Today is Veterans Day, a day designed to celebrate our nation’s armed forces, their commitment, and their ultimate sacrifices.  Though this day comes only once each year, the special individuals to whom it is dedicated deserve our thanks every day.  The last year has been a tumultuous one for the entire world and the men and women of the American military have been engaged in various theaters of operations beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.  At home and abroad, US military forces continue to provide proof of General Douglas MacArthur’s statement that, “Americans never quit.” 

Our military responded to a series of natural disasters this year.  In March, through Operation Tomodachi (Japanese for “friendship”) the Marines, Navy, and Air Force offered humanitarian and disaster relief assistance to the Japanese people affected by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 and left millions more homeless.  Marine helicopter units delivered thousands of pounds of rice, bread, and other food items to the hardest hit areas.  In addition, a significant number of American naval ships responded including the USS McCampbell, the USS Curtis, the USS Mustin, and the USS Ronald Reagan. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) moved into action when a series of severe storms this past Spring plagued the nation’s mid-section.  Tornadoes, floods, and other significant weather events left thousands in a desperate state.  The USACE worked diligently to ensure the safety of structures following those storms and to assist in meeting the basic needs of those impacted by the devastation. 

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Two weeks ago, we recognized the graduation of 5,589 students with a graduation ceremony in the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland.  This year’s graduating class was the largest in the history of the American Public University System (APUS) and its institutions, American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU).  Our 5,589 graduates were awarded 2,388 master’s degrees, 2,506 bachelor’s degrees, and 695 associate’s degrees and hailed from all 50 states in the United States and 17 other countries.  We awarded degrees in 82 of the 85 programs that we offer.
 
Over 90 percent of our graduates worked full-time while they were enrolled at either AMU or APU.  Many (66 percent) served their country as members of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserves.  It takes perseverance and determination to earn a degree over many years, and a majority of our graduates attended other colleges and universities before they completed their degree at AMU or APU.  Time spent completing college courses means fewer hours shared in family activities and generally requires the cooperation of student and family members in order to balance course work with family time.

There have been numerous studies about the difficulties that adult students encounter in completing their college degrees while working, raising a family, being a caregiver, etc.  Graduates attending the reception the night before the ceremony shared some of their stories with each other, the faculty and staff members in attendance, and with me.  Their stories are inspiring.  The faculty, staff, and I are proud of our students and our graduates for their professional, personal, and academic accomplishments and wish all of our graduates the very best in their future endeavors.

The world’s response to the situation in Haiti over the next few days will be critical in finding survivors, helping the injured, and providing food, water, and other supplies to a nation devastated by the disastrous earthquake which hit that country on January 12th.  We know that we will have students and faculty members deployed to Haiti as members of the Marines, Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Air Force, emergency and disaster rescue teams from states, counties, and municipalities, United Nations peacekeeping troops, and other agencies that have yet to be named in the press.  Please know that we will support you in your need to adjust your academic schedules based on your new assignment.  Thank you for serving our nation and the citizens of Haiti.  Godspeed!

Ed Strong was one of my grad school professors at Tulane.  On one of my early postings on this blog, I mentioned his name with a list of professors who I found notable for their teaching abilities when I was in college.  Ed found that posting and sent me a note.  We have remained in touch off and on through email and Facebook.  A few months ago, Ed sent me a link to one of the postings on his blog, Cabbages and Kings, and stated that I was one of his few Facebook friends who might be interested in the post.

I clicked on the link and found an interesting post where Dr. Strong shares his teaching philosophy.  He originally wrote the piece for his application for a tenure-track position at the university where he works as a full-time visiting professor.  You can read his post yourself or my synopsis below.  Either way, I think it is worth sharing.

Dr. Strong has a unique and varied teaching background.  His first teaching opportunities were with the Army where the teaching philosophy focused on the notion that only three teaching points could be absorbed and retained by students in an hour-long class.  From the Army, Dr. Strong went to INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France which uses a teaching style similar to that found at the Harvard Business School:  individual instructors are required to undertake extensive preparation, often in conjunction with other professors teaching the same or similar classes.  His time at Tulane, as he explains, brought a very different teaching experience.  Dr. Strong writes, “…I spent 34 years at Tulane, a school whose culture held that the instructor was – once the classroom doors were closed – answerable to no one for what went on in the classroom.”  From these experiences, Dr. Strong’s teaching philosophy has settled into a somewhat eclectic and, by his own admission, ever-evolving one.

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