By Tom Ward
Thomas More University
Part 48 of Our Series: “Retrospect and Vista II: Thomas More College/University, 1971-2021”
The second part of this article on Thomas More’s Education Department will focus primarily on two developments: study abroad programs, and the process by which TMC eventually introduced a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and, subsequently, a Master of Arts in Education (MAE) program.
Judy Harris, 1992. (TMU Archives)
By the early 1990s, globalization was being recognized as a permanent phenomenon, with ramifications for all human endeavors. Another related and significant trend was the ubiquity of multiculturalism and diversity, not only in education but politically and socially as well. While some segments of society could afford not to give much thought to these trends, higher education faced special demands to adapt to them. The Thomas More education department understood that students—being taught to be teachers—needed to have the background to work with students of many non-American cultural milieus.
Judy Harris made an important contribution to teacher education at TMC by creating chances for students to gain firsthand experiences of other cultures while studying abroad. Harris was herself a product of Thomas More College, graduating in 1969 with a BA in Elementary Education. In 1982, she acquired a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati. With experience teaching in elementary schools and as an adjunct instructor and supervisor of student teaching at the University of Cincinnati, Harris began her career at Thomas More in 1980 (Harris Curriculum Vitae).
Harris clearly recognized the benefits that would accrue to TMC students by understanding a diversity of cultures. One of her own first experiences abroad came in 1985, when she was chosen as one of only 24 American and Canadian social studies teachers (out of more than 300 applicants) to be granted a fellowship for a 16-day tour of Japan. The tour was co-sponsored by the National Council for Social Studies and the Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs. Harris understood the relevance of such a visit—“Education for global awareness has become an essential in social studies education. We need to become truly aware and understanding of other cultures in order to have worldwide peace” (The Utopian, April 29, 1985, p. 3).
Harris with TMC education students at a statue of Thomas More in Chelsea, England, 1996. (Photo by Kristina Cento Sickmeier, courtesy of Judy Harris)
If it was essential for teachers to gain such perspectives, it was equally important for students learning to be teachers. Harris created an opportunity for a trip in 1990, this time with the participation of students—they were, in fact, instrumental in producing this next phase for study abroad.
In response to a request made by elementary education majors in her Social Studies Methods course, Harris took the group of six TMC students to New York City so they could find “exposure to a wider ethnic mix in population” than they could experience in Northern Kentucky. After this successful visit, a tour abroad seemed in order. Harris had been to Yugoslavia in 1990 on a Fulbright Seminar granted by the U.S. Government, then made return stops in London and Paris. Her students asked if she could arrange a trip for them to those two famous European capitals.
The trip took place June 7-18, 1990. Harris had assistance from Dare Miller, TMC’s Director of Alumni, and from Dr. Michael Klembara of the Cooperative Center for Study in Britain at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in planning an itinerary and making affordable financial arrangements. TMC Professor Dr. Paul Tenkotte joined the trip along with some of his history students. The itinerary was “designed for educators who had never traveled abroad and students of history;” of course, the planned trip would be far more than a vacation, with three summer courses being offered by Harris (one in Education) and Dr. Tenkotte (two in History) in conjunction with it. Twenty-one people in all enjoyed this travel and learning opportunity that left them wanting more, and the London-Paris trip set a precedent for future TMC students to travel to various countries (Information re: the London-Paris trip is from “International Experiences within the Teacher Education Program,” Judy J. Harris, Spring 1990).
Dr. Joyce Hamberg (center), with education department colleagues Sr. Evelynn Reinke, SND, and Manish Sharma, ca. 2007. (TMU Archives)
Harris took other student groups to Europe. Students took the initiative by requesting a trip and then joined her in planning the excursions. To make the trips truly a part of the education process, Harris always “created a course outline so that college credit would be gained.” In addition, “because of the course element,” some scholarship or loan money could be granted to help defray expenses.
It was intended, that as the study abroad programs expanded, they would include “field experiences” for qualified students to spend time in other countries as supervised student teachers and other roles. This idea was approved by the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Division of Teacher Education and Certification.
It also fit in well with TMC’s growing commitment to increase “global awareness and intercultural understanding.” For students in Education, though, the “placements in schools abroad will extend and enhance student experience, rather than substitute for essential elements of the required program” (“International Education – Study Abroad, Structured Education Experiences for Undergraduates,” Judy J. Harris, Jan. 2, 1990).
