I, too, thank the Board for providing the University community with an opportunity to discuss the Fisher Report. Clearly, it is paramount that the University articulate a vision of academic excellence which builds on Illinois State's historic origins as the first public university in Illinois and frames a template for our unique mission in higher education for the next century.
As the Dean of the College of Education and the appointed chair of the University's Council of Teacher Education, my comments will correct errors and address selected aspects of the Fisher Report that constituted unwarranted attacks on both these entities.
NCATE accreditation applies to all thirteen programs in the College of Education AND the twenty-four programs in the four other colleges, not just the College of Education. Nearly 25% of the University's students are majoring in teacher education programs offered in five colleges.
The Fisher Report used the Hedda Hopper School of Research, in other words, gossip, to frame important recommendations to the Board.
The Fisher team chose to use an isolated, mean-spirited comment to damn the quality of the College's doctoral dissertations. The team obviously felt no further need to present other more substantive evidence on which to base such an assertion. The Fisher team also chose to single out only one Education to make a point about needing qualitative indicators to assess how well or how poorly programs are doing, a recommendation, by the way, I fully support for all programs in higher education.
The Fisher team recommended that we strive to have doctoral programs in education be ranked among the top 25 in the nation. The U.S. News and World Report does rank graduate programs in education. A major factor in such rankings is the "reputation" about the program held by others in other states. It is true that our graduate programs have focused on building state leadership in education. The public schools-and the leadership of them-have indeed been a major emphasis.
IBHE approved Illinois State's request to offer doctoral programs in even more sections of the state, including Chicago. If it is important for other deans in other states to rank Illinois State's graduate programs higher as a function of having more information about them, then we have a public relations initiative to attend to. If it is important that we prepare educational leaders commensurate with the challenges for world-class schools, then we have quite another matter.
The Fisher team also generalized from the easily corrected omission of the University listing in the catalog of its full accreditations to mean that the leadership apparently believes that it is still a single purpose institution, which is patently absurd. I believe it did this to make a point that one of its missions as a university-teacher education-is less prestigious than others.
I do not know what recommendation #10 means-where it states that "the importance of graduate teacher education to Illinois State should be assumed by all." There is no context for it.
The Fisher Report commends the University "for taking courageous action in disestablishing counselor education." I hope the Board recalls that it was the faculty of the Special Education department that had the courage to initiate this action to refocus its resources toward other stronger programs, under the PQP initiative.
I do not know why education was singled out for criticism by the Fisher team. But, I have some suspicions. Chris Eisele, a faculty member here at Illinois State whose academic specialty is the history of education published a historical review of the hostility generated upon teacher educators who chose an emphasis on children and child development and teaching as their academic focus rather than a pure discipline. Entitled "Too Bright to be a Teacher Educator," (Phi Delta Kappan, 1990), Chris detailed the first published expression of contempt when in 1892, Columbia University rejected Teachers College because "it would bring into the University women who are not wanted." Because teaching was and is a historically female occupation-and administration was and is a historically male occupation-these prejudices are buried deep and can be manifested in subjective claims regarding quality and prestige and what is important for a University to value.
Lee Iococca, Chrysler's former Board chairman, said, "In a truly rational society, the best of us would be teachers, and the rest would have to settle for something less." The North Central Association commended the University for its attention to the quality of teaching and learning in its classes. NCA noted that this practice originated as a result of Illinois State's beginnings as a teachers college.
That is a thought worth keeping as the University community engages in a discussion of an appropriate vision for the new century.
Thank you very much.
