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Related Link: IU South Bend home pageBy Joyce Ritchie
Karen L. White, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and director of the freshman division, has been with IU South Bend for 22 years. Her vantage point in the Freshman Division gives White a keen perspective on how students are navigating the bridge from the community to the university environment, and how the university can make that transition a positive one.
Q. What do you see as some of the biggest needs of incoming freshmen?
A. What I see now is that incoming freshman students are not bringing into the institution the skills and attitudes that they need to be successful. Many are not aware of the critical thinking skills required in the classroom, and so do not have the ability to really embrace the value of education and an environment like IUSB. They often lack the motivation and discipline to approach education as a craft and to succeed. Some of our students struggle during the freshman year not because of academic related issues. These students haven't made the "connections" with the campus and need support and services to assist them in understanding the expectations and challenges of collegiate study.
Q. You were a co-author of the Threshold Learning Communities (TLC) proposal that was funded under the Strategic Directions Charter. Did that come out of these observations?
A. The TLC initiative is a model comprehensive approach that joins academic, social and student affairs components combined with peer assistant instructors to create true "learning communities."
TLC is a project designed to address the issues of student persistence and will change the learning climate for our students at IUSB.
Q. What is the best kept secret of your office?
A. I would say it's our secretary, Janet, who has a photographic memory. So although we have more than 2,000 new students each year, once she's met a student, when that student returns to the office, she'll know them -- and that's an amazing thing both for the student and for us. On a more serious note, I'd say it's that the TLC initiative propelled us to rethink our mission and our delivery of services. We are in the process of reorganizing the unit to be more reflective of the elements of TLC. And that includes cross-integration of faculty into student services, and student services into the environment in which our students must be successful.
Q. After you give 24 hours of your day to IUSB, are you still involved in the community?
A. Oh yes, very involved in the community and in my church and with my family. For me, spiritual development is as important as the intellectual.