Table of Contents

Dobey does double duty for College of Education

Rod Dobey is a master juggler. Last year Dobey’s position was divided between being chair of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports Science (HPERSS) and faculty on special assignment to the dean’s office.

Even though there were set hours in both positions, the job had a lot of on–demand scheduling which created an aerobic routine for Dobey whose office is in Halenbeck Hall. Dobey refers to Halenbeck as geographically divorced from the rest of the university.

Dr. Dobey’s experience allowed him to reach out across campus and develop relationships with administrators who, even though Dobey has been at SCSU for 29 years, may not have not have been able to put a face with a name.

His tenure with the university allowed him to bring an historical perspective to his work in the dean’s office.

“The dean’s office was an enjoyable working environment,” Dobey said. “Dar, Dori, Erin and Megan are tremendous assets to the college. Dean Joane McKay and Associate Dean Nancy Bacharach and I had a good working relationship based on mutual respect.”

As part of his duties as faculty on special assignment, Dobey was the education building coordinator, which meant he was responsible for figuring out classroom and office space.

“It’s like a big rubik’s cube,” Dobey said. “If you move one office it affects everything on that side of the building. It was definitely one of the most challenging parts of my assignment.”

Classroom scheduling is never an easy task, but Dobey took it all in stride.

“The only way classrooms can be scheduled properly is if teaching is done all day, five days a week,” Dobey said. “That is not likely to happen so you make adjustments and try to make a schedule that functions efficiently.”

Dobey also coordinated summer school scheduling, enrollment and budgeting. “I like crunching the numbers and seeing how close we come to our budget when final enrollments have to be tallied,” Dobey said. “Last summer we stayed within the budget and served the students. That’s what it’s all about.”

Generally, Dobey had good things to say about his one year appointment to the dean’s office.

Dobey’s position kept him moving between two offices and two roles. He even counted the paces between Halenbeck Hall and the Education Building – 433 paces to be exact. He said it was an opportunity he enjoyed but has no aspirations toward administration in the future.

“In addition to my work as chair, I teach one class this semester and it’s the highlight of my week.” Dobey said. “I enjoy what I do here and still look forward to coming to work every day.”

Dobey’s impression of the College of Education opening:

“It was great having the College of Education opening here [Halenbeck Hall] this year,” Dobey said. “It was good for the rest of the faculty to see that our world is not just about balls, swimming pools, beanbags and jump ropes – we are academics too. Some faculty were concerned about participating in the opening this year. They didn’t see the relevance of the exercise to their individual life within the university. However, those who came soon overcame their concern and saw it had relevance.”

Table of Contents