Washburn prides itself on creating a student-centered, teaching-focused learning experience to prepare students for a successful future.
One person with this goal at the center of their Washburn tenure is Alan Bearman. As the vice president for strategic enrollment management and student success, the dean of libraries and a professor of history, Bearman prides himself on assisting students to success in any way he can.
Bearman shared that wearing multiple hats keeps him busy and each day brings something different based on what meetings, events and classes are on his schedule. One thing that never gets lost in the shuffle is constant communication with his colleagues. This ensures those involved in the areas he oversees have everything they need to be successful and are doing well throughout the day.
Sean Bird, senior associate dean for university libraries and center for student success and retention, a colleague of Bearman not only sees him as a mentor in a professional light but also in a personal way.
“Dr. Bearman is a strong and authentic leader. He has an amazing vision and a capacity to see the connections among many variables, and understands those details to make a larger unit more efficient than anybody I’ve ever known,” Bird said. “I would say personally, he’s been a mentor and a guide for me and has provided me with a model for how strong leadership should occur, which is thoughtfully, intentionally and always with people at the heart.”
Bearman never thought he would be starting year 21 at Washburn in such a high-profile position. He originally took a teaching position on campus while working on his Ph.D. at Kansas State University because his wife was working in Topeka.
“A job came open in the history department at Washburn and [a professor] said to me that I should apply for it. My wife was already working in Topeka so I applied and got the job. I thought I’d only be here for a couple of years,” Bearman said. “Now I’m in my 21st year because I fell in love with Washburn.
Before falling in love with Washburn, Bearman fell in love with history and academia. As a first-generation college student at the University of Kentucky, he quickly realized his future career path.
“I always did well in school and I really loved studying history. So I just kind of kept going to school because of what I was good at,” Bearman said.
Being a first-generation student was one of the factors that helped Bearman realize the need for first-generation assistance at Washburn where nearly 50 percent of the population are first-generation college students.
“First-generation students need somebody or some organization to help them find their feet when they come to a university,” Bearman said. “So we decided to get serious about our first-generation student services. We reallocated money, created positions and worked with President Mazachek when she was the vice president for academic affairs to set up our first-generation student programs.”
Bearman was also a key part of launching the First-Year Experience program at Washburn, developing the WU 101: The Washburn Experience class for all incoming students and reinventing Mabee Library into an area for student success.
“He recognized early on that the library has the potential to benefit students in a whole range of ways. We started to change the services that the university could provide to students including moving the writing and the tutoring center and the academic advisors into the library,” Bird said. “Dr. Bearman recognized that if Washburn is going to live up to its mission, we have to meet students where they are and provide them with the support and services that they need to get to graduation in a timely way.”
Part of Washburn’s mission is equipping students to be successful in all aspects of life. Bearman, Bird and some of their colleagues used this goal as motivation to design the WU 101 curriculum, which they planned out on a paper napkin while at a conference about first-year student transitions.
“WU 101 is kind of the centerpiece of our first-year experiences and the centerpiece of our first-year student success program which has led to our graduation rate going up 20 percent since we started it because we’ve retained more of our first-year students,” Bearman said.
Even after 20 years, he says he’s still excited to walk into work every morning simply because Washburn provides such an amazing community, and the fact that he fell in love with the people the moment he stepped on campus.
“The people are why I love Washburn. It’s always been the people since my first day here. I love the people that I work with, I love the students here and it’s just an amazing community of learning,” Bearman said. “People make Washburn special. The faculty, the staff, the students and the alumni make Washburn a very special place. I’m here in year 21 all because I fell in love with the people.”
As for Washburn’s retention of Bearman goes, he doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon and will stay a kind and friendly presence on the Washburn campus.
Edited by Eden Conrad and Jayme Thompson
