Feature Article
One on One With . . .
Editor’s Note: This is a regular Reflections
article series, and this issue features longtime
Siena Heights faculty member and Dean
of the College for Professional Studies Deb
Carter, who is retiring in September 2015
after more than 33 years at SHU. Reflections
recently sat down with Deb to reflect on
her time at Siena Heights.
How did you get your start at Siena Heights?
“Well, it’s an interesting story. I was a
teacher of hearing-impaired children in Berrien
County, and I had young children (at home).
I was working part-time because of my little
kids, and administratively they decided to only
go with full-time people. I had enough seniority
that I could bump somebody, and I just didn’t
feel that I could that. So I resigned from my position not knowing where I was going to go or
what was going to happen next. This was May
of 1982. In the summertime, a friend of mine
called me and said she saw a very small ad in
our local newspaper … and it was advertising
Siena Heights College needs a part-time person
to oversee a new degree program for adult
students. I hate to admit this because I’ve spent
33 years of my life here now, but I had never
heard of Siena Heights College. I had no college
experience. No higher ed experience. All my
experience was K through 12 teaching hearing
impaired kids. … My friend talked me into calling the number, and I got David James, who was
the director of Admissions at the time, and I said
I was interested in looking at this. (He said) ‘Can
you send your resume?’ … So I mailed it. And
then a couple of weeks went by, and I got a call,
and David said, ‘Our dean is coming out to your
area, and he is going to be interviewing candidates.’ … So I met Norm Bukwaz, who was the
dean of Admissions and off-campus programs,
and we had a conversation. And my curiosity
was, ‘what on earth could you see in my background?’ I don’t know that I would have looked
at me, because I didn’t have higher ed experience. … (But) I was called and offered the job,
and it fit my criteria because I had little kids and
(I) worked part-time. And I was hired at, believe
it or not, 10 hours a week, roughly two evenings
a week. … To this day, I’m gratefu