The Education Department was also able to support and sponsor individual students to go overseas for a term as student teachers in places as widespread as Mongolia, Syria, Scotland, and Italy. One student who went overseas was Brad Bell, a Social Studies/English Middle School major who in 1995 secured a summer semester of service in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. This was accomplished, though, through the services of the Kentucky Council for Social Studies (of which Judy Harris was a member and even president for a time), rather than directly through Thomas More. In the summer of 1996, Brad was able to do the same in Syria, this time through the auspices of the National Council for US-Arab Relations, from which Harris had recently obtained a fellowship to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (Interview of and correspondence with Judy Harris, April and May 2022).
Dr. John Tibbet, 1974. (TMU Archives)
In 1996, President William Cleves of TMC and the president of St. Andrews College, Bearsden, Glasgow, arranged for a visit to Scotland to “consider collaborative ideas.” Judy Harris seemed the natural choice to make the trip because she had relatives there. As a result of her visit, she worked out an agreement for Thomas More students to practice eight weeks of student teaching in schools in Scotland. The two students, Kristina Cento and Tava Amann, flew to Scotland for eight weeks of the fall 1996 term.
Harris took some other students to visit them in Scotland. One of the highlights of that trip was a visit to London during which they were granted the privilege of visiting the cell in the Tower of London in which St. Thomas More was imprisoned before his martyrdom in 1535. Mary Campbell, the International Student Coordinator at TMC, aided them in getting permission to visit; no doubt, it helped that they were from a school named for the saint. They joined their guide, the chief warder (who was Catholic), in reading the prayer of Thomas More in the cell, which they all found very inspiring.
Another TMC student who was able to take advantage of a special opportunity for student teaching was Christina Recinella. Her family had recently moved to Rome, and Christina managed to arrange with Harris to spend eight weeks of one semester there teaching at an international school where instruction was given in English. The relatively new technology of email enabled them to keep in contact, though Harris also went to Rome for a personal meeting to evaluate Christina’s progress.
Although only a relatively few education majors were able to avail themselves of these unique opportunities, those times spent abroad were invaluable in forming them to be teachers who could relate to diverse student bodies in whatever schools they would later teach. Further, those who were thus prepared had a good chance of imparting to their students a global perspective of acceptance and tolerance for a multiplicity of cultures. Hopefully, their students in turn would help create more inclusive environments in their societies and future workplaces.
Dr. Elizabeth Penn, 2009 (TMU Archives)
Another need that had been long recognized at Thomas More was for a master’s program in the education department. At least as early as 1967 or 1968, the need and potential had been under discussion. A document, entitled “Aims and Services of the Department of Education,” noted that “Because of the real prospects of a 4-year State College in Northern Kentucky [what was to become NKU], Thomas More College could afford to offer an M.A.T. or M.Ed. program as a further service to the community” (“Aims and Services”, ca. 1967, p. 22, TMU Archives).
In 1972, TMC initiated a “working group” to analyze the possibility of starting an MAT program; it was headed by Sr. Joyce Quinlan, OSB, chair of the department. By December, the group had written a preliminary report on the feasibility of an MAT at TMC. As part of the process, they had examined the requirements of the State of Kentucky and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to ensure accreditation for a program, surveyed the regional population and other college departments to gauge their interest, and studied programs at comparable institutions. The group exhibited a sense of urgency by noting that because “Northern Kentucky State [NKU] will probably begin some type of Master’s in Education in 1974, it would be highly desirable for TMC to begin before that date” (Preliminary Report of the Working Group on M.A.T. Program, Dec. 20, 1972, p. 4, TMU Archives).
A more detailed plan was in the process of development with the obvious intent of moving forward toward eventual implementation. The program would take students beyond the undergraduate level to “focus on research and achievement,” with personalized growth through “career values, liberal arts and performance ….” It was hoped that graduate students would come from a “variety of backgrounds of race, creed, color, undergraduate degrees” and that “such diversity will be a strong support for the TMC graduate program.” The program would also “utilize graduate faculty from the various cooperating departments …” that had been identified in the survey (Undated Thomas More Graduate Studies Program Planning M.A.T., pp. 4, 8, TMU Archives)
In the fall of 1973, the prospects for the MAT at TMC looked good. Dr. John Tibbett (department chair) and Sr. Joyce traveled to Frankfort to present the proposed MAT to the KDE and received its approval to go ahead (Education Department meeting minutes, Sept. 14, 1973, TMU Archives). In November, the department submitted to Academic Dean James Ebben a draft of the plan for a MAT pilot program for one to five students in fall 1974 (Education Department meeting minutes, Oct. 12 and Nov. 9, 1973, TMU Archives). It also seemed likely that SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) would approve of introducing the MAT (Ebben to President DeGraff, Mar. 5, 1974, TMU Archives).
