Carolyn Doolittle, associate professor of education and interim department chair for the undergraduate School of Education, will be leaving Baker University to pursue a professional career advancement at the University of Saint Mary.
She will become the director of teacher education programs for the University of Saint Mary at the Overland Park campus.
While her decision to leave Baker brings new opportunities, she describes her leaving as “bittersweet.”
“Well this is an opportunity that wasn’t something that I was going out looking for,” she said. “The more I looked into it, the more I thought this would be a great challenge and maybe just something different to do… This is an opportunity for professional growth and certainly a career advancement. I have very mixed feelings about leaving Baker.”
Jim Foil, assistant professor of education, worked with Doolittle this year and said the amount of work she does for the department is equivalent to the work of two people.
“She is in charge of some programs that other people will have to step up and help with those programs like KPTP (Kansas Performance Teaching Portfolio) and she’s on a lot of different boards and committees,” Foil said. “I think the whole campus is going to miss her, really, because she is involved with a lot of things across campus. In the department, primarily just her leadership and that kind of thing will be missed.”
In her new position, Doolittle will be have various duties, including working with and advising graduate as well as undergraduate students. What she is most excited about is the five new graduate programs the university is launching.
“I’m going to basically be helping to get off the ground and get them started,” she said. “It’ll be a great career challenge and I think I’m ready to do something like that.”
However, the deal would have been off if her new position did not allow her to continue teaching.
“Really that would’ve been a deal breaker. If it would’ve meant that I had to leave the classroom all together, I would not have done it,” Doolittle said, “but she assured me that I would get to teach as well, because I love the classroom. That’s where I enjoy that interaction with students. I love what I do in the classroom.”
Doolittle does more than just teach. Junior Lauren Williams said Doolittle has served as a role model for her.
“She is a lot like the teacher that I want to be,” Williams said, “and so I look up to her as kind of a mentor. She has so much experience and so much passion for teaching that I hope to be that way some day.”
Although her students are a big part of her work and are what she will miss the most, Doolittle has a different perspective than having to leave just the general population of students at Baker.
“I have two daughters that are here, and that’s certainly part of it,” she said. “I’ll miss getting to see my girls everyday. I always enjoy getting to see my kids drop in, and I wont have that part.”
