The Lifelong Learner
Molly Easo Smith grew up in Madras (now Chennai) in southeastern India in a family that was unconventional in many ways and extremely conservative in others. She attended an all-girls school from kindergarten to graduation, and a women's college for her bachelor's degree before compelling her parents to allow her to complete a master's degree at a coeducational college on the outskirts of the city.
"The traditional part of my upbringing meant that I would have to submit to an arranged marriage in which my spouse would be chosen by my parents and I could not continue my studies," Smith said. "I was single-minded in my determination to pursue a doctorate in English (my parents, like many Indian parents, tried to compel me to enter medical or law school). I came to the University of Delaware among a few choices because, in my imagination, it seemed somehow appropriate to arrive into the first state in the Union; it was also the closest university to New York City that I was admitted to with funding. I had always envisioned New York with robust enthusiasm, as a symbol of the United States itself, as a place signaling opportunity, freedom and realizable aspirations. I was, in retrospect, bold, brave and singleminded; age and experience have tempered these traits--I hope."
The former dean of arts and sciences at Seton Hall University brings to Wheaton a legacy both of significant accomplishment--she led several initiatives that promoted faculty engagement and enhanced student learning, supported the development of several interdisciplinary programs, established the university's academic resource center, and coordinated faculty efforts for renovation of the institution's science center--and that bold single-mindedness. She spoke with Quarterly editor Jayne M. Iafrate about the joys and perils of higher education.
What are your impressions of academic life in India versus the United States? Are there qualities of the Indian educational system or philosophy that might surprise or interest U.S. college students?
I believe passionately in the liberal arts as a foundation for success, and that foundation was laid in my school and college years in India. Colleges such as Wheaton embody that belief, a belief I grew up with as a universally acknowledged definition of education that best prepares you for life and work. However, I find that as a scholar, teacher and administrator, I often have to make the argument about true education as synonymous with immersion in the liberal arts. People sometimes need convincing; the imperative to concentrate on narrowly defined professional training often appears attractive in the short term.
The educational system in India is modeled on the British system. Of course, education, in its truest sense, implies contact with and a desire to familiarize oneself with unfamiliar worlds--I have no doubt that students and faculty everywhere learn much through immersion in other systems. Our students would find the Indian educational system fascinating, energizing and sometimes frustrating--all of which are desirable responses and signals of growth.
You seem to have been leaning toward administration for much of your academic career. What's the attraction for you?
I guess I always have been moving toward administration. In school, I was elected captain of one of the five school houses and took on several responsibilities. Commitment to improving the learning experience of students and the work lives of those who enable learning, and learn while enabling learning in others, has remained a constant goal for me. I see college-level administration as maximizing my ability to pursue these goals and as providing maximum opportunity for personal growth.
Administration brings its challenges, of course. Acting on the strength of one's convictions sometimes involves making decisions that may not prove popular, even among those one serves. I have had to do that sometimes.
One of those challenges was a no-confidence vote at Seton Hall after the dismissal of an associate dean. What sort of personal/professional qualities help you recover from that sort of setback?
I was, of course, saddened by a vote of no-confidence by 47 of the 210 faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences over a decision that I made. But saddened though I was, I could not have compromised my deepest convictions, even if acceding to what would please others presented the easiest course of action. Inaction in the face of serious violations of principles is tantamount, in my view, to culpability in those actions; inaction on the matter I confronted was out of the question for me. I hold personal and professional integrity in the highest regard and expect both from those who work with me.
I do not see the circumstances that evolved as a setback--on the contrary, they enabled me to realize the strength of my deepest convictions, my commitment to professional and personal integrity, and my willingness to act in accordance with my most cherished values.
What should students know about your curricular interests? I'm especially interested in the academic programs you introduced at Seton Hall, as well as the creation of the Student Advisory Committee.
I especially enjoy seeing connections among areas of study--my own interest in the Renaissance took me to literary critics, social historians, sociologists, political theorists, medical historians, cultural anthropologists, et cetera. Many of the curricular developments which occurred during my tenure as dean brought faculty from different disciplines together: Environmental Studies and Latino Studies, for example, resulted from efforts by faculty in multiple departments and there is much interest among students in crossing disciplinary boundaries and articulating connections between them. I hope that I am able to encourage, enable, and support such explorations, which have already have been started by students and faculty at Wheaton.
