Getting a Great Idea Off the Ground

Photo caption: Robert E. Kinsinger, a founder and trustee emeritus, stands with a replica of the Kinsinger family balloon.

Early explorers could count on the stars to plot their path, and so too, has Excelsior charted its course thanks to some guiding lights. One such beacon is Dr. Robert E. Kinsinger, who through the years has served as a consultant, advocate, member of the original board of overseers, founding trustee, trustee emeritus, and above all, friend to Excelsior College.

If there is anyone who knew Excelsior College "when," it's Dr. Kinsinger. His many contributions are memorialized each year at Commencement with the Robert E. Kinsinger Award, given to a student who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and who is involved with the nonprofit sector as either an employee or volunteer. Kinsinger's work to further the College's mission began long before there was an Excelsior College, a Regents College, or even the Regents External Degree Program.

As a young man, with his bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University, coupled with a passion for public health, Kinsinger solidified his interest in the education process. After working in Idaho for a few years, he decided he needed a doctorate in order to move forward. Getting accepted into a program at Columbia University Teachers College brought him into contact with a true visionary in the field of nursing education -- Dr. Mildred Montag.

Dr. Montag had written her own dissertation on the need for a two-year degree for entry into the field of nursing. Until that time, the most common route to becoming a nurse was through hospital-run nursing schools, which issued a diploma upon completion. Montag realized that diploma programs served the hospitals that offered them more than they served the students, because it was the students who did the routine work on the floors without compensation. She felt that the repetitive nature of the tasks was unnecessary -- once students learned what they needed to know, they shouldn't need to relearn it.

Kinsinger had already a developed an interest in the relatively new phenomenon of community college education. Arriving at Columbia, his ability to work with Montag channeled his interest into community college

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Live & Learn 40th Anniversary Edition | 7