Dr. Bill Braun Receives the Instructional Design DNA Award

And Retires After 50 Years of Teaching

There is a new award that was established this year by the Instructional Design Program and CAPS.  It is the Instructional Design DNA Award. BillBraunBlog The Instructional Design DNA Award recipient is chosen because he or she is a faculty leader in changing the world through education, training and instructional design.  The passion and teaching talents run so deeply in such an individual, that the College of Advancing and Professional Studies and the ID community at UMass Boston now formally recognize educational excellence as part of this person’s DNA.  This year, Dr. Bill Braun was honored as the first recipient of this award.

Bill, a teacher for over 50 years and a faculty member of the Instructional Design Graduate Program since January of 1996, says “I am still learning.” He encourages his students to analyze their own paradigms and urges them to resist the tendency to absolutize one paradigm, theory or ideology.  Bill’s life is a tribute to challenging paradigms.  Raised in a Catholic family of six children, Bill joined three of his brothers and a sister in the military as World War II was ending.  After completing his undergraduate degree at Niagara University, he began graduate studies in philosophy at Catholic University in Washington, DC.  During that time films of the Nazi atrocities, the Holocaust, the burn victims of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were showing in the local theaters intensifying the conversation on savagery of war.  It was then he was drawn to the life of a religious community.  At 31, he became a priest, pursued his passion of teaching and began working toward his PhD.  He taught at numerous colleges, including the inner city of Washington D.C during the Civil Rights Movement, but it was when he became the Director of a seminary on the campus of Stonehill College that his “great experiment” began.

While the seminary residence was designed exclusively for male priests, Stonehill College had an overflow of students that needed housing.  Bill was asked to help, and the radical transformation of a self-contained male-only residence to an integrated living and learning community began.  In 1969, the first year of integration, twenty two women opted to move to the seminary campus.  When joining the living and learning community, all agreed to participate in a collaborative decision-making process.  This included attending a monthly house meeting where house governing decisions would be made, participating in a weekly small group training session, and assisting in the kitchen.   The small group sessions focused on communication skills that would enhance the living environment, such as finding one’s voice and conflict mediation.  Mixed-sex dormitories were controversial in the early 70s, but Bill found that this integration helped students overcome their biases; de-mystifying and humanizing the opposite sex in profound ways.  Bill oversaw this great experiment until 1980 and assisted other colleges in emulating his model.  By then, his theological paradigm had been challenged and he left the seminary and started a family with his wife, Linda.  Linda, who shared his passion for adult learning, obtained her PhD in Urban Leadership and directed the Adult Learning Center of Brockton, MA.  “Raising kids was the joy of my life.  I loved every stage of their development,” Bill recalls.

After leaving collegiate work, he became certified as an OD consultant.  Years later, he joined the UMass Instructional Design Program faculty in January of 1996 when he was asked by former Instructional Design Program Director, Canice McGarry, to teach Communications Theory for Organizations.  “I thought I might stay for a year or two,” Bill remembers.  Fifteen years later, he is still inspired by the talent he sees in his students.  “I am convinced that in order to grow, you cannot do it alone.  Dialogue and challenge help us to re-frame our perceptions and create new knowledge.  Communication is really relationship-building at its core.  We are all interdependent, we all seek intimacy and we are always communicating a message, even if we say nothing at all.”

Bill touched the lives of many students who wished to share their well-wishes for him upon learning of his retirement.  Below are the comments we received.  Please feel free to include yours in the comment section of our blog.

“What I will always remember about Bill was his gracious and mild manner, his quick wit and his wealth of knowledge.  Each week, I looked forward to his inspirational lectures and his ability to deliver thought-provoking material.  Through reflection and mutual exploration of the topic of communication, I was able to develop a deeper understanding of my own communication experiences and a heightened awareness of subjectivity and the interpretation of meaning in communication.  I am honored that I had the opportunity to learn from him and I wish him well in his retirement.”  ~Marion Galinos

“Bill has been a gentle and sincere voice within the Instructional Design program.  He was always excited to discuss ideas and brought often amusing and engaging anecdotes to reinforce learning and humanize the theory.” ~Lance Eaton

“My biggest takeaway from Bill’s class was the concept of context.  Bill brought to light the myriad of filters that we must seek to communicate through in supporting performance in the workplace.  Bill’s insight was thought provoking and encouraged students to critically examine issues and formulate their own perspective.” ~Lynda Stevens

“Bill gently and compassionately encourages his students to develop awareness of our own paradigms, many of which we inherited as a child.  With his guidance, I was able to nuance my ideas about making meaning and communication.  I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn with him.” ~Jaclyn DeChiro

“Bill is a true scholar, and his fascination with communication theory is contagious.  I had virtually no interest in the subject at the beginning of the course, but his class made me savor the nuances of communication theory.  He is also a very kind and dedicated teacher who takes the time to nurture and learn from every single student.  The class was a wonderful learning experience in all respects.” ~Marilyn Shapleigh

Book Award Recipient, Michael Sullivan

Michael Sullivan, director of Mercer County Community College’s distance learning program, has an impressive resume.  He leads the distance MSullivanBloglearning department to create over 375 online sections, supporting 8,000 students and over 125 faculty and adjuncts.  For his Instructional Design MEd Capstone Project, Michael assessed the instructional needs for students at Rivier University and helped the University switch to a new Learning Management System (LMS).  His assessment and resulting training modules offered students an introduction to the new LMS as well as guidelines for proper etiquette when learning online.  In addition to his many professional and academic achievements, it is Michael’s perseverance through adversity and hardship, and his unwavering willingness to mentor his classmates that made him this year’s Instructional Design Graduate Program’s Book Award Recipient.

