Mission

A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark'd, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament out of itself;
Ever unreeling them – ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing – seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form'd – till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

My role as Academic Coordinator draws its inspiration from the connectivity of this incredible natural phenomenon. Like Walt Whitman's noiseless, patient spider, the Academic Coordinator weaves together the 'filaments' of the Museum of Art & Archaeology, goals of the University of Missouri, interests and expertise of university faculty and departments, as well as various aspects of my own life and work to strengthen the Museum's role as a teaching museum.

My work as Academic Coordinator for the Museum of Art & Archaeology connects with broader university efforts to improve the quality of higher education. Higher education in general currently receives considerable criticism for its lack of "workforce preparedness", but I believe that higher education actually needs to emphasize the humanities themes of empathy, understanding, critical thinking and creativity that a special place like the Museum of Art & Archaeology can offer students for shaping the future, not just the workplace. "Workforce preparedness" becomes a welcome byproduct.

It's all about making connections. "The arts are valuable in the real challenges we face in educating students in this century," said John L. Hennesey, president of Stanford University. "They are helpful when it comes to building creative skills – or tooling that ability to think outside the box, as well as teaching students to understand the increasingly diverse multicultural nature of the world and the evolution of societies." Matthew W. Barrett, Chief Executive Officer of Barclay's Bank in London maintains that a young person who can discern the patterns of imagery in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales can easily learn how to break down a balance sheet. The arts and humanities are really essential, not peripheral, to a quality university education, and the Museum of Art & Archaeology is at the epicenter of the profound changes now rocking higher education.

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Academic Coordinator Quarterly Report, December 2007 (Word)