[Innovator Mindset] Dean Hamilton
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[00:00:00]
Introduction and Welcome
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Rachel Yager: Hello, Dean Hamilton. It's a pleasure to have you with me today and talk about your journey and your innovator mindset. The first question I want to ask.
Key Moments in Dean Hamilton's Career
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Rachel Yager: Can you share some key moments or decisions in your career that have significantly shaped your journey to become Dean of UDC Community College?
Dean Hamilton: Thank you for that question. Dr. Yager, when I think about this question, I have to think very specifically of the last part of your question, which says the journey to becoming dean of UDC Community College. 'cause it's been a long and complex journey. I started out in the field of early childhood education and then ended up at the university teaching early childhood education classes.
But focusing on this particular journey specifically has a lot to do with my [00:01:00] desire to really help and support people who never thought that they would get a degree in early childhood education or any degree in higher education, period. So when I started out at UDC as an adjunct faculty member, and then moved into a visiting faculty member position, I was given the opportunity, or really just wanted to know more about how can I support students who were scared to death and did not really feel very confident in their ability to earn an associate degree. What supports they need and how best I can support them?
And I connected with the Early Childhood Leadership Institute, which at the time had gotten a grant to provide tuition fees, books and support to students pursuing degrees in associate degrees in early childhood education. And so I just fell [00:02:00] right in with that. The need to really help and to support students really provided the opportunity for me to begin this work in looking not only in early childhood educators but every anyone who comes to a community college for an associate's degree or certificate or whatever they want to do.
So when you went to answer the first part of the question, moments or decisions in your career. I think that it really goes back to the beginning when the associate degree program was really a part of the university of the course offerings and was a part of the degree in, and that had to be in 2004 'cause there was no community college at that time.
Then in 2008, the decision was made to carve out the associates in certificate programs. [00:03:00] From the university and I think one key decision that I made, well, it was actually made for me, but I really didn't oppose the directive was to follow these students to the community college and eventually I became the program lead for that particular department.
My work with the students. Mostly women, a few males, whom the public schools had not been prepared, they had been under prepared and really working and supporting them. Some of them. I had to call 'em up and say, I haven't seen you. You know what's going on. Register for, register registered.
So I became a cheerleader for them and therein laid the journey, my journey to be an administration. 'cause I always thought I'd be in be a faculty member, but then I was approached by the [00:04:00] then dean of the Office of Academic Affairs asking if I would be her assistant dean. So I said, let me think about it.
So I talked over with my husband and we said, okay. 'cause I knew it was a lot of time and we had two children who were fairly small at the time, and he said, go for it. We'll do what we need to do. And so that's how I entered the journey to become assistant dean first.
Then I became Dean College, but it was pretty much being in the right places at the right time. I remember having a conversation with the then dean of the department and said, I see you're bringing in a lot of people from the outside. And I wasn't really asking for myself.
I hope that you would consider some of the leaderships that were developing in the college at the time. 'cause the college became a community college after we have carved it out. That happened in [00:05:00] 2008, fully implemented in 2009. And as I said, I've already mapped out the dates of the journey.
And so I became the dean in 2017.
Growing the core software program offerings, expanding the program offerings, making sure that we put in place a high quality program or to put it this way, a community college that delivers high quality degrees and certificates for the residents of the District of Columbia and beyond.
Dr. Yager, that's in a nutshell how I began and came on this journey.
Personal Values and Motivation
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Rachel Yager: Thank you, Dean Hamilton, what personal value or experiences have served as your main sources of motivation throughout your career?
Dean Hamilton: I guess this goes back to my parents and to my family [00:06:00] surrounding me. As a little girl, I do not believe, there was never a time that my parents didn't let me know that I can do anything that I put my mind to.
My father Joe used to tell me that he wanted me to go to Howard University, and I was like four years old. So he kept drumming that in my ear. Or when you grow up, my children are gonna go to Howard University, including you too, Marilyn. You've got to go to Howard University because it's a wonderful school and I know that you will learn a lot, as who you are, as a woman and who you are as a black woman, period. No matter where you end up living, this is what's necessary. So that really instilled on me. This desire to pass that along. The belief to have people who [00:07:00] come to any university or any community, any college, any aspect of higher education, is to believe that you can do this.
And that, I believe, has carried me along the way. Belief in myself, belief in people that they can acquire and do anything that they wanna do. If they put their minds to it and don't listen to the detractors and people who will say, oh no, that's too much time or whatever. Just make it even a little bit at a time, a little bit at a time to face whatever trials and tribulations that you encounter along the way, arise above them, and to persevere. I've had students who've had cancer who've struggled with issues continuing to pregnancy complications with pregnancies. I remind them all the time, this is [00:08:00] your goal, this is your aspiration. You can achieve it, but you have to put the time in.