As the plan was presented to the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) in fall 1973, no extra cost was projected because “we already have the personnel and are teaching the courses we will need” (Presentation by Tibbetts to Academic Affairs Committee meeting, Nov. 14, 1973, TMU Archives). The AAC gave tentative approval at its December 5 meeting.
Yet, however desirable the inauguration of a master’s program at TMC would be at that time, there were other considerations. As so often at TMC, the biggest question regarded financing such a program; this factor came to light as the board of trustees took up the matter.
Dr. Joyce Hamberg (left) with first MAT Cohort at 2009 Award Ceremony. (Courtesy of Joyce Hamberg)
At its May 20, 1974 meeting, several board members spoke favorably of the project. President Richard DeGraff hoped to see it implemented and believed that it could be done so in the “first year without additional expenditures, but as enrollment and tuition income are realized, expenditures would have to be made to insure the continuation of a quality program. Additional income would justify additional expenses.” Others, however, were not so sure of this. Bishop Richard H. Ackerman, chancellor of TMC and head of the board of trustees, asked about the cost, pointing out that it would be “money that the college absolutely does not have. There did not seem to be an answer to this” (Board of Trustees meeting minutes, May 20, 1974, TMU Archives).
Costs seemed not to have been the only negative appraisal of the MAT plan. A summary of the KDE’s position, as presented at the board meeting, stressed that the state neither encouraged nor discouraged it, but added that “the current literature seems to be in the direction of discouragement of four-year institutions adding graduate studies” (Board of Trustees meeting minutes, May 20, 1974, TMU Archives). For whatever reasons, the MAT plan went into abeyance for a very long time.
If the Master’s in Teaching was off the table for the time being, the issue of a Master of Arts in Education (MAE) came up in the 1980s. Following a departmental self-study conducted in 1986 in preparation for the KDE accreditation visit, President Charles Bensman appointed a committee with the charge of giving recommendations “outlining a five-year plan for teacher training at Thomas More College as part of the College’s long-range development of its teaching training program and the total design for institutional development” (Thomas Hanna to Bensman, April 18, 1987, TMU Archives).
Part of the recommendations of the five-year plan committee pertained to a possible master’s program, which, if approved, could hopefully be in place by the 1991-1992 academic year. A long-range trend “should be attuned to the possible future elimination of the undergraduate education major, with teacher certification coming with the completion of the 5 Year Program or the master’s degree …” (Thomas Hanna to Bensman, April 18, 1987, TMU Archives).
As far back as 1974, SACS had expressed the opinion that any certifiable graduate program “cannot be just a fifth year. The student must have a bona fide graduate experience, in which the research element must be an essential part of the program” (Report presented at Board of Trustees meeting, May 20, 1974, TMU Archives). In 1987, Academic Dean Ray Hebert, after meeting with Department Chair Judy Harris, came to the same conclusion — as he reported to the committee investigating a fifth-year program, they should “begin investigating the requirements for an M.A. program rather than the 5 year” (Hebert to members of Fifth Year Graduate Study Committee, Aug. 18, 1987, TMU Archives).
William Guilfoyle (TMU Archives)
Plans for the MAE had matured far enough by the end of 1987 that TMC was able to begin the process of securing approval from KDE and SACS. The proposed program would ensure graduate-level components, such as requiring students to assess responsibilities of educators in policy formulation and within society; expand the systematic application of theory and research; expand and enhance the knowledge base for teaching in their specialization areas (Master of Arts in Education: Elementary Program Preliminary Proposal Booklet, ca. 1988, TMU Archives).
In laying the plan before the TMC faculty for its approval, Dr. Hebert presented an honest appraisal. Despite support from KDE and SACS, there were still concerns and questions: “the basic numbers and our instincts tell us that we would indeed have sufficient enrollees for the program to be viable — but we do not have the time to do a full market analysis that we feel will verify these instincts;” also, “in a year of budget concerns, could we justify the necessary expenditure to do it right”? So, he was asking faculty for “approval to offer a limited number of graduate credits in Education during 1988 ….” He would request a second vote later when there was “more information and a better feel for the interest level and our budget situation.” SACS had agreed to allow this contingent plan (Hebert to faculty, Feb. 26, 1988, TMU Archives).
