In this seventh episode of the Caring, Character, and Community podcast, and the third of our higher-education series, Hardin Coleman interviews Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College, who shares with us the importance of meeting the needs of community college students with both deep care and great expectation.
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BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development
Center for Character and Social Responsibility
“Caring, Character, and Community” Podcast Series
To prepare the next generation to become caring and effectively engaged citizens requires a multi-faceted approach. It includes a focus on personal development, professional development, program development and implementation, and on systems change. As part of the CCSR’s focus on personal and professional development of educators, parents, and community leaders, we are pleased to announce our upcoming podcast, “Caring, Character, and Community.”
Semester One of this series will focus on how leaders integrate the ethic of caring, their own and others’ character development, and a commitment to serving the needs of others to guide and inform their leadership in times of crisis. Part One will focus on PK-12 leaders, Part Two will focus on Higher Education Leaders, and Part Three will focus on leaders of youth-serving, community-based leaders. Each part will include 4 podcasts and an interactive webinar, during which listeners can participate in a Q&A with the leaders who have shared their stories in the podcasts.
Part Two, Episode Three: Pam Eddinger
Pam Eddinger is president of Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), the largest of 15 community colleges in Massachusetts. Dr. Eddinger began her tenure at BHCC in 2013 and previously served as president of Moorpark College in Southern California from 2008.
Dr. Eddinger’s service in the Community College movement spans more than 25 years, with senior posts in academics and student affairs, communications and policy, and executive leadership. Dr. Eddinger serves on a number of boards and commissions, including the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), GBH Boston, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Boston Foundation (TBF), the Massachusetts Workforce Development Board, the Boston Private Industry Council, Achieving the Dream (ATD), the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU). Dr. Eddinger was honored in 2016 by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Barnard College and her master’s and doctorate in Japanese Literature from Columbia University.
In this conversation, Pam shares with us the importance of meeting the needs of community college students with both deep care and great expectation.
Welcome to Semester One of “Caring, Character, and Community,” a podcast from the BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development Center for Character and Social Responsibility. In this season, we will focus on learning from leaders about how they integrate the ethic of caring, a focus on their own and others’ character development, and a commitment to serving the needs of their community, in order to guide and inform their leadership in times of crisis.
Part One: PK-12
September 7, 2021 CCC Season One, Part One, Episode One: Karen Bohlin, Principal of Practical Wisdom Group, discusses the importance of developing a caring and compassionate framework, a compass, for guiding a leader’s and community’s response to crisis.
September 14, 2021 CCC Season One, Part One, Episode Two: Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools shares with us how centering on the needs of children, with commitment to caring, helps organize the efforts of adults in the community to help children flourish-- even, and especially, in times of crisis.
September 21, 2021 CCC Season One, Part One, Episode Three: Julie Lawton, Chief Academic Officer of YueCheng Education in Beijing PRC shares the a story of how creating a school that is centered on caring and compassion facilitates positive outcomes in times of crisis
September 28, 2021 CCC Season One, Part One, Episode Four: Dana Weeks, Head of Germantown Friends School, discusses the importance of integrity and trust in building and sustaining a caring school community that helps children to flourish.
Part Two: Higher Education
October 14, 2021 CCC Season One, Part Two, Episode One: Nicholas Covino, President of William James College, shares with us the importance of showing up — being present and available to one’s community — as foundational to effective leadership in crisis. He discusses the challenges this commitment can pose to one’s sense of well being, and how gratifying this level of commitment can be.
October 21, 2021 CCC Season One, Part Two, Episode Two: Kenneth Elmore, Associate Provost and Dean of Students at Boston University, discusses being guided by compassion, along with attention to detail and a willingness to actively navigate the tension between upholding community values and also holding space for disagreement and thoughtful discourse. When it comes to caring for one’s many community members in the higher education space, it is important to highlight opportunities to see and harness “unity of feeling,” where groups with different goals can find common ground in their core values.
October 28, 2021 CCC Season One, Part Two, Episode Three: Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College, shares with us the importance of meeting the needs of community college students with both deep care and great expectation.
Thanks to Lizzie Barcay for the editorial and production work.
Music:
Bluesy Vibes by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions
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Caring, Character, & Community