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Marra studies UMass administration through Williams by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff
The ACE Fellows Program is a higher education leadership-development program that identifies and prepares senior faculty and administrators to become skilled leaders, particularly in the area of change, by providing direct experience of higher education administration at the top level. Fellows are mentored by a team of experienced administrators, often on a host campus at which they spend an academic year. Marra arrived on campus Sept. 4, after attending the fellowship's opening seminar in late August in Chicago. The political science professor from Franklin Pierce College said he had originally only considered being mentored at a small school like his own, which has 1,500 undergraduates at its Rindge, N.H., campus. "I wasn't looking at large public schools," he said. "I was considering Colgate, Skidmore, Ithaca College, Bentley..." When some opportunities fell through at the schools Marra was considering, a Franklin Pierce colleague, who was a fellow last year, sent a message to his ACE class. "Linda Nolan [special assistant to the chancellor] was one of the first people to reply," Marra said. When Nolan suggested UMass, Marra remembered that Marlene Ross, director of the ACE Fellows Program, had suggested that he think about going to an institution substantially different from his own. With that in mind, Marra visited campus Aug. 9 and met with Williams, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Javier Cevallos, also a former fellow, and interim Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Charlena Seymour. Marra knew immediately he wanted to come to UMass, and after an e-mail exchange the next day, he accepted Williams' invitation for the year. Staying in an apartment on campus, furnished with extras from Franklin Pierce's dorms, Marra feels "like I'm a freshman all over again who lucked into getting a single. "I can't imagine being anywhere else at this point." At his home campus, Marra is the founding member of his department, which now has two members. He served as president of the faculty union for two years and filled in as chair of the humanities division for six months while the permanent chair was on leave. He also directs a successful polling institute that he developed. "It's still a paper-and-pencil operation," he said. "We have 15 phones." Marra does all the data entry and analysis himself, writes questions, and hires and trains students. "We were second-to-none in forecasting McCain beating Bush in double figures and dead on in predicting the gubernatorial primaries, very close in the presidential race in New Hampshire and the gubernatorial race," said Marra of his group's work during early 2000. "It started out as a way to get students interested in an aspect of the New Hampshire political process and became the single biggest PR bonanza for the college in its history," Marra said. "ABC Weekend News, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Associated Press in Washington - any media outlet you can think of, we hit." Marra is a dedicated runner, who hasn't missed a day of his workout in more than 17 years. His wife, Jill Wixom, is the circulation manager in the campus library. They have two daughters, Kayla, 9, and Leslie, 14. Prior to Franklin Pierce, Marra taught at Michigan State, the University of Wisconsin and Southern Methodist University. "This is the first fall in 25 years that I haven't been in a classroom," he said. Marra said it was difficult in the days following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon not to be in a classroom processing what had happened with students. "It was the seminal event of our recent history, and here I am, a professional educator, and no way to practice my craft. I needed to do it as much for myself as for my students. "It was hard not being with my family during that period. I was very teary-eyed at that remembrance [Sept. 14]. But I felt if I couldn't be with my family, I was glad I was here." "At the opening [ACE] seminar, we had a session on coping with campus crisis, and we talked about having a disaster plan. They had revised the UMass plan over the summer. This group [of senior campus administrators] just came together, and no one pulled out the 3-ring binder; they just did it. It's good to think about and codify a plan, but when a disaster comes, you're not going to have time to read about it. "The hardest thing is sitting there and being quiet, especially in a problem-solving situation. I know that my role is to observe and learn and not be such an active participant that I forget that." Down the road, he hopes to be active, indeed. "I'd like to assume a senior academic position somewhere within the next few years," he said. "I'll probably first look for a dean position somewhere. I want to have a broad impact across an institution. My ultimate goal is a presidency, certainly a provost position. My experience in the classroom, with the union, and in dealing with media are things of some value to some institution." In the meantime, he plans to make the most of the fellowship, focussing on governance issues and assessment. "You invest a year, and you learn some things, not only about yourself but about higher education," he said. "I got into it because I wanted some new challenges. "Marcie is my primary mentor, but [interim Deputy Chancellor] John Dubach, Javier [Cevallos], [Assistant Chancellor for University Advancement and special projects] Elizabeth [Dale]...the list goes on and on. I'm learning from as many people as I can." |
obin Marra hasn't had to travel far for his American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship year. Just over an hour from his home in Fitzwilliam, N.H, Marra is studying the workings of the University through his ACE mentor, interim Chancellor and former ACE fellow Marcellette G. Williams.