06-12-15 Connections

Dear Friend,

In my last letter (August 2006), I noted that the College of Liberal Arts had a variety of initiatives and programs aimed at intellectually engaging its ever-growing number of majors and fostering a sense of community among them. In this letter I would like to continue this theme of engagement and connection by discussing a new initiative that our Dean =s Office has developed in response to the Regents’ Scholars Program (RSP) created by President Robert Gates. This program provides $5,000 scholarships each year to 600 high-achieving first-generation freshmen whose family income is below $40,000. Attracting these freshmen to campus continues in the Texas A&M University tradition of serving the State by providing educational opportunities to students who might otherwise not attend a major research university.

The current literature on student success reflects a growing consensus that fostering connections between students and with faculty is critical to student retention and achievement. Thus, this year all Regents’ Scholars in the College of Liberal Arts must, in addition to their regular coursework, take a one-credit class and two others as part of a Alearning community. @ In these small classes (usually around 20 students), Regents’ Scholars can get to know one another and their instructors. Our aim is to create a community of learners in this class that encourages student engagement with each other and with faculty in the College.

Associate Deans Pam Matthews and Larry Oliver (both of whom are professors of English) serve as instructors for one of these classes. Modeled on the College =s highly successful Cornerstone Learning Community, Pam and Larry have provided the 19 diverse students in their class a comfortable place to talk about the challenges of the first semester in college – including their first test, the large lecture, the small discussion group, the stresses of being away from home and family, and the pressures to excel academically. Visitors from the Learning Center, Multicultural Services, and the Career Center have shared advice about succeeding in college and introduced them to personal contacts in these important offices. Professors have shared their insight about conducting research and meeting academic challenges. One student thanked Pam and Larry for “finding great lecturers that make students think outside of the box. The rest of the student body needs a class like this.” In addition, Pam and Larry focused much of their teaching efforts on helping the students improve their writing skills.

Students are also introduced to special experiences that Texas A&M offers. One such experience involved the entire class seeing the premiere performance of AThe Smoke King, @actor Charles Holt =s one-person play about the life of the great African American writer and civil-rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois. In addition to attending Mr. Holt =s performance, Pam and Larry arranged for students to meet with Mr. Holt for an hour to discuss Du Bois, African American history, and the art of acting.

Because all Regents’ Scholars are first-generation students, Pam and Larry decided to invite as guest speakers a few faculty and administrators who were themselves first-generation college students—including myself and President Gates. I spoke about how I did not fully understand the ways college was different from high school, nor did I understand collegiate expectations about academic performance. Several students took heart that I struggled during my first semester with course work – especially an English course. I reported that I felt fortunate to have had excellent mentoring at critical points in my undergraduate experience.

President Gates had a similar message during his visit with the students. He told them how he had to take calculus twice in order to pass, and how he drove a school bus to help pay his college expenses. His remarks about the importance of diversity to an excellent education reinforced comments made by previous visitors, including two of our outstanding minority faculty members.

These students have displayed an admirable determination to succeed, as evidenced by one student’s comments: “… the best thing that’s ever happened in my life, the best decision I ever made, was Texas A&M. People say that America is a window of opportunity. I believe that is true, but only if one seizes those opportunities and makes the best of them.”

The Regents’ Scholars’ learning community is an experiment that we believe will have enduring value for the students and for the College. By investing time and effort during the first semester of their educational experience at Texas A&M, we are beginning to see these students make connections among themselves and with the larger academic community. We will be taking stock of their successes and how we might enhance this program for next year’s Regents’ Scholars. Ultimately, we are aiming for student success as measured by academic achievement, retention, and a timely graduation. Thanks to Pam and Larry, to the guest speakers, and to the students themselves, the program is off to an excellent start.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Sincerely,

Charles A. Johnson
Dean