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Steve SiconolfiDeanSchool of Health Sciences and Human Performance
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Steven Siconolfi joined the Ithaca College team in July of 2002 as the dean of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance. He came to Ithaca from NASA by the way of Wayne State University where he served as deputy dean of health sciences and research. During his 9+ years at NASA he worked with US astronauts during missions on the shuttle and the MIR space station. He also developed close ties to the Russian space agency and was the only US researcher invited to work on the MIR 19 mission with their cosmonauts. While at NASA, he was awarded two US patents in the area of body composition.
His current scholarly work focuses on using a Russian space suit as part of therapy for children with cerebral palsy. New colleagues at Ithaca are helping to expand this work to other patient populations. Siconolfi has a breadth of research experience. He has published many research papers in journals of disciplines ranging from epidemiology to exercise science to medical education. This background provides an excellent frame of reference for his work as dean.
Higher education serves two important groups.
1. Students, by providing them with a broad background that serves as a personal frame of reference and the means by which to fulfill their chosen role in society.
2. Society, by providing new members who have the ability to grow, adapt, and contribute on a personal and professional level.
Higher education administration should facilitate the process of transforming students to become the functional members of society. To accomplish this, higher education administrators need to know when to lead and provide vision, when to follow and accept input from advisory groups, and when to stay out of the way of departments and faculty who have demonstrated excellence.
Steven Siconolfi’s View on the Need and Impact of a Liberal Studies Education
Making a life is more than making a living:
It starts with a Liberal Studies Education.
Liberal Studies Education in Today’s World Community
In the high technology of today’s world, it is important that students have a strong foundation in the arts and humanities as well as in the sciences to become the competitive and successful future leaders of tomorrow. While this may seem counter to what has become the standard mantra of "more hard science," in fact, the student without this balanced educational background will be relegated to a narrow sphere of understanding. Students without the larger frame of reference provided by a foundation in the liberal arts will have limited ability to navigate in a world that, thanks to technology, is shrinking daily. Today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, who have a foundation in the liberal arts, know that making a living is only one part of life. One of my goals in higher education is to provide the foundation for this frame of reference.
Liberal Studies Education in Higher Education
A “buzz word” in higher education today is interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary studies. In reality, these programs are trying to mimic what a good integrated liberal arts program already provides. A liberal studies program should be comprehensive, yet flexible to meet the goals determined by the students and their advisers. It should give students the widest possible acquaintance with intellectual life, while providing excellent general preparation for graduate or professional study. This is the model of the classically educated person who connects ongoing scholarly work to his or her everyday environment.
To build this frame of reference, faculty should instill an understanding of why it is important to be schooled in the arts and humanities. As a true institution of higher education, we should be actively recruiting students who want to purse a career in the arts and sciences as well as in the professions. Providing for liberal-studies students will ensure that the College maintains a qualified faculty and an excellent curriculum. This benefits the liberal studies students who choose a career in the arts and sciences while guaranteeing that all students will enjoy the large frame of reference.
Some educators believe they will be able to instill the underlying principles of the liberal studies education solely from within their professional courses. This is a noble concept, which often falls short due to requirements from outside accrediting agencies and the vast amount of material that is required to become competent within these fields. It is then the responsibility of the College to provide this part of the student’s education as core requirements. The core components vary from school to school. However, the program should include courses that stimulate the student’s creative nature through the arts, explore the humanities, and provide a basic understanding of scientific thought.
Personal commitment and Experience with Liberal Arts Education
My commitment to a thorough liberal arts education is shown by example in the extracurricular activities I have provided for my daughter. She is a pre-professional physical therapy student who is doing a one month voluntary internship in Russia with my colleagues. While in Russia, she worked at two different rehabilitation clinics and at the Russian Space Agency. However, I arranged with colleagues to have her exposed to the arts and culture of Russia. She has been to international and local art museums and cultural events. She visited the Pushkin, Hermitage, Tetrakoff, Kremlin Armory, and Historical museums. She attended the ballet and opera at the Bolshoi Theater and visited the famous Russian circus. Her exposure to Russian art and culture provided her with a common frame of reference as a basis for interactions with the people she worked with in Russia.
I have had similar experiences in Russia as a NASA research scientist and as a university administrator. I was successful because I was able to understand the Russian culture. My understanding was based on undergraduate course work in the humanities* and graduate work in history, philosophy, and sociology (part of my doctoral program). Without this basis in a liberal arts education, I would not have been able to enjoy and be successful in this foreign environment. By contrast, many of my NASA colleagues saw the trip to Russia as drudgery. These individuals did not have the liberal arts background to complement their scientific studies and struggled with their work and life in Russia. My background and interaction with my Russian colleagues was one reason why I was successful in transferring my Russian-based work from NASA to my present involvements. I believe that to make a life more than making a living, one must have a frame of reference based on a liberal arts education.
*I chose Springfield College because of its YMCA foundation and it humanics philosophy. Their philosophy is presented in a message from their new president.
“Since its founding in 1885, Springfield College has been dedicated to its unique philosophy of humanics, which is the basis of the institution's mission--education of the whole person in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to humanity. This century-long commitment is evident in all aspects of academic and cocurricular life and guides the professional and personal development of our students, who graduate and enter careers in which they assume responsible roles in the human-helping professions. In the classroom, the humanics approach translates to a careful balance of theory and practice.”
Springfield College (July 13, 2000). Message from the President. Springfield, MA: Retrieved August 1, 2000 from the World Wide Web.
