Q And A With Goucher College Provost Elaine Meyer-Lee

Press release from Goucher College:

September 8, 2020

What brought you to academia? And to liberal arts?

For 30 years, I have been passionate about doing all I can to equip the next generation
to work effectively across differences, and I believe that academia is prominently
positioned to have a tremendous impact in that regard. My own transformative experiences
studying in Haiti and France led me to become a developmental psychologist who studies
college student development around issues of difference in the context of multicultural
and global education. More specifically, I believe that liberal arts colleges, in
which I have spent almost my entire career, particularly excel at developing the humane
capacities that are crucial to this effectiveness, and even more critical and practical
in this age of automation.

What about Goucher appealed to you?

Goucher’s commitment to preparing students to solve complex problems together with
people who are not like themselves, as well as its foundational values of innovation,
global learning, and social justice, resonate completely with my own personal and
professional commitments. But I was also particularly drawn to join you all at this
pivotal moment in the college’s history, when the wonderful faculty have done so much
impressive work that is ripe for harvesting as we build a vibrant new chapter for
the college.

What is your vision for Goucher’s academics? What’s working, and what needs more focus?

As far as our academics, I’d say:

• The Goucher Commons Curriculum is very compelling. A key opportunity moving forward
  is to fine-tune it even further to communicate an elegant, distinctive, and bold four-year
  scaffolding to our promised outcomes.
• One hundred percent study abroad is a great achievement and statement; we need to
  integrate this experience into the rest of our education and broaden our focus to
  encompass global learning beyond that amount of outward student mobility.
• The social justice focus in our curriculum (racial and environmental) is timely; we
  need to lean into it even more, especially anti-racist pedagogies.

You’ve been an educator focused on diversity and inclusion for a long time. Will that
continue at Goucher?

Absolutely. My commitment to access, equity, and inclusion is fundamental to who I
am and drives my work wherever I am. It is a lifelong journey of determining the next
step and taking it. We need to take on the root ideology of white supremacy and do
the hard work of racial healing and correcting false narratives. This requires attention
and accountability at every step of every process, asking, “Who’s voice is missing?”
and addressing any barriers.

What’s the biggest challenge in taking on a role like this?

The role of provost can be very challenging due to the size and complexity of the
academic division, the delicate balances in shared governance, and the responsibility
of stewarding resources carefully, including perhaps the most precious one of human
energy and creativity. Fortunately, the great faculty, staff, and senior leadership
at Goucher are really helping me address these challenges so far.

Psychology is Goucher’s most popular major. As a professor of psychology, why do you
think that is?

Because people are fascinating, and therefore studying human thinking, feeling, and
acting is inherently interesting, of course! It also has so many applications relevant
to a variety of contexts and future work possibilities.

What do you do when you’re not working? Do you get away from the computer much these
days?

I like to explore regional culture, art, live music, theater, and food. I enjoy traveling
and backpacking on longer vacations. I have three kids in college and grad school
and a large extended family, and we like to play games—including virtually now. I
am recharged through Quaker silent worship. Truthfully, though, I am not getting away
from the computer much these days, but I am trying to walk to learn the local area
and give restaurants takeout business!

How prepared is Goucher for virtual learning? Do we as a college have any advantages
going in?

The faculty and staff at Goucher did an amazing job preparing for virtual learning
this summer, and are currently delivering an educational experience as close to our
usual engaging one as possible. We had a lot of experience from our online graduate
programs to draw on and transfer to our undergraduate classes.

This press release was produced by Goucher College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.