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| Bragg starts her new role within CBAPP on Aug. 20. |
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Bragg Appointed
New Associate Dean
Kaye
Bragg describes herself as a “mass-transit person,” meaning she
likes the opportunities to interact with those around her in trains
and subways. It’s a symbolic way of understanding how she has worked
with her colleagues at CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) for the past 18 years
as a teacher and administrator – not in a bubble like a car moving
alongside them on a highway at 65 miles per hour, but working
alongside them to mold decisive action. When she begins her new role
as CBAPP’s associate dean later this month, she will rely on such
skills as a key member of the CBAPP team moving toward AACSB
accreditation and as the primary administrator responsible for both
learning assessment and pushing the undergraduate programs forward. Most recently, Bragg served as the director of both the CSUB Assessment Office and CSUB Faculty Teaching and Learning Center. When asked what she looks forward to most about her impending arrival on Aug. 20, she quickly references the diversity of the programs offered within CBAPP, the ability to learn under a dean such as Dean Jim Strong since she someday hopes to become a dean herself, and working to further fold the practicum of the real world together with the curriculum of class for CSUDH’s students. This last reference – the meshing of real-world and class learning – is clearly a passion for someone who spends much of her spare time traveling beyond the borders of the U.S. “Over the years, I have learned that I need to leave the United States at least twice per year,” says Bragg, who describes India as her first love, speaks mandarin, Tamil, and Hindi conversationally, and has built relationships around the world in countries including China where she completed two separate graduate research projects. “I need to have that contact outside the U.S. so I can come back and really have a better perspective on the life I want to lead and understanding of the relationships I hold dear. “The way that crosses over to my work and particularly with CSUDH’s students is that I understand globalization and the global workforce they will be entering. But I also think I can appreciate the uniqueness and the challenges students from diverse backgrounds can face.” In addition to facilitating and creating a breadth of new internship opportunities for students, Bragg is also very comfortable advising and working with faculty as well. It’s what she did best as director of CSUB’s Faculty Teaching and Learning Center for six years. Looking ahead to CSDUH, she thinks she can provide a needed support base to non-tenure track faculty in particular, who represent a growing segment of the faculty throughout the CSU system. “I think she will bring an incredible amount of expertise and insight to the college,” says Dean Strong. “Her work in advising both with faculty and students will be a tremendous addition, but I am also very excited about the contributions she can make with learning outcomes assessment.” Learning outcomes assessment is essentially how well students actually learn the things they are being taught. It’s a concrete way to evaluate not only how well students are grasping concepts, but also how well their teachers are conveying those concepts. Because of its value for WASC, AACSB, and NASPAA accreditations as well as internal evaluations of effective teaching and the college’s continuous improvement program, assessment has always been a priority for the associate dean position. Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management Myron Sheu, who will return to the faculty full-time after serving as acting associate dean for the past year, was responsible for such work and Bragg will pick up where he left off. Yet as she digs in to the details of learning outcomes assessment, the potential for future internship opportunities, and the day-to-day rigors of course scheduling and enrollment numbers, Bragg expects to leave her desk regularly to wander the hallways and sidewalks of campus. Not just to refresh, but to talk to the students and faculty whom she will be serving. It’s that mass-transit philosophy at work. “Above all my priorities is a desire to really get to know these students, find out what they need, and figure out ways to facilitate solutions for those needs,” she concludes. |