The 2017 annual Faculty Colloquium takes place in the Centennial Complex on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. There are several significant components to the schedule this year that make this day one that demands the attention of all Loma Linda University faculty, deans and administrators.
The afternoon begins with a focus on Loma Linda University’s WASC Senior College and University Commission Reaffirmation (WSCUC), a process that began in 2011 and is scheduled to be completed in 2020. With just over two years remaining, this is the time that our efforts must be more intense and more focused.
We are privileged to have Christopher Oberg, PhD, WSCUC vice president/COO, join us for this year’s Colloquium. In a unique segment, Dr. Oberg will give our entire faculty the same type of instruction WSCUC site visit teams receive; this is an opportunity that no other university has had. Every faculty member has a role to play in the data collection phase of our accreditation journey. This meaningful presentation will help identify the types of data and reports that will be of most value to us moving forward.
Several of the university’s schools and degree programs have successfully completed their professional accreditation processes. We’ve asked Lynda Daniel-Underwood, associate dean for program development and evaluation at the School of Medicine, to share lessons learned and helpful tips from the School of Medicine’s highly successful 2016 accreditation effort.
It’s also important to remember that accreditation is never a guaranteed result. There have been a few examples of unsuccessful accreditation efforts on our campus, and we will examine what might have gone wrong in some of those situations.
The latter half of the afternoon looks at activities on campus that contribute to the growing quality of scholarship. In particular, DP Harris, PhD, chief information officer, and the LLU Information Systems team will demonstrate changes in LLU’s educational technology, and will present highlights of the partnership between the School of Nursing and the iDesign team.
The Colloquium’s evening session features Bill Strickland Jr., president and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. MBC houses job training and community arts programs that give youth and adults opportunities and tools to build better futures for themselves.
Mr. Strickland’s inspirational presentation, “Make the Impossible Possible,” promises to teach us how to build on our passions and strengths, dream bigger and set the bar higher, achieve meaningful success, and inspire the lives of others. A MacArthur “Genius” Award winner, Mr. Strickland served on President Obama’s White House Council for Community Solutions, and as a presidential appointee on the National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional details and information about Colloquium are forthcoming. Come prepared to learn and be inspired as we begin our 2017-18 academic year.
—Ronald Carter, PhD, is provost of Loma Linda University.