came out of my discussions was the mutual pride that faculty have in students and that students have in faculty— i thought that was so cool,” he says. After his research and


compiling the findings, Barkman held three faculty forums last


spring. The forums centered around three themes he created after discussions


with faculty: “Who are our students?” “New and proven ways to engage students,” and, “our stories: journeys we take as teachers.” These very well attended gatherings were recorded to generate a perma- nent record for the use of new faculty. “The sessions were very rich. one thing that came out of the forums was the importance of getting students to ask the questions, that kind of engagement gives them ownership in learning—a huge part of meeting your goals as a teacher,” he related. His expectation for the year was to honor teaching and he


is confident this was accomplished. “i think it is very appro- priate for a small college like Springfield to honor teaching.


Bob Barkman (right) performs at his Humanics Lecture with his banjo instructor, Diane Sanabria, and assistant professor of music Christopher Haynes.


At larger schools, it is research first and then teaching, but at Springfield College, teaching and focusing on students’ needs come first. We now have an award for teaching voted on by students, three professors received it last year;


Continued on page 37


Coach Naomi Graves: 2011-2012 Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics By Chris Gregor


THiS yEAR’S HUMANiCS PRoFESSoR is Naomi Graves G’85, head women’s basketball coach. Her theme for the year will be an examination of the role of the teacher-coach and how, on an everyday basis, their work relates in a very special way to the Humanics philosophy. “This will be a great segue from the work Bob


Barkman did in his year,” Coach Graves tells Triangle. “Bob talked about teaching and what a great teacher is, and that really works into what i am doing. My passion has been the unique role of the teacher-coach at SC—the idea of the dual role that in a very special way is vested in the Spirit, Mind, Body philosophy of Humanics. on an everyday basis our teacher-coaches live the philosophy and instill it into our student-athletes, that’s really special. Springfield College is unusual in that we still honor the coach as a teacher, it’s the co-curricular approach, athletics are valued as an extracurricular sport and also a classroom, valuable lessons are learned beyond kicking a soccer ball or shooting a foul shot. We coaches impart wisdom to student-athletes in many other ways. Most coaches will tell you the trophies and adulation aren’t worth as much as a kid who years later thanks you for having an impact with something you said or did,” she says. While organizing and gathering data, Graves discussed creating forums featuring senior student-athletes from all sports to examine


TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 83, No. 2


how Humanics came to life in their experiences. Forums that also will look at how coaches go about reinforcing the spirit, mind, and body principles. Graves, in her 21st year as a head coach, has seen a signifi- cant number of her graduates go on to coaching, thus becoming stewards of the Humanics philos- ophy and the role of teacher-coach. The role of stewardship will be an important part of her work. So additionally, she is asking each coach to


recommend two alumni who they feel have become stewards of the College’s teacher- coaching philosophy. it is hoped that these alumni can also become part of forums and discussions. Coach Graves sums up her hopes for the year:


Naomi Graves


“i want to celebrate the idea that we coaches do the same things as faculty. The culture and tradition of the Springfield College coach is very strong, to be called a coach is something special— all because of the unique role of the coach in the Spirit-Mind-Body piece. We are different from other schools in that coaches are faculty ranked as educational professors, we all teach classes outside


of the athletic domain. Highlighting the work of coaches celebrates the idea that we are teachers. in an age where coaching has taken on a very business management style, we at Springfield College still have coaches that are concerned with character building, all the stuff you hear people talking about, we are doing. i want to get that message out, and that will make this a very satisfying year.”1


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