Friday, Jun. 13, 2008
John Spevak: Au revoir, Karyn
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ReprintIt's time to say goodbye to Karyn just after, it seems, we said hello. As the Enterprise reported last month, Dean Karyn Wiens will be leaving the Los Baños Campus to take another dean's position at the college in Merced.
She will be missed. Karyn is an exceptional educational leader who has accomplished a great deal in the two short years she has been dean of the local campus. She entered the position replacing the very popular and effective outgoing dean, Anne Newins.
She picked up where Anne left off in the planning and implementation of a new campus, and directed the move, completed in June 2007, from the Mercey Springs Road location to the new site on Pacheco Boulevard. She organized the grand opening last fall, and led the campus as it grew in enrollment by 30 percent during the 2007-08 academic year.
Now she returns to work in Merced, to fill an important role for Merced College, supervising as a dean a number of key programs and services essential to the success of the college. Working with other managers who report to her, she will be overseeing the college's programs in Continuing Education (Noncredit) and Foster and Kinship Care, the Business Resource Center, the Workplace Learning Center, and a newly combined program in Business, Industry, and Community Services.
In addition, she will be supervising talented persons responsible for publishing the college catalogue and class schedules and for creating contracts for more than 500 instructional faculty.
This particular dean's position in Merced is new, and the college needed someone with experience and leadership skills to serve in it. Many of these programs are at a crossroads, needing a close analysis and a comprehensive plan for the future. Karyn was willing to step up and serve in this capacity.
She really didn't want to leave Los Baños and the campus, where she had developed many professional and personal friendships. But she recognized the need in Merced and understood that Dr. Brenda Latham had been selected by college president Dr. Ben Duran as one of three new interim deans as part of an administrative reorganization.
Karyn knew that Brenda would be an excellent dean for the Los Banos Campus. After all, Brenda has been a full-time faculty member at the campus for many years, worked in the capacity of a faculty lead for the last two years, and lives in Los Baños. Brenda also cares as deeply about the campus and its students as Karyn does.
Karyn, meanwhile, lives in Merced, where her mother and sister also reside. It made sense for both Brenda and Karyn not to commute and pass each other on the way to work each day. Dr. Duran, after consulting with both of them, made the decision to assign Brenda to Los Baños and Karyn to Merced in their respective deans' roles.
The Merced Campus is lucky to have Karyn. She has served in many capacities as she worked her way up the ladder of increasingly more responsible positions: from clerk in the duplicating department, to financial aid advisor, to CalWORKS director, to director of the Employment Training Center, to Dean of the Los Banos. Along the way she earned her master's degree in psychology, with an emphasis in cross-cultural issues. (An advanced degree in psychology comes in handy when dealing with the many challenges an educational administrator faces.) Karyn will need to use all this education, experience, and expertise in her new role of dean of extended education programs in Merced.
More than her knowledge, Los Baños will miss her energy and enthusiasm that she gave to the campus and the community. Karyn became an active member of the local Rotary Club, and spoke often at other local services clubs and organizations. She interacted frequently with both Los Banos and Dos Palos High Schools and had many conversations with representatives from CSU Stanislaus, UC Merced, and the University of Pacific.
She has worked with the city of Los Baños and the local chamber of council, as well as with the submarine veterans group led by Joe Cox. She has won the hearts of people in the community.
Karyn has also worked very well with the faculty, staff, and students of the Los Baños campus. Much of the excitement that a person feels when visiting the campus can be attributed to Karyn's nurturing of an esprit de corps in which everyone feels he or she plays a key role in the campus's success.
Karyn is a good listener and team builder, who turns the suggestions of other campus employees into plans and activities. She also has a good sense of humor and is able to create a relaxed and informal atmosphere on campus, in which employees take their jobs seriously but can laugh at themselves and the world around them.
My guess is that Los Banos will always remember Karyn, and she will always remember the community and the campus. I have a feeling Los Banos will always stay in her heart, and that from her new position in Merced, she'll continue to remind everyone how important the Los Banos Campus is to the success of the entire Merced Community College District.
On another note: Los Baños lost a treasure with the death of Virginia Contreras. Few people I have ever known have been as upbeat and joyful as Virginia was. She was a wonderful wife to Carlos for 40 years and a great mom and grandmom.
Virginia served her community with talent and zest. She was a reading specialist for 33 years at LBE, where she shared her enthusiasm for learning with her students. She was a tireless volunteer for the local St. Vincent DePaul Society, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and many other community organizations. She cared deeply about others and she epitomized the Christian value of loving her neighbor as herself. She will be deeply missed.
Comments on the writings of John Spevak, a regular Enterprise columnist, are encouraged and can be sent via email to spevak@telis.org.