Dr. Merribeth Bruning, dean of the Huckabee School of Education and professor of education at Ouachita Baptist University, presented her paper “The Deanship: Using the Accountability Movement as a Lever for Change—A Mini-Case Study” as part of a larger panel discussion on leadership at the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education on Feb. 8.
The panel was composed of deans she met at the 2007 New Deans Conference. Each member of the panel researched an aspect of the topic and wrote a paper that was shared in the presentation. The group represented institutional, racial, ethical and gender diversity and used a variety of sources including their own testimonies and those of other experienced deans to discuss leadership and change.
“We wrote the paper for our reflection and extension of our learning and with the hope that it would benefit others in leadership positions,” Bruning explained.
Bruning has presented a paper on education reform in a similar situation, but she had known those colleagues from working with them at several state meetings. This time was unique due to the short time to get to know these colleagues.
“We had enjoyed working together for the week of professional development [at the New Deans Conference], and I had developed great respect for this diverse group of individuals and their various leadership styles,” Bruning said. “We laughed a great deal as we discussed the organization of our presentation and how to best share our experiences. It was not dry and boring.”
The panel was introduced, and then each member presented his or her own paper on the various visions of leadership. A question-and-answer session followed. Bruning said that the group was initially anxious about the attendance of their session because they were slotted to present at the same time as other, more prominent speakers, and they were not named in the program, only their topic.
“The room was quite full,” Bruning said. “It was very affirming, as several experienced deans made comments and joined in the discussion at the end.”
Bruning noted that her paper may be incorporated into a larger paper and publication in the future, and that, as a panel, the deans hope to present a sequel to this year’s presentation for the conference next year.
For more information, contact Dr. Bruning at (870) 245-5154 or via e-mail at bruningm@obu.edu.
