Debbie MacLellan

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Slide - 50 Years, 50 Voices   Debbie MacLellan - 00:00
So, my name is Debbie MacLellan, I went to UPEI as an undergrad, graduated
in 1976 and then moved away, and I came back to UPEI as a term professor,
in 1990. That term was for two years and when the term was up, I had the
pleasure of obtaining a full time position, so I was at UPEI from 1990,
until this year. I've had many positions; I was an assistant associate and
full professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, as it's now
called when I first came it was the Department of Home Economics. I was
also Dean of Science for about six years, almost six years, I worked with
the President of the University on the strategic planning revision process,
and then for the last year I went to Cairo, Egypt to be President of the
Universities of Canada, where we have a Cairo campus of the University of
Prince Edward Island. I am currently retired.


Slide - Teaching - 01:18 
My grandfather had been a teacher and a principal in Manitoba, and he
taught me how to read and write before I went to school, and he always said
to me that I should be a teacher; that this was the best vocation in the
world, and he thought that I would make a good teacher so I don't know if
that's why I didn't become a teacher; because I thought "No, I'm not going
to do what he says" but that always came back to my mind when I actually
did get a teaching position. My first year of teaching, I wouldn't say that
I loved teaching, because I found out how difficult it was  and I also
found out that I didn't know what I was doing, like I didn't know how to
teach, I didn't know how to engage students, I knew the material because I
was teaching nutrition and I was a dietitian, so I knew the material but I
didn't know how to convey it in a way that was interesting  that kept the
students interested and motivated to learn, so but I've always been the
kind of person who if I don't know something I will go out and learn about
it, so I went to many teaching conferences, read a lot of teaching books,
was part of the Teaching Senate Committee on Teaching Enhancement, SCENT,
for several years, and went to the fantastic Summer Institute that we have
at UPEI that was really I think it was a huge turning point for me, because
at that institute we learned how to do a lot of experiential active
learning; things that I was able to take into the classroom, and so, when
the teaching became less of a struggle and I started to see students
engaged in the classroom, and asking questions, and I could lead discussion
groups that actually, we discussed something of relevance; and I was able
to take a little bit more risks with my teaching because of course, as a
professor, who is not tenured, you're always in the back of your mind, you
have to think about what the students are gonna say about you in your
evaluations. So it was probably after I got tenured that I felt more safe
to experiment with my teaching methods, and I really loved to do activities
in class that did not involve lecturing I was not a big fan of lecturing, I
never liked people who lectured in when I went to undergraduate, my
undergraduate education, which was the majority of the time, that was what
was done, so it wasn't unusual but I liked to be involved with the
students; talking to the students, getting them up and...I guess a
colleague of mine calls it "Embodied Teaching", so that you feel a part of
what you are learning, and so as I learned how to do that myself, and I was
able to do it in the classroom, and I saw the effects that it was having on
the students and of course then you would, the real joy is when you get a
student who writes to you after graduation and says something like: "You
know, I hated Clinical Nutrition, but now I understand why you did what you
did, and I'm so glad that you did it" and so you know, you get that
feedback from students, and not necessarily only after graduation I often
got feedback through, on the course evaluations, where they would say that
something made a real big impact on the way they were thinking or...and I
guess that's why I really loved teaching it's the opportunity to have an
impact on young people's minds, and to open up the world to alternate ways
of thinking so yeah it is kind of funny that I did end up being a teacher,
even though I told my grandfather I wasn't going to be.


Slide - Creative and Experiential Learning - 05:22 
Many still think that you don't come to university to get a job that is not
true. I spoke to many parents as Dean of Science and that's the very first
thing that they ask when they come and talk to you about any particular
program is, "What can my son or daughter do with this degree?" So, we can't
kind of ignore that imperative, that even though we may not think a
particular program has a direct job, I think every program that we have at
UPEI gives students skills and abilities that they can transfer into a job,
and so, having that entrepreneurial thinking is very important to me and
then or I think to UPEI and then to, take that into the experiential piece
getting them out into the work world or bringing the work world here, I
mean, not every program is gonna have the ability or the luxury of being
able to send their students into a work term, or a co-op term or whatever
but, providing opportunities where there is a real life experience, so that
students can take that real life experience into their 'real life' and be
able to obtain jobs or create jobs on their own, that are going to make
them successful adults and contribute to society. We all know or we've all
been told that many of the jobs that are currently in the market are not
gonna be here in five or ten years, we were already seeing that and so we
have to have students who think entrepreneurially, creatively and are not
afraid to make decisions, and so we have to make this a safe space were
they can make decisions about, maybe crazy ideas that they have, because a
lot of crazy ideas have turned into huge businesses.


