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CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY HAS BUILT IT, ...AND 'PEOPLE ARE COMING'
'Field of Dreams' Comes to Non-Profit Adult Education at Brandman University
Irvine, Calif. Oct. 5, 2009 - While this is certainly not a corn field in Iowa and the inhabitants aren't Shoeless Joe Jackson and other baseball players, there is a remarkable infusion of talent coming to a campus in Irvine, California to do what they love − teach.
They have uprooted their lives to begin a journey to transform higher education into a responsive enterprise that better balances the working students' need for innovation and academic credibility. In many cases, the move has been thousands of miles, while others have traveled less than 10 miles from their home campus at Chapman University to paint on what Dr. Pamela Monaco, Brandman University's new Dean of Arts & Sciences, has called the "great white canvas of non-traditional education." Dr. Monaco herself relocated from Massachusetts, where she was the Director of University Without Walls at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Charles Bullock, vice chancellor of academic affairs at Brandman University agrees. "I was completely fulfilled serving as dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Houston, Victoria," he said. "But when I heard about what Brandman University was planning, I knew that I could have a meaningful impact on the lives of students looking for innovative approaches to higher education."
For others, the opportunity to help create a new standard in adult education was so enticing that they came out of retirement. "I joined Brandman University after five years of retirement and serving as an adjunct instructor because I was excited about the direction the University was heading and in the leadership team that it was bringing together," said John Slatinsky, director of Brandman University's San Diego campus. "I'm still young, I still have a lot to give and I wanted to be a part of an organization that is committed to elevating the quality of education available to working professionals."
150 Years of Heritage, Quality and Innovation
Chapman University President James Doti says that Brandman's approach to dynamic, not-for profit adult education in a for-profit universe is in keeping with Chapman's near 150-year heritage of innovation that dates back to when Abraham Lincoln took office as the President of the United States and Chapman opened its doors in 1861.
Brandman University, formerly Chapman University College, has a rich heritage of its own dating back more than 50 years when it was founded to serve the higher educational needs of military personnel. Since then, it has grown to 25 campuses in California and the state of Washington with more than 10,000 students. While Brandman is now its own separate fully-accredited University, it remains a part of the Chapman University System.
"Brandman University came about as a result of many years of evolution and planning," President Doti said. "Chapman's leadership team recognized that the University could best serve the distinctive academic needs of working professionals by creating a dedicated institution that had more autonomy and served its own missionˇKwhile maintaining the heritage of academic excellence for which Chapman is known." Adding, "The makeup of the student population has changed dramatically and we are embracing that change."
A U.S. Department of Education study showed that the age of college students was increasing, and that from 2007 to 2016 the number of students enrolling in college between the ages 18-24 would only be increasing by 11.1 percent, while the number of students ages 25-34 would increase nearly 27 percent. In fact, adult students represent over 40 percent of enrollments today.
Students are looking at alternative, non-classroom methods to obtain their education. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education's report The College of 2020: Students, distance-education courses and enrollments grew substantially between 2000 and 2007 with enrollment in distant-education courses nearly quadrupling from 3,077,000 to 12,153,000.
Jerry Cwiertnia, chairman of Brandman Universityˇ¦s Board of Regents as well as a member of Chapman University's Board of Trustees, added, "We knew that the only way to develop a more effective adult-student focus was to create a separate university and invest in the latest technology and teaching techniques to deliver the innovative, quality education these students demand. I firmly believe that Brandman University and the newly created Chapman University System will prove to be a best-in-class model for higher education because it helps to accelerate the speed of change."
The U. S. Department of Education study also showed that students performed better in an educational model combining online and face-to-face elements relative to purely face-to-face instruction. Students in a fully online instruction setting also performed better than those learning only through face-to-face instruction. Working to provide students with the best opportunity to succeed, Brandman University is moving to a completely blended format where each class at a campus will include both face-to-face and online components. Fully online degree programs will also be available for those seeking the convenience of distance education.
