Faculty Profiles

Carol Donnelly

Carol Donnelly’s doctoral dissertation in psychology focused on how students learn through analogy, a question she’s applying to her current Psychology of Art and Culture class at SCS.

CD: The theme of the course is how, by seeing art, we’re somehow understanding the mind of the artist. As part of the class, students bring in art that reflects their sense of the psychological disorders we’re discussing. I’ve been very moved by the depth of expression that I’ve seen from them.

Q: To what do you attribute that depth?

CD: I think it’s due to the richness of their experiences as adult learners. I’m finding that some of the greatest learning comes from the interaction that surrounds student presentations and the art they choose to discuss. Our sessions stretch me as well and have compelled me to do additional research on occasion.

Q: You seem extremely devoted to your field.

CD: Psychology is such an exciting area because it’s about who we are. So it has applicability to family, relationships, jobs, media — I do feel passionate about these things. And I think expressing that passion leads to a contagion in the classroom, where the energy spreads.

Q: Your own education has been spread out over some time. Was that a strategic move on your part?

CD: I’ve done all my graduate work as a continuing student. I’ve always felt that it was very important to be experiencing the real world even as I was enhancing my education, however piecemeal that process might be. I’ve come to see this as something that sort of feeds my work and recharges me. Certainly it has made me really passionate about learning. I remember taking a night class in New York as part of my doctorate and writing in my diary that I would rather go to the class than to a Broadway play. The teacher was that engaging. That’s the standard I strive to achieve as an instructor.

Q: What do you hope your students take away from your classes?

CD: My hope is that I sprinkle some seeds into the minds of people who may never become psychologists but perhaps discover new ways of thinking about others or about raising children or whatever — in a sense becoming better people through an understanding that they may gain in my class.

Fred Shafer

To Fred Shafer, writing is not just the process of bettering one’s story or book, but also the process of bettering oneself. It’s a subject he speaks of easily after a career in editing and publishing — several years with TriQuarterly, Northwestern’s literary journal — and nearly two decades as an instructor at SCS. Fred also serves as a consultant to novelists and storywriters and a leader of workshops. His own essays, reviews, and stories have appeared in several journals.

FS: I see my classes as a kind of laboratory, where we get to isolate certain issues and really learn about them. We spend a good amount of time analyzing published fiction as well as each other’s manuscripts in order to gain insights into technique, craft, and the process of writing. But always in a comfortable and supportive environment.

Q: What are some of the strategies you offer students?

FS: I try to help students divest themselves of plans or intentions for their stories so that they can begin to give themselves to the process of writing. It is especially important that they see revision as a means of discovery and take risks in order to learn about the characters and the story that may be emerging. It’s a matter of remaining open to possibilities while carrying a manuscript through several drafts.

Q: Why do students typically take your classes?

FS: My classes can count toward the undergraduate degree in English or the writing certificate, but many students enter just to study technique and the process of writing. They hope to publish their work — and a number of students have done so — but they understand that by giving themselves to this process, they may also enlarge themselves as people. It’s a demanding class, with the emphasis it places on writing and rewriting, but we sit down together in an atmosphere of mutual respect, which I hope permits everyone to become the kind of person he or she wants to be.

Q: What expectations do your students bring to the classroom?

FS: There is often a fascinating blend of working writers — journalists, people in public relations and advertising, teachers of writing — sitting alongside men and women from other walks of life. There are also students who plan to go on to graduate school. In all cases they come expecting SCS to be a place where the teaching will be as serious as they hope to be about their writing.

Q: What sort of projects are you working on as a consultant and workshop leader?

FS: I primarily consult with novelists and storywriters, but I have also worked with film directors. One film on which I received a screen credit was awarded four first prizes at the Milan Film Festival, including best film and best screenplay. I’ve also worked with experienced novelists as well as people who are new to the process, and several of those books have been published. It’s very rewarding when I can be involved in someone else’s progress, even when it does not lead directly to publication.

