Site Visitor Application : Entry # 7228 Date
09/30/2013 Institution
Loyola Marymount University Name
Brad Stone Address
1 LMU Drive Suite 3600 Los Angeles, California 90045 United States Map It Phone (310)338-5807 Email [email protected] Institution Type 4-year Private Undergraduate Enrollment 5000
Active Program Enrollment 240
Honors Program/College Type (Institution-wide, less than institution-wide, general education, honors in major, etc.) general education (honors core)
Present Position (title & date)
Previous Positions Related to Honors (titles & dates) Director of the University Honors Program (2009-2013) Honors Advisory Council (2013 to present)
Year Site Visitor Training Institute Complete Summer 2010
NCHC activities related to honors program/college assessment & evaluation etc. 2010: NCHC Site Visitor Training Institute
2012: Developing in Honors Assessment/Strategic Plan session panelist
2013: NCHC Consultant Center participant (topics including planning and assessment
Activities in other areas or organizations related to honors assessment or site visits, workshops, etc. regarding honors programs/colleges and/or other academic areas.
2013: Assessment/Strategic Plan session at Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Honors Colloquium Other activities relevant to those seeking honors program/college site visitors.
2013: I served as an external reviewer for the Honors Program at Gonzaga University (sister Jesuit institution) File Upload
Curriculum Vitae
Brad-Stone-CV.docx
Statement of Views on the Role of a Site Visitor
BRAD-STONE-The-Role-of-the-Site-Visitor.docx
Professional References
The Role of the Site Visitor Brad Elliott Stone
The most important role of the site visitor is to offer an intercollegiate perspective to particular honors programs and colleges. Different universities have different rationales for having honors programs and colleges, some of which conflict. The site visitor brings a perspective “from the outside,” free from the internal arguments and assumptions, and responds to particular programs and colleges’ questions in light of best practices and national characteristics of honors programs and colleges. Although these characteristics are neither universal nor necessary (in the sense of accreditation), they do offer a “view from the outside” against which a program or college (and the institution in which the program or college resides) can make conscious decisions.
Another crucial role of the site visitor is to help programs and colleges create meaningful assessment processes. Insofar as the NCHC Site Visitor report follows similar formatting and addresses similar things, site visits offer programs and colleges have consistent program evaluations to indicate improvement (or lack of improvement due to changes in the institution, e.g. budgeting). Thus it is essential (a) that the site visitor report be consistent in its presentation style over time and (b) that the site visitor report be consistent across programs and colleges of similar type. In theory, the NCHC model site visit report offers a wonderful template for such consistency, and, if followed, programs and colleges would be able to have multiple visits over time and receive similarly-presented information.
In terms of evaluation, the site visitor should be helpful. Insofar as the site visitor is not an accreditor, the main purpose of site visits is to help programs think through their processes (curricular, admissions, housing, etc.). If a site visitor does a visit and only reports how the visited program or college is different from how she does things at her home institution, the opportunity has been wasted. Similarly, if the visited program or college thinks that everything is fine and is simply looking for a rubber stamp verifying that fact, the site visitor’s role is technically unnecessary. In order for a site visit to be successful, both the site visitor and the program or college visited must enter the process with open minds and hearts. It is the role of the site visitor to reassure everyone of this fact prior, during, and after the visit. This is especially the case when either the program or college and the administrator to whom the program or college reports wants the site visit evaluation to “pick a winner” between the two views. Instead, the site visitor is like a therapist who makes evaluations and offers suggestions but is ultimately there so that everything that needs to be said gets said in a spirit of understanding.
A personal reason to be a site visitor is that visiting other programs and colleges allows one to see different formats of honors education in a variety of settings. The more diverse a site visitor’s “portfolio,” the better the site visit report can be. It also allows the site visitor to gain ideas and recommendations to improve their home honors program or college (it is not just about helping other programs improve). I am interested in how programs and colleges create innovative opportunities for honors students, and I have no problem telling colleagues from other programs that I wish to try something they are doing in my own program.
BRAD ELLIOTT STONE, Ph.D.
Loyola Marymount University1 LMU Drive, Suite 3600 Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 338-5807 [email protected] http://myweb.lmu.edu/bstone I. ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2003 to present
Associate Professor of Philosophy and African American Studies, with tenure, 2012 to present Chair, Department of African American Studies, 2012 to present
Associate Professor of Philosophy, with tenure, 2009-2012
Affiliated Member, Department of African American Studies, 2008-2012 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, tenure-track, 2003-2009
II. EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, Philosophy, 2003 The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee
Dissertation: Dominions and Domains: Machination, Discipline, and Power in Heidegger and Foucault Dissertation Committee: Robert Bernasconi (chair), Leonard Lawlor, Tom Nenon, John Tienson MASTER OF ARTS, Philosophy, 2001
The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee WILLIAM J. FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, Spain, 1998-1999
“The Life and Philosophy of Miguel de Unamuno, 1864-1936” Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
BACHELOR OF ARTS, Magna cum laude, Philosophy and Modern Language Studies, 1998 Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky
Honors Thesis: “Religious Subjectivity in Kierkegaard and Unamuno”
Thesis Committee: Norman Wirzba (chair), Robert Kruschwitz, Gail González III. HONORS LEADERSHIP
Director of the University Honors Program, 2009-2013 Member, Honors Advisory Council, 2009 to present
IV. HONORS COURSES TAUGHT
HNRS 115 On the Sublime (First Year Seminar), 2009, 2011 HNRS 120 On Human Dignity (Philosophy), 2004, 2010
HNRS 140 On Motion and Mechanics (Liberal Arts Math and Science), 2012 HNRS 198 Introduction to Honors (1-unit semester-long orientation), 2013
HNRS 495 Honors Thesis Seminar I (1-unit semester-long preparation for thesis), 2009 HNRS 497 Honors Thesis (students write the honors thesis), 2009
V. HONORS CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND DIRECT PARTICIPATION 2013 NCHC Conference, New Orleans
• Presenter, “Ignatian Values in Honors: Not Just for Jesuits”
• Consultant, Consultant Center (assessment, strategic planning, student research) • Member, Professional Development Committee
2013 AJCU Honors Consortium, St. Joseph University, Philadelphia • Presenter, “Strategic Planning and Fundraising”
2012 NCHC Conference, Boston
• Presenter, “The Magis of Honors: Essential Characteristics of Jesuit Honors Programs” • Presenter, Developing in Honors: “How to Define Your Honors Mission”
• Member, Professional Development Committee 2009 NCHC Conference, Washington, D.C.
• Faculty Fishbowl participant
VI. ATTENDANCE AT HONORS CONFERENCES AND INSTITUTES 2013 NCHC Conference, New Orleans
2013 AJCU Honors Consortium, St. Joseph University, Philadelphia, PA 2012 NCHC Conference, Boston
2012 AJCU Honors Consortium, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 2011 NCHC Conference, Phoenix
2010 NCHC Conference, Kansas City 2010 NCHC City as Text Institute, Chicago
2010 NCHC Summer Institute on Assessment and Evaluation, Atlanta 2010 AJCU Honors Consortium, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 2009 NCHC Conference, Washington, D.C.
2009 NCHC New Directors and Deans Boot Camp VII. EVALUATOR EXPERIENCE