DLIFLC Provost Robert Savukinas and BoV Coordinator Detlev Kesten joined Dr. Chrisine Campbell, Dr. Dan Davidson, Dr. Roby Barrett, Dr. Ray Clifford, Dr. Beth Mackey, Dr. Gunther Muller, Mr. Scott Allen and Dr. William Whobrey for the Board of Visitors visit.
Eight members of the Board of Visitors, tasked with providing advice on matters related to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s mission, came to Monterey, Calif., for a three-day conference to discuss their recommendations for enhancing programs and educational practices.
DLIFLC is chartered by Congress as a degree-granting institution, not unlike U.S. military academies, and is thereby required to adhere to more than 120 standards of accreditation, which includes having a BoV.
“They play a critical role in helping provide advice on matters important to the institute and the commandant to help us move our mission forward,” said accreditation and quality assurance officer for DLIFLC, Dr. Erin O’Reilly.
Forming a diverse group of both men and women, the BoV consists of eight members from various fields: academia, business leaders, military personnel, government officials, and professionals.
Each member of the BoV is hand-picked by DLIFLC’s commandant and vetted through a strenuous approval process which has them passing through the Army Education Advisory Committee all the way up to the secretary of defense. Following approval, appointed committee members then complete necessary paperwork to include meeting requirements stipulated by the Office of Government Ethics for advisory committee members.
Dr. Beth Mackey reads one of the BoV’s “Eight Points of Observation.”
After three days of conference and deliberation, which includes presentations from a diverse set of DLIFLC program managers, the BoV, along with DLIFLC leadership, will serve together to identify opportunities for Board members’ participation in DLIFLC plans, programs, and activities.
The BoV then provides recommendations to the Army Education Advisory Committee who, in turn, sends the final recommendations back to the commandant and provost at DLIFLC.
“There’s this passion, this excitement about what can we do next,” said Dr. William Whobrey, who holds a Ph.D. in Medieval and German Studies from Stanford University and is the current chair for the BoV.
“So always looking ahead, always looking forward,” Whobrey stated.
A point well made in their recent out brief to leadership, where he and the seven other members of the Board put forth their “Eight Points of Observation” as recommendations for faculty development.
Chair Dr. William Whobrey holds opening remarks at the BoV out brief at Weckerling Center.
These recommendations consisted of endorsing and applauding the commandant’s strategic plan, reinstating direct hiring authority for Title 10 faculty acquisition, encouraging increased professional responsibilities, international exchanges, and active engagement in national dialogues through publications and conferences.
They also called for expanding immersion programs, increasing the number of Military Language Instructors, assuming an active leadership role in applied research such as program evaluation and classroom research, integrating the Continuing Education Directorate with technology in linguistic and area studies, and supporting previous recommendations for three-year tours for the commandant and assistant commandant.
Whobrey was excited about what is on the horizon. “Nobody’s just sitting back, waiting to see what happens next. They’re creating the future.”