And if you run into a situation that makes you fall back, we're here to bring you and put you back on track. I'm here, call me. You're having a problem with your children, or your partner. Whatever it is, don't let it deter you or interfere with your goal to get a college degree and move on and move up in your life.
Rachel Yager: Thank you, Dean Hamilton, this is very inspiring.
The Role of Innovation in Higher Education
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Rachel Yager: The third question is how do you perceive the role of an innovation mindset in higher education? Particularly within the context of a community college?
Dean Hamilton: That's an interesting question.
I believe, for a person who is the dean of a community [00:09:00] college that has the opportunity to build a college and build the reputation of a college. It's interesting because the community college is a part of the University of the District of Columbia. It's one of the colleges.
And there've been many discussions about should it stand in its own? Whatever it should be. Should we just have students who are underprepared. I said, you guys, you all worked that out. I'm gonna work on concentrate on building a strong community college that really lets students in the District of Columbia know coming out of high schools, transferring from other institutions.
Whatever it is, there's a place where you can come. We will work with you, we will help you. We will put all [00:10:00] our resources with you. All we need for you to do is to show up, be prepared, give your side, put your energies in as well, and we are here to help you or to support you no matter what.
I for one, believe that in the times we live in, we cannot have people who are disenfranchised, living marginalized, you know, people near the poverty. We can't, do we, we can't. I can't watch. I know that there's something that we could do as an institution and because of all the politics involved that's preventing that from happening, moving students along into middle class jobs or wages that they can sustain their families and themselves. And really, it really [00:11:00] provides with from generations to come long after I've left the face of this earth, for them to say, well, I got this degree. I went over here and I got this job.
I went over here and I got this other job because I started out with a good foundation at the UDC at the University District of Columbia. Beginning at workforce development. Beginning at the community college, wherever, there's a pathway for me. So I've been very intent looking to see what are the jobs out there that go unfilled in whatever degree.
Either it's in technology, it's in education, you know what it is, what are the barriers out there? What are the degrees that are needed to move you in a pathway to a good job, to a sustainable wage. To become a member of the middle [00:12:00] class. And so that has really directed my whole the way I operate.
So moving into degree programs like in public health information technologies,, that's coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, that there's a need for people with these skills in health information technology. So now we have a degree program in that.
Then we have this whole issue of cybersecurity and all of that. So we added a degree, an associate degree in information technology. We already had a degree in computer science. We added a good degree in information technology, but we designed it in such a way that you build certificates along the way.
The idea, when you come out of the college while you are in college, you get the knowledge and skills needed to get a job when you're complete. 'cause another thing that we have to do is to [00:13:00] make sure that the students are job ready. I'm prepared to cope with the rigors of obtaining and keeping a job.
So they have to perform well in our nursing programs. There are students in the nursing program who really need to be nurtured, and respiratory therapy and mortuary science architecture programs that can really help you get a living wage job. We looked at engineering was one of the things that I was fascinated about.
Since we don't have many students going towards engineering, and what was pulling them back, some of these STEM disciplines is the fact that they were afraid of math. I said, how can you be afraid of math? Math is fun. They were deathly afraid running through for the hills, oh, how much [00:14:00] math does it have?
I said don't matter. We are here to help you through it. So figuring out what math makes sense and how best to prepare them is another area that we focused on at the college. Building those in, looking at the best practices, innovative strategies to use with students.
So that they will succeed. And I believe we're doing quite well in that area. We have ways to go, but I believe one of the things that. I tell my team members is that we've got to do the best we can by our students. Students must come first
and people comment all the time. I remember walking in the student center. I was coming down the elevator. I was took the elevator down to the first floor. And was walking [00:15:00] across. But I needed to ask the students sitting at the desk where a whole bunch of them, there's a couple of students, the receptionist, and, then there are all these other students that are hanging around and as I was walking towards them, I heard one of them say that and they weren't saying it for my benefit.
They were just having this conversation. Did the community college really, really support them. And because one of the members was saying, you know, I wanna. You know, I, I wanna go to the community college says, yeah, man you are going to really, really find people there who are always willing to support you.
Not that they were saying that they weren't getting support where they are but they were highlighted and didn't, didn't even know who I was. So when I walked up to the desk, finally they said I said to them, one, oh my God, Christine Hamilton. I said, oh, you need. I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And they were thanking me for creating an environment where they feel as though they're part of the institution. Their [00:16:00] voices were heard, there are things in place to support them. And so, it was a good experience. So I hope that answers your question because you have to be you.
I have to think about, what's out there. You can't do it in traditional ways. I have this joke I told people, I say, okay, so now we have this situation where you are trying to get me to do something, which would've worked before the invention of computers and artificial intelligence, all of the things that we have now.
