| I teach in a professional area in which there is a proliferation
of education programs throughout the United States, resulting in an extremely
competitive entry-level job market for graduates. Thus, when the
University of Northern Iowa accepts the mission to offer a public relations
education program, it must accord its graduates a competitive advantage
through excellent education and corresponding national and international
renown. Anything less is ultimately exploitive of the university,
its faculty and, most importantly, its students.
Excellence in teaching, scholarship and service is never cheap; it requires considerable support and investment from many quarters! Requisite is a State that values quality higher education to complement fine primary and secondary schools; hard-working citizens and their children who equate effort with success; and a university that sustains a supportive and nurturing environment for its faculty. The State of Iowa, its people and the University of Northern Iowa generously provide this support, fostering an environment in which excellence is not only possible, but likely, for faculty willing to invest the price of consummate dedication as educators. Teaching, scholarship and service are reflexive upon one another, and it is essentially impossible to achieve true excellence in one without exerting like measure of effort in the others. This is particularly true for faculty teaching in a professional area in which there are both a scholarly "educator" community and a professional "practitioner" community. The respect that is essential from both communities can only be garnered through visible superlative efforts in all three areas of teaching, scholarship and service. But when this tripartite excellence is achieved, the whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts, and manifold benefits result: graduates' likelihood of professional success is far greater because of the resultant higher quality of education, and their degrees become worth more in the professional marketplace because of the visibility of the education program; furthermore, as the beneficiaries of quality liberal education of which their professional education is a component, these former students are destined to make a substantial contribution to society, not only in their specialized role as professionals, but as responsible leaders within an educated and informed citizenry. An educator in a professional area essentially prepares students to enter that profession's "community," a responsibility that extends far beyond the classroom. In that respect, the educator has a social contract with his students that includes a mentoring/project relationship that is oftentimes lifelong in its duration, i.e., even after students have metamorphosed into professional colleagues. Holiday greetings to and from many generations of former students become obligatory; however, over time, former students' spontaneous telephone calls and letters reporting joy or crisis or citing the need for consolation or career advice become counterbalanced by the more deliberative thoughts of these same people who have become both qualified and collegially comfortable in offering advice and the occasional admonishment. In the end, the legacy of excellence is measured, not in accolades such as awards, publication lists, book titles and offices held, but in the hearts and minds of former students whom the educator has brought into the fold of the professional community and who regard that educator, not as such, but rather as a respected colleague to whom they have a particular gratitude for having generously shared a large part of himself. |