Access and Quality in the New Normal
Iakwe aolep
I am humbled by the warm messages of welcome to the College of the Marshall Islands. Thank you. I also am pleased to acknowledge those present and those who have joined my inauguration from afar. May I also recognize those who have held this rudder and guided CMI since its foundation – the 12 Presidents, and the Boards of Regents, including Dr. Theresa, and Chair Regent Kathryn Relang. Also, the Traditional Leaders and those on whose land we stand today.
In acknowledging the symbol of “Jined Kibed” – May I also be given space to honor my own dear mother who raised and guided my sister and I very much on her own, following the passing of my father when I was just two years old. She encouraged our education and service, was a role model who exhorted us to hold fast to the love and fear of God, and to firmly adhere to what is right.
It would perhaps be an understatement to say that my appointment as President has coincided with challenges that are very different to those that have faced my predecessors as leaders of the College of the Marshall Islands.
The world is caught in the grip of a fast-spreading virus that has claimed many lives. In some places, tens of thousands have died. A large share of humanity’s social and economic activity has already been disrupted. I am thankful that the Marshall Islands has so far been spared and we pray that the Almighty will continue to cast His protective wings over us all.
These unique, unpredictable circumstances have challenged the mission of the College of the Marshall Islands. While CMI has been, and will continue to be, compelled to laser-beam its focus on student access to quality programs and learning, our educators at the College have been required to rapidly give serious consideration to changing the mode of delivery of their courses and to accelerate activities and programs that will maximize student access to quality education within the context of restricted physical/social distance. There should be no doubt that this is a time for a strong sense of purpose, of commitment, and of intense work to ensure students will have access to quality programs that will provide the knowledge and skills they need for their future. In this, of course, CMI is not unique – it is a new reality for all educators in many diverse contexts throughout the world. There will be much to be learned from this shared experience.
Far from viewing the present period as a time when teaching and learning must be curtailed or held back, I intend to lead a team that is ever conscious of the value of flexibility, agility and innovation as proven assets. Inevitably, some activities may have to be adjusted. Some may even be set aside but only if, after careful assessment, their pursuit no longer possible given the constraints before us. Effective new approaches will need to be skillfully devised. New horizons of insights and investments into teaching and learning will have to be sought, and new ways must be found to strengthen existing patterns of activity. Indeed, this recognition is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the on-line courses have already more than doubled since March, and open source materials that may have gone unnoticed under the ‘old norm’ have been introduced.
In the months, if not years, ahead we will be striving to intensify this process of change and to regard this as an opportunity to achieve higher levels of quality for each CMI degree. I look forward to engagement with faculty, staff and administrators as we strive to work together on this common purpose.
As President, I am well aware of the indispensable necessity for a team that is dynamic, that galvanizes itself under one common purpose, unbent in its determination to provide the best possible quality education to our students. Diverse and well-meaning views will be welcome into the common bowl of knowledge-sharing. But our team will discourage, as far as possible, the propensity to persist on one’s view to the detriment of our common interest, now and into the future. Common experience tells us you cannot build a coherent strategy if there are kibitzers pulling in opposite directions.
The accreditation review, March 2021, will be consequential, a high priority for the President both in the period ahead of the visit, and the months and years beyond. I welcome the accreditation as an opportunity for each section of CMI to assess their achievement of the expected standard; to analyze progress with its comprehensive Strategic Plan carefully with respect to initiatives, courses, departments or full programs; to examine and reflect on the challenges, and identify next steps. Each step is a milestone to be attained. Any regression is to be evaluated and swiftly remedied. I look forward to working closely with VP for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Elizabeth Switaj to ensure she has the support required to fulfil her considerable responsibility as Accreditation Liaison Officer.
In this era of rapidly burgeoning knowledge in science and technology, the vital task of building and nurturing the Marshallese character of the College can easily become elusive or, indeed, relegated to the wayside. This should not happen. Indeed, new opportunities are coming forward: one is to grow a vibrant Marshallese Institute and to link this with to an elevated and expanded Marshallese Studies departmental a center of excellence in cultural studies. And, while, to date, CMI has done much in sustaining where practical as an essential part of its ethos, service to the community, opportunities are presenting to take the college out of its mooring in Majuro and to share what it can offer to the people of Kwajalein and the CMI Centers in Jaluit and Wotje, as well as other islands and atolls.
The College is inseparable from its social, cultural, economic and political environment: one acts upon the other. Relevance has no meaning unless it takes this institutional milieu into account. We must see ourselves as a noteworthy contributor to the nation-building process, responsive in providing young Marshallese with proven capacity to serve their families and the community. As with my predecessors, we plan to accomplish this by working to elevate the art of constructive collaboration to its fullest.
We are all aware of how critical the year 2023 is for the RMI – I can assure you all of my commitment to collaborate with the Regents and the VP Business and Administrative Affairs and build on CMI’s fiscal strength to and increase its endowment funds through wise planning and innovation. I have never shied away from supporting promising initiatives and intend that the College will be the place where the youth of the Marshall Islands will confidently turn to provide the twenty-first century skills for their future.
There is no doubt that challenges will always present themselves and that these challenges will differ over time – As we learn to adjust, there is now greater awareness that collaboration is of indispensable importance – Forging collaborative engagement with Government and its agencies, the private sector and non-governmental agencies, is essential. Maintaining these existing close relationships and networks and exploring new ones in the Pacific region, with international agencies, foundations and research entities will ensure CMI actively and effectively contributes to RMI national development priorities in human resource development.
The worrisome situation in our pandemic afflicted world notwithstanding, I believe no incoming President has had my advantages – and in this I claim #13 as a lucky number. I have great confidence that My service to CMI will be supported by the wise guidance, insights and direction of the Board of Regents and its elected President Kathryn Relang. The five years of prior untiring and strong leadership and strategic direction by my colleague Dr. Theresa Koroivulaono has ensured that the College has the heart (jouj), structures and processes in place as a firm foundation for the upon which to strive for greater excellence in the years ahead. Dr. Koroivulaono identified the potential and nurtured the talent of four energetic and highly committed vice-presidents, who most ably and professionally lead the dedicated staff of their respective sections. The college has a comprehensive, well-articulated and measurable Strategic Plan – a road map, or shipping lane, for the journey we will take together in the years ahead. Moreover, I will, as I have always been, be inspired by cohorts of students – like those who recently graduated, students who are endowed with hidden and emerging talents, capacities and potential deserving of the quality and relevant courses that their instructors deliver.
It is not possible to foresee the extent this pandemic will affect the RMI. However, I have a special liking for the analogy of a duck that glides along the surface of the water, appearing calm and composed. But underneath, the feet are feverishly paddling and working hard to keep the body moving. And so I begin my service today – confident that with hard work and a focused outlook, we will rise to the challenges we face – and not only fulfil our mission to provide access and quality but exceed the vision and expectations the government and people of the Marshall Islands hold for its national college.