That we can help, that we can put in place to help students succeed. We are not going back to the time when we used to use typewriters, which typewriters are not bad, but we can usually use typewriters and when the dinosaurs rule roam the earth and look me like, okay, [00:17:00] Marilyn, I see where you're going with this, but I want people to understand that this is a different time you live in.
Children have been exposed to other ways that things that they can do to help them be smart. Let's use these tools to help them to be smart. We have a big discussion going on now about artificial intelligence and why we shouldn't use it. I told 'em, I said I use artificial intelligence all the time
and I don't apologize for it. If I can do something in. Half an hour that would took me days to do then. No. And I said, you know, their employers want some, want the same kind of output. I want you to do a budget for this. They go and they look it up and, you know, have, have a little bit of help. And then we have to teach them to make sense of what they are retrieving using these technologies.
So it's been an interesting journey, but I [00:18:00] always keep abreast of what's new. Because I have to make sure that our students are up to speed and we have programs that help them keep or get up to speed with what's being required of them in the job market.
Rachel Yager: Dean Hamilton, I personally have experienced your open-mindedness and also how you use technologies. The other day when we had this meeting, you didn't attend in person through Zoom. You actually sent an AI agent in the place of yourself, to listen in.
So I just wanted to tell you, you're the first person ever who did that. That was very cool.
Dean Hamilton: Yeah, I have AI attend for me for the notes.
Rachel Yager: Very good. Cool. And also, personally I've seen, how students and faculty congregates around you because you really are a source of inspiration for many. Because you project the focus back to the [00:19:00] students, and you see clearly how you can really help in their life like the different helps that you can instill in their life. So thank you so much for a very inspiring answer.
Impact of Student GPS System
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Rachel Yager: I want to now ask you about innovation insights, could you provide your insights on how introducing the student GPS will impact students and faculty at the UDC Community College?
Dean Hamilton: Yeah. Thank you for that. I see it really impacting two areas prior to entry.
And what happens upon admission once you've been admitted and you say you're coming. So let's do prior to admission-- helping a student make up their minds about. What I wanna do what college I should go to, what I should major in, happens maybe before they even make a decision to go to any university.
And now we're even talking about that. [00:20:00] We should really look at them in the eighth grade or in middle school. But some students make up their minds earlier than that, but most students start around middle school to really say, what do I wanna do with my life? The reason the GPS system is so important is because that when students take these classes in high school, exploring their career options.
When they come to the university and they have earned, articulated credit,
they forget about it. They forget that they could get college credit for it or they can replace certain courses or so it reduces their time to completion. We don't find out about it until it's by accident. So the GPS systems do two things. It keeps track of your articulated credit, track of your dual enrollment credit so that it can help. You could use those two ways of getting college credit to help [00:21:00] you make decisions about careers.
So it's a very practical tool to use with students while they're still in high school and their parents to help make those critical decisions. And so I look to the GPS system to do that for our students to really provide that pathway.
For them to communicate with us actively that says, oh, I haven't heard from admissions. You know, so we give them the supports they need prior to entry into the institution. 'cause I believe if you connect with students early and often, then they make decisions that are wise about what major to choose.
When to actually, if they should go into dual enrollment, all of these happening while they're so there's no time wasted, and their parents go sit down and make informed decisions about what they should do next after high [00:22:00] school. So with that said, the GPS system, I feel will help them in that direction prior to entry into the institution.
Now, they don't have to come to UDC, but they do have to go to somebody's college or in somebody's certificate program so that they can progress from there. That's what that program is supposed to do. Once you're focused. I found it that once when, when I was at their age, when I knew what I wanted and focused, we didn't have a GPS system, I had to do a lot of research and my parents were writing in my head all the time, my brothers, so that, keep you focused and this is what this GPS system will do.
For faculty, it will let them know who's coming in or who's likely to come in and they themselves can look and see or to say, okay, this person has achieved some credit, and so I'm gonna relate to this person differently in terms of, when they're being advised, oh, i'm gonna really say, okay, you took this class. Tell me about this class. I'm going to, [00:23:00] try to get some more information and help them to progress through. So I believe it's gonna have a profound impact, particularly on those prior to entry.
Rachel Yager: Thank you Dean Hamilton. That's a very comprehensive layout of this process and the visualization of this very streamlined process that really have such a profound impact before coming to UDC. It's regardless whether is it to UDC or to some other certificate programs or other colleges. You understand profoundly , that bridge , the GPS has to bring them forward.
Thank you for speaking so well, and explaining so well. This impact, , this innovation insights that you have on the GPS.
Dean Hamilton: Yeah, yeah. It's a simple thing. It's really a simple thing. Connections, understanding what the careers are, making informed decisions, looking ahead and [00:24:00] seeing, where do I really wanna position, how do I wanna position myself?
In this degree pathway. And then what do I need to do once I get to UDC? What courses do I need? What courses have I already taken. So an advisor can tell me, well, you gotta take the, no, I've already taken, see, my articulated credit says, I've already earned these credits.
