VPAA: You’re hired!

By Marisa Kratochvil
Editor-in-Chief

President Ditzler announced Monday, Feb. 20 the appointment of Dr. Jane Jakoubek as the new vice president of academic affairs (VPAA) and dean of the faculty at Monmouth College, which will take effect July 1.

Until then, Dean Rajkumar Ambrose, interim VPAA and dean, will continue to perform her duties, assuring all activities from this year are handled and will prepare the schedule/staffing for the upcoming fall semester, said President Ditzler.

Upon starting her new position, Dr. Jakoubek will be in charge of the leadership portion of MC’s academic life, including curriculum design and implementation, faculty recruiting and development, information technology, library services, student internships, off-campus study and co-curricular programming.

In selecting Jakoubek as the new VPAA, President Ditzler commented on her commitment to small liberal arts institutions and ambition to be part of the MC community.

“Dean Jakoubek is an adept implementer; she can make things happen. Monmouth’s faculty have a well-developed vision for our College; this is an ideal time for an individual who relishes the opportunity of helping a visionary faculty make dreams come true,” he added.

When Dr. Jakoubek learned of her appointment, she stated, “My first thoughts were all versions of excitement. I was excited about being able to work with the people I had met and having this terrific opportunity handed to me. It was (and is) exciting to think about being part of a community with passion and energy.”

Obtaining her Ph.D in clinical psychology from the University of Arkansas, and graduating summa cum laude from Franklin College of Indiana in 1973, she previously held the position as vice president and dean of academic affairs at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind. since 1995.
During her time at Hanover, Dr. Jakoubek worked to improve many aspects of college life, including the implementation of an intensive orientation program for first-year students, the development of an interdisciplinary program for integrating writing and speaking into all courses and helped triple the number of students studying off-campus with the development of a semester-long study programs in several foreign countries and American cities.

In addition, she worked in partnership with Hanover faculty to help enhance leadership training and shared governance opportunities.

With her experience in developing off-campus study programs, MC looks to Dr. Jakoubek in assisting the College in expanding its own.

According to Dr. Jakoubek, she seeks to develop “more off-campus opportunities for students, linking academic learning with vocational preparation, and helping students have more hands-on experiences…[and] looks forward to establishing additional development opportunities for faculty.”

In response to the development of more off-campus opportunities, Ditzler stated, “I believe she has a general commitment to having students and faculty study off-campus and integrate their off-campus experiences with on-campus events. I suspect that she will wait until she is on campus and better understands our culture and strengths before deciding the proper balance between short and long-term experiences, individual and group experiences, semester and summer experiences, and Monmouth-sponsored and independent programs.”

As for what Dr. Jakoubek will bring to MC, she commented, “I bring an energy and passion for building community, for having fun while we go about the important work of educating students for the world they will encounter beyond college.”

Searching for the new VPAA was completed during the fall semester, said President Ditzler, and a search committee was formed to look at 87 candidate applications gathered from an academic search firm.

This search committee was chaired by Professor Steven Buban and consisted of faculty and administrators.

From these candidates, 12 were chosen for further evaluation and eight were then selected as semi-finalists, who were then interviewed, in person, by the search committee.

Four final candidates were then selected to spend two days on MC campus and met with faculty, staff and students, added Ditzler.

During this time, the search committee gathered feedback and responses from those who met with each candidate in order to assist them in making their decision.

As for Dean Ambrose, President Ditzler praised his work while in the VPAA position, stating, “Dean Ambrose has done a remarkable job during his action-packed two years as our VPAA. I am lucky to have someone who understands Monmouth advising me in my first year.”

In the fall, Dean Ambrose be on sabbatical; however, he will return to the Physics department.

Dr. Jakoubek comes to Monmouth along with her husband of 30 years, Charlie Cagle, a retired experimental psychology professor, and they have a daughter, Sarah Jane, a first year student in the MFA program in art at the University of Kentucky.