Vivan Noble

Vivan Noble teaches Northwestern medical students in a laboratory environment, so SCS undergraduates are thrilled to have the opportunity to take her class Introduction to Human Anatomy.

VN: Anatomy is not often taught in the undergraduate environment, so my class is a bit unusual. And it’s not a requirement for medical school, although a lot of premed students from the day school take my class, because it’s the only way they can get it at the University.

Q: What other students take your class?

VN: Anatomy is a prerequisite for physical and occupational therapy students, and for some dental students as well. But I have a lot of students who are coming back to school in their late 20s or 30s and are considering medical school. And then I get students who are just curious about anatomy as a subject they never fully understood.

Q: Why do you teach in SCS?

VN: You know, I have colleagues who teach at SCS just because they enjoy the experience with undergraduates so much. That’s true for me too. Teaching anatomy one night a week to undergraduates is a totally different experience from teaching medical students.

Q: What do you do differently?

VN: For one thing, I make them write a paper, which is a little unusual. I get really interesting topics, too — Marfan syndrome, sexual reassignment surgery, athletic injuries — you name it.

Q: So this class doesn’t have a lab?

VN: I do take students to the medical school’s cadaver lab, where we spend a class or two becoming familiar with that environment. They may get to actually hold a heart. Most of them really value that experience.

Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching SCS undergraduates?

VN: The sheer love of the subject that I see them develop during the class. Anatomy is such a difficult subject — very hard to grasp the first time you take it. My favorite part is the “light bulb moment,” when you can see a student grasping a concept. And I’ve had a few students who’ve come back to tell me that my class was one of the best they’d had, or one of the most helpful. That makes it all worthwhile.

Winai Wongsurawat

For years Winai Wongsurawat has enjoyed the challenge of working as a teaching assistant and private tutor, and he will soon earn a PhD in economics from Northwestern. So when asked to teach undergraduate micro- and macroeconomics for SCS, he enthusiastically agreed.

WW: The field of economics is always changing, but it is a particularly interesting time to study the subject. There are new ideas in play regarding market power, imperfect competition, and game theory — ideas that may have appeal to new students.

Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching SCS undergraduates?

WW: The process of interacting with students who are really interested and involved with the topic is very rewarding. To me, teaching is a breath of fresh air after years of reading and writing and research. I look forward to many more years of teaching ahead.

Q: How would you describe your style of teaching?

WW: Economics is well suited to lecture and discussion, but regardless of the mode the class is in, I try to bring my enthusiasm for the material to class. With a mixture of adult and younger students, we occasionally talk about the practical applications of concepts to things that they might know from their lives. That lends itself to very interesting discussions.

Q: And that’s different from day-school classes?

WW: Yes. One of the things that is so remarkable about continuing education students is how they’ll come to class after working all day, sometimes exhausted, but they still have the motivation and curiosity to sit in class for two and a half hours. It almost seems as if they leave with more energy than they came with. They participate actively and energetically, they do the assignments, and they’re here every week. They’re quite amazing individuals.

Q: Do you think that there’s any difference between an SCS degree and, say, the kind of degree you received at Stanford for your undergraduate work?

WW: I don’t know exactly how people perceive it, but I can tell you that we cover the exact same material, and the homework and exams are no less challenging than what is required of regular undergraduate students. In some cases we even go further and cover more material than our day-school counterparts, because of the dual perspective of younger and adult students, which allows for a broader perspective.

Heather Colburn

A semester in Spain as an undergraduate English major captivated Heather Colburn, who went on to earn a PhD in Spanish-American literature. She is assistant director of Northwestern’s Spanish Language Program.

Q: Why learn Spanish?

HC: Learning any foreign language gives you a window into another culture and helps you see the world from a different perspective. Some of my SCS students want to use Spanish for work in public health and other fields. Adult learners see the real need for what they’re studying and how they can use it in their lives. Spanish has many practical applications, particularly in Chicago.

Q: Is learning a language different from other kinds of learning?

