College students who earn stellar grades understand that making
the dean’s list is an indication of their hard work throughout a
semester. Two women with long histories of working hard in their
respective fields have recently been added to the list of deans at
Saint Louis University. Ellen Harshman, Ph.D., was appointed dean
of the John Cook School of Business, and Dr. Charlotte Royeen is
now the dean of the Edward and Margaret Doisy School of Allied
Health.
Interviewed together this week, the new deans spoke to The
University News about their plans for the futures of their
respective schools, their hopes for collaboration and even a little
about shoe shopping in St. Louis.
Meeting the Deans
In the lobby of the not-quite-open Busch Student Center, Royeen
marveled at the central staircase and long, freshly painted halls.
She smiled approvingly and noted how students on this side of the
campus world have a building as nice as the school of Allied
Health, then confessed that this was the first time that she had
been to the Frost campus since she arrived at SLU a few weeks
ago.
Harshman has been a member of the SLU community for more than 30
years. She served as vice provost before taking the position as
dean. She received her juris doctorate from the University’s School
of Law in 1992 and her doctorate in counseling and higher education
administration from SLU in 1978.
Royeen is a national leader in the field of occupational
therapy, and said that she believes in continuing to practice as
well as study. Her work has been published extensively, and she is
slated to be published again soon, including a manuscript on an
international study conducted in Germany.
Royeen moved this summer from Omaha with her family to take the
job at SLU. She is familiar with the Jesuit tradition from her work
at Creighton University in Omaha, over the past seven years. When
asked what draws her to schools with a Jesuit tradition, Royeen
said, “I think that people systematically self-select to be here,
and it’s an exceptional group of people.”
Harshman agreed and told a story about a woman who came to work
at SLU after spending many years working for another university in
St. Louis. She said that the woman instantly felt like she belonged
at home at SLU. “It’s a different way of thinking about how to do
higher education,” Harshman said.
Revolution and Policy
When asked how they decided to choose careers in higher education,
Royeen said, “I can remember walking with a friend while we were in
undergrad…and we were so excited about helping people.” She said
that they thought, however, that “the final step to helping people
was to become revolutionaries.” Royeen laughed and added that she
decided that, “Going into education is an excellent way to be a
revolutionary…to change policy and the health care system.”
Harshman said that she chose to work in higher education because
there is “A great energy working in school, people always asking,
‘How?’ ‘Why?’ ‘Why Not?'” She added, “That’s why I love working
with undergrads, because there’s always that sense of wonder.”
Improvements and Shoes
Both of these deans’ schools boast recently renovated state of the
art facilities in their homes at opposite ends of SLU’s campus, but
deans are exploring other, noncosmetic ways to improve their
schools.
“We’re always concerned about enrollment,” said Harshman, adding
that the school is constantly looking to improve the caliber of its
students, both during admission and beyond. “The business school
doesn’t have a natural way to connect to freshmen because they
aren’t actually taking any business classes,” Harshman said, adding
that clubs are a great way for freshmen to get involved with their
chosen discipline right away, but she says that the school needs to
make an effort to connect with the students, too. “My issue with
undergrad is that we need to improve our advising. In the next year
we’re going to work on that.”
Royeen said that the growth of the school of Allied Health,
“Parallels human growth and development. Allied Health
Professionals provide 70 percent of health care in America, but
people don’t seem to know that. It’s a secret.”
She explains that, although allied health professions are
advancing in the work world, they are behind in scholarship.
“It would benefit us to do more collaborative scholarship,” she
said.
Harshman agreed. “I’d love to see more collaboration (between
schools). We get into our own silos and become so self-focused.”
She adds, “Life isn’t like that.”
When asked about the training that students receive beyond the
classroom, the gap between what one learns in school and what one
actually needs to know to succeed Royeen said, “We’re at a distinct
advantage because there are very prescribed theories that relate
directly to practice.”
Harshman emphasized that the business school tries to get
students into internships early.
“I’m a big believer in having a student test a career,” she
said.
“If a student isn’t going to succeed,” Royeen added, “It’s going
to be because they don’t have the professional behaviors.”
During their conversation, sitting across from each other,
Royeen complimented Harshman’s shoes. The two began to chat about
shopping in St. Louis, and Harshman smiled and noted that Royeen
should soon venture out to St. Louis, west of SLU.
When asked about the community of peers at SLU, especially
between women, Harshman said, “In 30 years, I’ve seen the profile
change. Fr. Biondi has been very good about hiring women, and Joe
Weixlmann is committed to diversity. I’d like to see more
opportunities for deans to get together. But deans are busy! This
place is not over-staffed.”
As the two prepared up to leave, Royeen paused to add that she
was attracted to SLU because there are so many women in the
administration.
