Diana Ross
Dean, School of Education
In 2001, Dr. Diana Ross had just joined Anderson University staff as Dean of the School of Education (SOE). At orientation, President Edwards spoke about "the unavoidable will of God." "Life," she remembers him saying, "takes different directions and paths and brings you to the point where you go, ‘Aha! This is it!’" As a music and English teacher from Florida, Ross had never expected to become Dean at a School of Education in Indiana. But when she heard Edwards’ words, Ross looked back over her life in education and realized that God’s "unavoidable will" had led her straight to AU.
Ross grew up "a dyed-in-the-wool Floridian." "I was actually born there, which makes me the minority," she smiles. At the lab school she attended, children were given written evaluations instead of traditional grades, and student projects were self-motivated. She credits her initiative, organization, and time-management to this unusual environment. The school also nurtured her love of music; it was her band teacher who inspired her to become a teacher.
After graduating from Trevecca University in 1971, Ross taught music and English throughout Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, moving around with her husband’s pastoral ministry. While in North Carolina, Ross traveled the short distance to earn her Master’s of Education from Winthrop State in South Carolina in 1994. Eventually, she and her family moved to Indianapolis, where Ross began working in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). Although performing arts schools had asked her to teach their exceptional students, Ross refused. "I didn’t want to work with the most skilled students," she explains. "In music, it’s about taking a student who doesn’t think they have any talent and giving them the skills to develop." She also found opportunities to reach students in her English classes. One year, a struggling student chose "Casey at the Bat" to memorize and perform for Ross’ annual poetry competition. "I never would have asked that of him," Ross says, referring to the difficulty of that poem. However, the student did so well his peers voted him first place. Ross loved working with students in the classroom, but she decided to move to an administrative position with the IPS Center for Professional Development. Looking back, it was another step on the path to her current position.
At the Center for Professional Development, Ross worked with first-year teachers in Indianapolis and began a Doctorate in Urban Teaching from Indiana State. Ross remembers, "My husband had been asking me, ‘Why are you going for your PhD? You want to stay in the classroom!’ I had to tell him, ‘I don’t know!’" The reason became clear after Ross finally answered the phone calls she’d received from Anderson University. She visited campus in 2001 and was impressed with the spirit of the university and the hearts of the people she met. Ross admitted, "God does all things well and in time," and joined AU as the Dean of the School of Education.
When she arrived, the SOE needed reorganizing. Ross got to work with her cheerful determination and the skills she had learned early at her unique lab school. She created positions for clinical supervision and license advising and moved secretaries to more official capacities. Her workload is still heavy, but these improvements helped to streamline the difficult process of graduating highly qualified teachers.
Ross continues to supervise the entire SOE, ensuring that it is producing teachers of excellence, maintaining its accreditation, and fulfilling state and federal standards. She also meets constantly with principals, graduates, and school administrators to discuss what composes "a top-notch teacher." She tracks legislation , compiles large amounts of data, and constantly revises curriculum to meet student needs and guarantee that graduates are equipped to be effective teachers. The most recent change is the Professional Development Academy (PDA) for Teachers of English as a New Language. The federal grant of almost $800,000 will help the SOE prepare its future teachers for students with limited English proficiency, preparation that is essential for future teachers. Ross hopes that many students will take advantage of this program.
The true focus of Ross’ work outside her office is the students. She keeps a weekly schedule on her door so that any education student can sign up to meet with her about any issue. She is an optimistic problem solver and mentor. "No matter what the problem is, there is a way to solve it," she asserts. "If students will come see me, there is no problem too big. When I do hear a complaint, it’s always from a student whom I never saw." Accessibility is important to Ross because she wants to get to know the SOE students as future teachers and as people. "I value that I’m able, through the department, faculty, staff, and the university as a whole, to prepare teachers to teach all children." Now that Ross has grandchildren, her perspective about education has altered a little. "I want to prepare students, because I never want an incompetent teacher for my grandchild," she explains. She is proud of her students, and has every right to be. Although AU competes with four other universities to place students in the same area schools, many principals and teachers request AU student teachers. Ross also constantly searches for new programs and opportunities that will enhance the School of Education and its students.
One of those opportunities was Ross’ recent Alaska trip to a Blue-Ribbon school (a high achieving school populated mostly by students in a minority). In May, 2007, Ross took five education students to a school whose principal is a 1976 AU alumna, Marilyn (McHarg) Davidson. The AU students on the trip learned about creative teaching, diversity, and finishing out the school year. According to Ross, the most rewarding part of the Alaska trip was visiting Elaine Griffin, the 1994 Teacher of the Year. Griffin had visited AU while she was Teacher of the Year, and she was surprised in 2007 to see AU students appear in her little village the last week of her teaching career. She exclaimed, "I remember walking away [in 1994] thinking ‘These kids will never leave the Midwest,’ and here you are on my doorstep!" Ross says, "It was like her career had come in a full circle, because she’ d been at Anderson years ago, and now Anderson came to her." To Ross, it was proof that her students "are going everywhere to teach all students to achieve."
Ross’ own career could be measured by the students she has had – high school students, first-year teachers, and now future teachers. Although Ross never expected to be serving in the position she now holds, there is no doubt she belongs there. President Edwards’ words ring true: Ross’ life has taken many unexpected paths, but God’s "unavoidable will" never led her astray. Not only is she uniquely equipped for the demands of her position, she enjoys it. "I like what I do," she says, flashing her characteristic smile. "I like being at AU. I like being a teacher." And anyone who pops by her office for advice, encouragement, or to share news can tell at a glance: Ross is exactly where she’s supposed to be.