Slide - UPEI in Egypt - 07:20 
I think when I was first offered the opportunity to go to Egypt, I was very
skeptical, and nervous  it was an unknown, and many people are afraid of
Middle Eastern countries for good reason and many people disagree with the
policies of their governments for good reason so I went to Egypt prior to
taking on that role, to see for myself what it was like and, granted I was
in a bubble at the time, because obviously they wanted me to go there, but
I was able to talk to a lot of everyday Egyptians, during that time period
and I was extremely impressed by a couple of things: One was how much love
they have for their country, and two, how much they loved Canadians, and
they were so excited at the possibility of having a Canadian education in
their home place in their home, with the opportunity for their students
because, mostly I talked to parents, to come to Canada, and to come here
seamlessly, because they were taking the same program, so that enthusiasm,
I think, was what really drew me to take the position on in the first
place, and when our first students started at UPEI Cairo Campus, although
we had a lot of struggles I won't sugarcoat that piece but I think giving
these students the opportunity to experience a Canadian education is hugely
important and I do think that it fits with the Mission of this University.
I think it's a great opportunity to provide these students with another
view of the world, as well as providing the faculty who perhaps come from
Canada to teach at the University, in Cairo, a view of their world, and
although there are a lot of people who think that we shouldn't be there for
a variety of reasons I think the opportunity to go to a place where
education is so needed because there are so many young people in Egypt, in
particular, and not enough places for them to go to university, and not
always the money to send them to universities out of the country that if
UPEI can go there or any other university in Canada can go there to provide
that to Egyptians students; I think we are contributing to the betterment
of the country; that the programs we are offering in Egypt are
entrepreneurial, and experiential relevant to the market, the programs that
were brought to Egypt by UPEI were specifically designed for that purpose,
so that these students can find jobs and so, I'm actually really proud that
UPEI took this on, it was a huge endeavor, but I'm very hopeful that it
will be successful and that we will see some Egyptian students, from the
University of PEI in Cairo, come to Charlottetown campus, because they are
wonderful, excited, creative students, that I think will add a lot to the
classroom.


Slide - International Student Growth - 11:17 
I think the most transformational change at UPEI has been the growth of the
international students on campus I'm not a 100% sure that I would've said
that, if I hadn't gone to Egypt, but now that I've had that experience
myself, and come back, that's, I think that's for me what has made this
university grow and change and change for the better. There's been so many
changes in terms of the departments, the curriculum, the numbers of
faculties that we have, the people that we've been able to attract to this
University; even though it's in a small place, in Canada, smallest
province, and may not necessarily be attractive to people who are...very
focused on their own career, their own research path but we've been able to
attract a lot of those people, and I think it's because of the vibrant
community that we've been able to develop over the years but definitely I
think that's the most transformational piece that's occurred I mean, when I
was here as an undergrad, I think there were maybe two people of a
different color on this campus, and but now you walk around, you know, you
see so many students of, from different nations, and I've taught many
students from different nations and I know that in the classroom that makes
a huge differences in terms of our students from Prince Edward Island or
from Canada, understanding the perspectives of students from other areas.
So I think that's for me that's the biggest, biggest change.


Slide - At the end of the day - 13:08 
I think if people don't feel a connection to the place that they work, then
they’re not likely to do their best work and I really, I've enjoyed
working with everyone that I've worked with not saying that we haven't had
arguments, because that would be really unlikely but always being able to
come to some kind of consensus, and always have that feeling that at the
end of the day we’re here for the students that come to University of
Prince Edward Island, that's why we are here, and we have to keep that end
in mind, and that is not about your individual career which I think, in a
larger university, that's not something you're very likely to find.


Slide - Final Thoughts - 13:52 
I remember my graduation day from UPEI and I lived in residence for the
last two years of my experience in my undergrad degree and at that point
there was quite a few of us who had no clue what we were gonna do which I
sometimes laugh when I hear students today, saying the same thing, like in
many ways, times have changed, but in other ways, times really haven't
changed and there was a lot of us, and we were out front of Marian Hall at
the time, it was a residence; kind of all hanging together, crying, and
saying how much we were going to miss each other and you know, 'what the
heck' we were going to do without each other, and you know again, it was
that connection I had to UPEI that even when I moved away I knew that I
would be back at some point, and something in my head said I was gonna be
teaching here which was kind of funny, because I became a dietitian, I
didn't have an education degree, I didn't have a PhD, but in my head I
thought "Yeah, I'm gonna be teaching in Dalton Hall at some point" because,
again, because I just loved this place so much and I wanted to be a part of
it so as life would have it, you know there's always things that come up in
your life as opportunities I did have the opportunity to be secondant to
UPEI and I thought 'this was the best thing that had ever happened to me'
and I was so excited...and then it turned out to be so much work, because I
don't think anybody who never, hasn't experienced teaching, of any kind,
has any idea how much work teaching is but I was so happy to be here, and
so happy to be, to continue on with the work here. I do feel a huge
connection to this place you'll notice, the catch in the voice and I think
even though I'm retired, I'm definitely going to remain connected in some
way, I did receive a Professor Emerita Award, at convocation this year so I
think that might give me some connection to the place so I think just
having the opportunity to just be a part of this place for the majority of
my life, has been very special to me.