When searching for senior staff to lead what would become Brandman University, President Doti recognized it would take visionary leadership and a passion for change. He looked to Chapman University's senior staff and found two eager veterans.
Gary Brahm, who served nearly 14 years at Chapman rising to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, became Chancellor in what he described as the "job opportunity of a lifetime". Also joining as Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Student Affairs was Saskia Knight, who had spent nearly 20 years at Chapman University as Vice President, Dean of Enrollment Services and Registrar. Knight led the effort that helped Chapman increase the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen for an unprecedented fifteen consecutive years and is a nationally recognized leader in Enrollment Management.
"We knew that we were putting the right pieces into place and the time had come. While our external recruiting effort was coming along well, we started networking with some of Chapman's most respected faculty and found a groundswell of interest in playing an active role in Brandman University," Chancellor Brahm said.
Key Chapman Faculty 'Crossover" to Brandman to Create 'New Blueprint'
An early supporter was P.K. Shukla, Ph.D., who is Vice Chancellor for Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics at Chapman University. He enthusiastically agreed to cross over and add to his current responsibilities by helping to create the curriculum for Brandman University's entrepreneurship programs. Shukla's expertise is a significant asset for Brandman's programs, as he is well known for Chapman's undergraduate entrepreneurship program which was ranked tenth nationally and its graduate entrepreneurship program which was ranked ninth nationally in 2008.
"What attracted me to Brandman University was the opportunity to reach even a larger group of students. At Brandman, the students might already be entrepreneurs and can apply what you teach immediately where they work. It's a real privilege to be in a position to help these students succeed," said Dr. Shukla who will direct the entrepreneur programs at both Chapman University and Brandman University.
Other key faculty who have joined the Brandman team include:
- Dr. Fred Smoller, director of the new Master of Public Administration for Brandman University, who is developing the program while on sabbatical from Chapman University.
-Dr. Renee McLeod, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, who was previously with Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University.
-Dr. Kurt Takamine, dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies, former Faculty Executive Council, Vice-President as well as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies including Raytheon, American Express, Microsoft and GE, among others.
Chapman Law School Opens its Doors for Brandman Students
Faculty members at Chapman are not the only ones encouraged to cross over. Beginning fall 2010, the Chapman University School of Law will encourage Brandman students to cross over to Chapman by guaranteeing admission to students who meet pre-established minimum LSAT and GPA scores. Dr. John C. Eastman, dean of the Chapman University School of Law explained: "As part of the Chapman University System, Brandman University students will receive an outstanding education. Given that most of them also have extensive prior work experience, they bring a combination of maturity and skills that is very valuable to our student population." Every year, Chapman University School of Law administrators will establish target GPA and LSAT scores. Students who are admitted to Brandman can then apply and be admitted to the law program to 'lock-in' these target GPA and LSAT scores for as long as three years, knowing that as long as they meet these 'locked-in' scores and other standard admission requirements, they have a guaranteed spot at Chapman University School of Law.
This kind of innovative partnership will make attracting top quality students easier for one key staff member at Brandman University. While there won't be any movie tie-ins or in-theatre trailers, Denise Godreau, vice chancellor of marketing and communications, unveiled a multimillion dollar ad campaign including television, print, outdoor and online on September 28. The Harvard MBA who was lured away from her role as senior vice president of marketing at Walt Disney World in Orlando to launch this new institution says, "I believe I traded one Magical Kingdom for another. There is nothing like making people's dreams come true."
About Brandman University
Brandman University (www.brandman.edu) which is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, focuses on meeting the unique needs of the more than 10,000 working students it serves both online and through 25 campuses in California and the state of Washington. Brandman University is a member of the Chapman University System and is known for providing non-traditional students with in-demand degree and certificate programs, individualized support services, top-tier instructors and technology-driven teaching environments.
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University (www.chapman.edu) is one of California's oldest, most prestigious private universities and is home to over 4,000 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students at its home campus in Orange, California.