Rachel Yager: Yes. Thank you.
Fostering an Innovative Environment
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Rachel Yager: I want to turn into you as an innovator, your strategy and your approach to innovation. So the next question is, what strategies do you believe are essential for fostering an environment that encourages innovative thinking and problem solving amongst students? And staff.
Dean Hamilton: Well, I always tell people, I think the position of Dean gives people this impression as if you may know it all or it's somebody you can beat up on, or whatever it is that you feel. But it always it always, people [00:25:00] feel a little bit intimidated by the work you're going to the dean of the college.
Some deans I've met are very arrogant and egotistical. I am none of that.
Having the opinion that people, students, faculty, staff, can really provide input. To the development and implementation of a plan of a program. Assess the quality, assess the things that, that you would need to do to tell you when you're going wrong, to tell you that you are wrong and not be afraid.
And not be afraid of any repercussions. Is very critical from where I stand because if you. Come across as a know-it-all, or you come across I don't really need your help. Then that's stifle innovation. And
You're just gonna fail. Or people are just not be willing to tell you when something is going in the wrong direction. So recently [00:26:00] I've had two interactions with students that really has guided me in a very profound way.
One was with a new program that we are implementing in licensed practical nursing. There's six students that are admitted into this program. It's just, we starting up the program and we told them that we wanted them to be, truthful about how it was implemented.
And they laid in and I sat and I listened and I told 'em, I said, I'm going to not take notes. I'm just gonna listen to you. Others were around me. I told them, I said, you all take notes. I wanna see, hear what they're saying and feel , how they're feeling when they're saying it.
They talked and so we're putting in place the things that are needed. To help them along the way, which I think [00:27:00] when we actually implement them widely, is gonna be really a game changer for us as a college. The second meeting occurred with our student government association, president of the community college.
And I asked her, I said, what is it that's happening on the ground with students, your colleagues, that they feel as though we are not really meeting their needs, said, give me the good, the bad, the ugly. And she did. And so with her support and in looking at the build out of our new, one of the wings on our building.
We've decided we are gonna put in a food pantry in that program. It's one of the things that they would like because the school is in a place where everything around them is [00:28:00] very expensive in terms of lunches and different things. And then our students have issues 'cause a lot of them live in food deserts.
We knew that and we thought that those things were being met. But still, but no, they wanna do it right here at the college. So I said, okay, let's do that. You gotta listen. I think that's essential. You've got to listen. You gotta listen. You gotta take note. We, even the person who cleans up our facility gave us suggestions of ways and things that we could do to make it our physical plant run more smoothly.
You've got to listen to people. Nobody is beneath you as a leader. We're all in this game together. And I, for one, from the. People who sit out front and receive our students every day, [00:29:00] the campus police, the receptionist, anybody who contacts, who has contact with, which is everybody in the building.
I let them know your opinions are important and if you feel as though things aren't happening in an efficient way. We need to do things better as management, you need to let us know and we as managers need to take note. So I believe that is essential in fostering an environment that helps people know that they have a stake in making this work.
And it's not in the condescending anyway, but I really truly believe that when you come and you say, Dean Hamilton, this is supposed to happen at this time and it interferes with this because students are having telling me that they're having a hard time getting from the train [00:30:00] station here.
Could you give them a little bit more time in the winter or whatever it is that we need? You gotta listen to people. Because they're the boots on the ground. And while I'm maybe worrying about money and budget and, MOUs and contracts different things, they're the ones that get me in the face of things that are really, really happening that I really need to pay attention to.
So I tell my team all the time that I have two associate Dean that are absolutely fantastic. And I say to them all the time we are it okay if we don't listen? And of course the division directors, they're just out of this world. And the program directors, the faculty, everybody, we gotta join forces to make sure that our students are heard, that we are heard in terms of the things that we need.
And what we need to do.
Rachel Yager: Thank you, Dean Hamilton. That is refreshing and [00:31:00] also a reminder how to formulate a strategy is as simple and as complicated, right? Right. Complicated right to listen.
Dean Hamilton: Right. Because if you don't pay attention, then anybody can come in and push you in the wrong direction.
If you move away from, and you don't include people to whom you are delivering services and you don't have their opinions, and how that service delivery has affected them. Then you are the ones who end up in, not meeting their needs and they walk and then you've lost them its hard to get 'em back.
So it doesn't matter who you are, what job you have, whether you are part of the cleaning team. You are part of the advising team, you're part of the career services. We work together to make sure that things go smoothly, and that we are meeting the needs of [00:32:00] students.
Rachel Yager: Thank you. Dean Hamilton. Again, thank you for these thoughts and inspiration for innovation mindset.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Rachel Yager: I'm going to end this interview at this point. Thank you.
Dean Hamilton: Thank you.
