Natalie Yemenidjian
If you know a lot about fishing, football or any good books, Jacquinita Rose, new Dean of Academic Affairs, welcomes you to her office. Rose brings an optimistic personal philosophy to the schools of math, science, business and nursing, and a life story to show for it. With a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a master’s in math education from the University of Tulsa and a doctorate in math education, it’s unorthodox that you won’t find the traditional high school diploma in any of her records.”I dropped out of high school, got my GED and returned back to school via community college. There’s always that connection to wherever the student is. I have sympathy and compassion for students,” said Rose.Her point of view on life translates to her administrative duties. She hopes that her unwavering will can be a testament for students who too often succumb to an invisible “they.”The stigma surrounding math classes poses another problem. Rose would like to get to the bottom of students’ negative preconceptions in order to increase the amount of students in math classes.”If the student says ‘I hate math,’ you’ve already placed a deficit on the subject. To be successful, I need to remove the barrier they’ve put up,” said Rose.When asked what she thought about the nursing program choosing students through a pool instead of by merit, she declined to comment. “I tend to believe that with any academic program entrance should be based on several factors, not just on one fact alone,” Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, vice president of academic affairs, would like to see Rose take a teaching position as math instructor.”Her qualifications in terms of education background have been a classical buildup to the position that we offered her…We were going through a reorganization of academic schools on campus,” said Abu-Ghazaleh.The English and math departments, Pierce’s largest departments, were under one dean, which called for reform. “[Rose] communicates clearly and openly and she’s a really good listener,” said Abu-Ghazaleh.Her communication skills are partly a result of the lessons she learned from her grandfather, who didn’t get further than grade school. “One of the best things my grandfather taught me was: No matter how much book-learning you have, what matters is how you treat people,” said Rose. A bet with her daughter led her to exploring her next endeavor: a compilation of 20 years worth of stories. In exchange, her daughter–one of four children– is going back to school.”Many people get degrees; very few people get an education,” said Rose. “Our desire is that when they leave the college they get both out of the system.”