtml,e,.s of rhe c.ampw communil:) ma:, ad,fras themstll'eS to topics of con.um and i!Ue'rtlt. Toda:,'s column is b, Juoa Nortla, associate editor for 'Tu Thundabird', and a junior at SUV. Everyone needs a mentor; that's what makes education su.ccessfuL ~ !ar as I can nalyie/conjecture, ther-e' s at least three levels of mentonhip occurring at S rigJit now. Relatively small student-to-faculty ratios aflow students to build one-on-one mentoring relationships with professors. Secondly, faculty members themselves are looking to each other for examples of how to improve teaching styles. And, administrators are constantly guiding SUU toward a reputation for outstanding liberal arts undergraduate education. In my own experience, taking the time to talk with a few of my professors on a one-0n-0ne basis has helped me set personal goals fur my educ.anon and career. It's always refreshj.ng to get a teacher tallcing about the "real world"; I've discovered that everyone has something to teach me, if l just listen and ask a few questions. Many of SUU's professors are taking the initiative in improving their teaching techniques and in just making their job a little more thrilling. Some are using computers and writing assignments to teach mathematics, while others are seeking immediate feedback from their students through small-group activities and "3-by-5 questionnaires" (handing out three-by-five index cards to srudents and asking them to write their thoughts concerning the class, an assignment, or topics for class diSCUllsion). Teachers observe that their curriculum changes to meet the interests of students (and the teacher) in direct proportion to the amount of time teachers spend surveying student opinions. For example, I had a professor once who asked us to smvey his class-next thing I know, he's taking one of our suggestions seriously: we took a class tour of the business department's Small Business Development Center to find out what was in it. One staff member I talked with said that there just are NOT too many •carrots• left-there's not any more money for salary raises and there's the pressure of increasing class sizes because of the enrollment growth. The l.ast •carrot" of motivation is recognition, a pat on the back for a job well done. The Faculty Senat.e working with a few innovative teachers and s.taff members has created a newsletter, The Learning ProfessoT, designed to provid~ a teaching mentor for SUU's instructors. The newsletter also contains a list of faculty member's achievements-a way to recognize the efforts of SUU's teachers to improve themselves. Peter Drucker taught me this. SUU, as a non-profit instirution, has many customers: students, the public (i.e. mxpayers), and teachers. Of these three, teachers are the most important "customer." Only when reachers are happy with their jobs will they teach better, resulting in srudents learning better. So, SUU's administrators, especially President ' Sherratt, should be commended for their role in helping fu:ulty m.embers improve their teaching slcills. My understanding is that President Sherratt funded the publishing of 1be learning Professor. Also, from my attendance at the workshop with Dr. Swan Vorkink of Northeastern Missouri State University, I think it's wise to narrow 9UU's' focus upon what it can do bestprovide a strong liberal arts education in selective majors and maybe a few masters counes. SUU cannot be everything to everyone; there's just not enough · funding for that. Funding is criticai.-for SUU's mission as a highly selective Liberal arts university, and for teacher development and improvement "Serious faculty development requires serious funding," said one faculty member. I encourage faculty members and administrators to continue to work together and find creative solutions for providing mentoTS, both for teachers and for students. ·· r I |