HC: At Northwestern we use a communicative approach to teaching language. From the very beginning the goal is to communicate — if you make a mistake, you keep going. It helps that SCS students have a strong desire to learn. They’re also proactive in innovative ways, forming groups to chat and watch videos in Spanish at home.

Q: What’s a Spanish class like at SCS?

HC: Because we meet once a week for three hours, we’re active the whole time. In one class we might do paired activities, work in small groups, role play, watch videos, and use pictures or models of food to stimulate conversation. The goal is to interact, to communicate.

Q: How does Chicago serve as a language laboratory?

HC: Chicago is full of opportunities to listen to and to speak Spanish. I ask my students to see a film at the annual Chicago Latino Film Festival and write a brief review in Spanish. They might watch a telenovela on one of Chicago’s Spanish-language television stations or listen to Spanish-language radio. I encourage them to go to exhibits at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Pilsen and to check out events sponsored by Instituto Cervantes Chicago.

Jeff Rice

Onetime bookseller Jeff Rice specializes in U.S. and West African history at SCS and at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, where he is an adviser and lecturer.

Q: Do you teach the same way at SCS and Weinberg?

JR: I use the same readings and cover the same material for courses that I teach at both — History of the 60s in the U.S. and From Nationalism to Ethnic Cleansing — but at SCS I’m able to take into account students’ work schedules and structure assignments accordingly. I’m also able to offer a greater variety of courses at SCS, like 20th Century Africa, Islamic Revolution, and classes in the intellectual and legal history of the U.S.

Q: Are the discussions similar?

JR: It’s much easier to get discussions going at SCS, because SCS students bring a rich set of experiences to class. In one class we were talking about why unions were formed, and a retired union printer in the class was able to contribute his perspective. The size of my SCS classes — about 20 students — facilitates discussion without putting pressure on anyone to perform.

Q: Can students experience college life at SCS?

JR: There’s a sense of community at SCS. Students have a shared purpose — pursuing an education — and they take an active interest in that pursuit, requesting classes on new topics or signing up for independent study. They have the opportunity to get their hands dirty in the archives and do the kind of research that advanced students should be doing.

Q: How do you teach a class that meets once a week for three hours?

JR: Before class starts I always ask students what’s grabbed their interest that week — a movie, a headline, an event. My topic may be history, but it has to be relevant to today’s world. In a three-hour class I try to bring in a mixture of activities: lecture and discussion, documentaries, guest speakers.

Charles Whitaker

Veteran magazine writer and editor Charles Whitaker directs Medill’s Academy of Alternative Journalism. He was named the 2004 Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Clinical Professor.

Q: Shouldn’t you be the one conducting this interview?

CW: Writing a personality profile is one of the pieces I assign in Magazine Article Writing — it helps students develop interview skills, and you can use the structure for almost any story. But first I assign an evocative piece, where students observe and record details to set a scene for readers — no hollow adjectives allowed. After that they write personal essays, followed by a piece that reports the news.

Q: What else takes place in Magazine Article Writing?

CW: I try to bring in every magazine editor I know in Chicago to give students a sense of the market for freelance writers. Students also plan how to pitch their stories to magazines. It’s a summer class, and every summer students say they don’t want it to end, so to keep the momentum going I’ve started teaching Advanced Feature Writing in the fall.

Q: Do you teach the same classes at Medill?

CW: Not often, because I usually teach an editing class there. One of the best parts of my job is interacting with and mentoring students. My SCS classes are capped at 15 students, which means I’m able to give each student attention.

Q: Who should sign up for your classes?

CW: It’s helpful if students have taken an introductory reporting class or have a degree or experience in journalism. They must be open to learning and not afraid to be critiqued — the comments they receive will be incisive and insightful but never mean-spirited.

Q: Do your students get their work published?

CW: A few pieces from class have been published, and more students have gone on after class to write articles that have appeared in Chicago magazine, the Reader, Newcity, and North Shore. I’m very proud when my students’ work is published.