Members of the Dean's Student Advisory Committee helped me focus on the things that truly matter--they provided a pulse on university life, worked hard on directions for the college, and advised me on various matters, including speakers, cultural events and curricular directions. My sense of accomplishment in all the things I did was rooted in their support and made possible by their efforts. I hope to duplicate this at Wheaton through what, I hope, will become energizing involvement and interaction between me and student leaders.
Another of your accomplishments at Seton Hall is improved faculty development. Would you discuss your philosophy of mission-centered, interdisciplinary and interdepartmental hiring of faculty?
A major step forward for faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences occurred when I normalized their teaching loads by reducing them to three courses each semester and subsequently moved toward reductions for research. Other initiatives included improved travel allocations for presentations at conferences and assistance with grant writing from my office. For the first time this year, we held a junior faculty retreat, which was a great success, and set the stage, I hope, for future moments of collaborative thinking and community building.
Mission-centered hiring was a collaborative effort within the college. We advertised for faculty in fields where research and teaching interests related to aspects of the mission of the university. Faculty elected an interdepartmental committee which initially screened applicants, while departments conducted interviews and vetted selected applicants. Once departments approved a candidate, the committee met and finalized a list of candidates. We received applications from experts in many disciplines and appointed candidates to several different departments.
Other collaborative efforts included appointing a faculty member with dual expertise to two departments; for example, we appointed a faculty member with expertise in Asian Religions jointly to the departments of Religious Studies and Asian Studies. We made several such dual-departmental hires. The success of these appointments will depend on the degree of support these faculty members receive from chairs, administrators and colleagues.
Our own strong commitment to mission, to educating the heart and the mind, should enable us to continue to make mission-centered, interdepartmental and cross-disciplinary hires.
This sounds similar to Wheaton's Connections curriculum.
These are aspects that drew me to Wheaton; the Wheaton Curriculum is an extraordinary accomplishment in collaborative curricular development. I want to immerse myself in the innovative culture at Wheaton that made such Connections and "Infusions" possible. I expect to learn much and to help take us further in directions started by Susanne Woods and faculty.
What else attracts you to Wheaton?
Much of my knowledge of Wheaton is still from the outside
looking in, and of course, my desire to be part of the Wheaton family springs from my perception of our strengths. But it would be foolish of me to imagine that we have no weaknesses. Perhaps I will discover a few as I become part of the family.
A great deal of your scholarly study is in Shakespeare. What was your initial inspiration for this field of study, and what keeps you hooked?
I was drawn to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England early and devoured social histories, literature, historical novels and political narratives whenever I could. Shakespeare and his contemporaries, so much a part of ordinary lives and royal households in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century London, seemed a natural choice of focus for me. More recently, I became interested in the lives of women in the period, in autobiographies of women who lived unconventional or influential lives. I last worked on a fascinating biography of Elizabeth Stubbes by her husband, Philip Stubbes, and a biography of a woman who kept a recusant house outside London in the mid-seventeenth
century. History, especially social history, absorbs me, and writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries provide a vivid tapestry of lived experiences among all segments of society in their time.
What keeps me hooked is, I suspect, what keeps every scholar of the Renaissance hooked˘there is so much left to learn, much remains to be discovered, and a zillion lifetimes will not exhaust the knowledge left to be gained.
Will you teach at Wheaton?
I hope and expect to do so, but not in my first year, when I expect most of all to be a student of Wheaton's habits, history and aspirations.
I just acquired a copy of the "Program of the Centennial Celebration," published in June 1935, and it makes fascinating reading. I also acquired Class Letters published in 1948 by the Class of 1935, and I have come to know the members of that class rather well through their narratives. Alumnae/i commitment to Wheaton is a powerful record of our achievements. I now wish I could acquire Class Letters from every class that graduated from Wheaton as a first step toward understanding and acknowledging our history.
We present a fascinating history of accomplishments, have a powerful narrative to convey about liberal arts education, and face a mesmerizing set of challenges. I look forward to continuing the work of those who made our current efforts possible--Wheaton's roster of leaders records a humbling and inspiring model for emulation.