Michael began his journey in the Instructional Design Graduate Program with a trip to Nantucket for the 2010 two-week Summer Intensive Program.  The friendships he made with faculty and classmates there continued online when he returned to his home in New Jersey.  He generously assisted his classmates navigate the job market and tirelessly worked toward his degree while he and his wife, Rose, raised three small children, two of which they had together while Michael was in the middle of the ID program.  When Hurricane Sandy devastated the New Jersey coast in 2012, Michael’s family was greatly impacted.  Michael didn’t know if he would finish his degree as he took a leave from school to assist in the rebuilding of what was lost to the storm, both physically and virtually.  He did return to his studies a few months later, finishing his degree and inspiring his classmates to pursue their own goals.

During the GIDA Event, after Michael received his award, he spoke of his achievements humbly, and thanked his wife and his children for all of their support and love.  A self-proclaimed Star Wars geek, Michael themed his Capstone Project presentation appropriately.  While drawing big laughs from the audience, Michael has more in common with Hans Solo in overcoming the Dark Force than he in his humble words may admit.  Michael serves as an inspiration to us all to continue in pursuit of our goals, even when times are tough.

Again, congratulations Michael—on this highest award in Master’s work at UMass Boston.

 

Commencement

Congratulations to the thirty-nine Master of Education in Instructional Design graduates and nine Instructional Technology Design Certificate Graduates_at_CAPSrecipients!  Commencement Day was a sunny and bright celebration of scholastic achievement.  Graduates from the Class of 2014 came from all over the country, and some even flew internationally for this very special day.  Students traveling the furthest were Hossein Hamam from Lebanon, Joselle Merritt from California and Leslie Claire from Texas.  But from wherever they traveled, near or far, students met with faculty, administrators and other fellow graduates to celebrate and acknowledge this milestone academic achievement.  The main Commencement Ceremony was followed by a more intimate College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS) ceremony where ID students were addressed by Dean of the College Philip DiSalvio, Associate Dean Dennis Maxey and by Vice Chancellor and Provost of Academic Affairs, Dr. Winston Langley.  Proudly, the ID graduates took to the stage to receive their diplomas and shake the hand of Dean Philip DiSalvio—all under the rapid fire of professional and familiar cameras.  A grand reception followed celebrating with graduates and their families and guests.  Please follow the link to see photos of the day!

GIDA Event

The annual GIDA Event provided an opportunity for Instructional Design Program Canon Photos 652graduates to celebrate their achievements with family, friends, classmates, faculty and staff.  Graduates and their guests enjoyed a Greek buffet, speakers and a presentation by the 2014 Instructional Design Graduate Book Award recipient, Michael Sullivan.   Most importantly, all attendees were able to share stories, laugh and reminisce about their experience at UMass.  Follow the link to see photos of the day!

Summer Intensive in Salem

Students flew in from around the country to participate in this year’s Summer Intensive program in Salem, MA.  During the Summer Intensive, photolong distance students participate in an online course and then come face-to-face to live and learn together for a week.  The two courses are INSDSG 602- The Adult as Learner and INSDSG 604- Communications Theory in Organizations. This year students were bewitched by Salem’s quaint shops and eateries and enjoyed a visit to the UMass Boston campus.  This photo shows 602 students displaying their new UMass Boston student ID’s.  The students are well on their way to creating a community of learners whose relationships will transfer to online course work.

Tribute to Robert Hagearty

It is with deep sadness that we let you know our friend and colleague Bob Hagearty passed away on May 28th, 2014. Bob became ill in roberthageartyNovember and was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer in February.

He made huge contributions to the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at UMass Boston, where he worked as an instructional technology specialist for the Marketing and Communications team. To advance his career, Bob began taking Instructional Design courses with us in Spring 2012. He matriculated into the Program in Spring 2013—seeking both the MEd and Graduate Certificate in Instructional Technology Design.  Despite his illness, Bob chose to continue studying and actively participate in the ID program until his body would no longer allow him to continue. He took a leave of absence in Spring 2014, vowing to return.  Bob successfully completed seven of twelve required courses for the MEd, and was awarded the Certificate of Instructional Technology Design this May.

Bob had a keen eye for the design, development and evaluation of training and adult education. He worked with many teams and contributed to projects during his time with ICI, and brought his wit, humor and vitality to every ID course he took.  A man of sharp mind and a quick sense of comicality, Bob made us all appreciate good instructional planning and design—with a sweet twist of fun. He will be deeply missed.

In appreciation of Bob’s love of the outdoors, donations in his memory may be made to Trustees of the Reservation, 572 Essex Street, Beverly MA 01915 (Attention: Development Office).  Follow this link to see his obituary.