As it turned out, however, the plan for a master’s program in the education department was once more put on hold. Again, financial issues were the main concern. With another SACS reaccreditation process due in 1990, it seemed prudent to try to balance the budget. This, coupled with declining enrollment in education and the fact that the faculty and resource requirements for attaining accreditation of a master’s degree simply were beyond the department’s current reach, led to the decision to table the program. Instead, the focus for a master’s program would soon shift to the introduction in the 1990s of the Thomas More Accelerated Program (TAP) that would eventually include TMC’s first master’s degree, the Master’s in Business Administration (Recollection of Dr. Hebert, May 31, 2022). (See the NKyTrbiune’s stories here and here.)
New developments would await the new millennium. When the time finally seemed right to move forward with a MAT program, the college sought help from outside its current education faculty. Dr. Joyce Fortney Hamberg was teaching at Northern Kentucky University and had been instrumental in forming a MAT program there. She was hired by Thomas More’s academic dean, Dr. Brad Bielski, in February 2005 to do the same at TMC.
Hamberg attained a Doctor of Education degree at Indiana University in Bloomington. She had also served as Assistant Superintendent of Academic Affairs for the Kenton County School District. (Correspondence with Hamberg, May 19, 2022). Although most of her practical experience in school had been administrative, she had plenty of experience in higher education at NKU and was in an excellent position to get the MAT underway at TMC. The timing was also right in that there was a growing demand for teachers in Kentucky.
Hamberg developed the admissions requirements, course syllabi, hired faculty and set the course schedule. She had assistance from Dr. Elizabeth Penn, chair of the department at the time, in completing a proposal that they presented to the Academic Affairs Committee on March 18, 2005. The written document stated the purpose of the MAT as providing “preparation, at the graduate level, in pedagogy for individuals who have a least a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated proficiency in a certifiable teaching field … graduates will be considered entry-level middle or secondary school teachers who meet the Kentucky New Teacher Standards. This is referred to as an Alternative Route to Certification” that was in place in other independent Kentucky colleges (Request for New Master’s Degree in Teaching for Initial Teacher Certification, March 18, 2005, p. 2, TMU Archives).
The advantage of such “alternative routes” was that they allowed students to begin teaching while earning their credentials. It enabled “aspiring teachers to teach during the day and take courses at night, on weekends, and during the summer.” The Commonwealth of Kentucky expected this process to be vital for easing its teacher shortage, especially since federal requirements no longer allowed states to issue “emergency teaching certificates.” Best of all for TMC, it was anticipated that the MAT would “generate enough revenue to be self-sufficient” (Request for New Master’s Degree in Teaching for Initial Teacher Certification, March 18, 2005, p. 3, TMU Archives). The MAT was finally approved on March 19, 2007, with the first cohort beginning that fall. The first students with the MAT degree graduated in spring 2009 (Correspondence with Joyce Hamberg, June 2, 2022).
Shortly after the MAT was initiated, the department lost one of its long-time, influential members. William Guilfoyle was an alumnus of Villa Madonna College and had served on the education faculty from 1967 until his retirement from the department in 1994, at which time he was granted emeritus status. As a talented musician and vocalist, he created some innovative education programs, including “Classroom Views of the Performing Arts” that proved very popular with students. Upon his death in 2008, he was recognized and lauded by many as an outstanding and inspiring teacher (Dr. Ray Hebert in Moreover, Summer 2008, pp. 26-27).
The successful launch of the MAT set a precedent for the next master’s level program, the Master of Arts in Education that was introduced in fall 2013. Whereas the MAT prepared students already possessing an undergraduate degree in some specialized major field to gain the education courses they needed for a teaching certificate, the MAE would elevate the understanding and ability of those who had already attained a bachelor’s degree in education. Those with a MAE would often branch out into particular fields, such as Special Education (Explanation provided by Dr. Hamberg, May 19, 2022). The MAE was especially designed to “follow the theme of The Teacher as Leader in a Learning Community” (TMC Catalog, 2013-2014, p. 86, TMU Archives).
The 2000s also saw the addition of other faculty who would become outstanding, long-time members, such as Barbara Zahler, Christina Petroze, and Dee Allen. Along with the two master’s degrees and the bachelor’s degree, TMC also offers the Bachelor of Educational Studies, a general education degree not designed to lead to teacher certification. The education department at Thomas More University continues to carry on the century-long tradition of preparing teachers who will be able to prosper in the changing world of education for the benefit of new generations of children.
Tom Ward is the Archivist of Thomas More University. He holds an MA in History from Xavier University, Cincinnati. He can be contacted at wardt@thomasmore.edu.
We want to learn more about the history of your business, church, school, or organization in our region (Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and along the Ohio River). If you would like to share your rich history with others, please contact the editor of “Our Rich History,” Paul A. Tenkotte, at tenkottep@nku.edu. Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD is Professor of History and Gender Studies at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and the author of many books and articles.
