The Power of Education

He’s young to hold such a weighty position as Vice President and Dean of the College at a prestigious school like Haverford, but perhaps his path was inevitable, being born into a family of educators. Now both retired, his mom was a manager of Head Start and pre-Kindergarten programs and his dad was an administrator in higher education. His sister also works in academia.

He sees his most important job as “casting vision for a student experience that is robust in terms of intellectual exploration, personal growth and development.” This requires synthesizing many pieces of information and using that synthesis to create programs, policies, and resources that help students contribute to their community and society because of their Haverford experience.

"After 20 years I’m still driven by my belief in the transformative power of education, and working in a liberal arts context in particular gives me the opportunity to think about knowledge creation, knowledge dissemination, and the ways in which thinkers and learners work together to build something. That is hugely motivational for me," he says.

A key component of the Haverford experience is the drive for academic excellence. For McKnight, he says it’s essential that students find their passion in areas where they perform well according to traditional metrics, like grades, and that they feel a deep connection to what they want to pursue after Haverford.

Milestones

In the constant quest to improve academic excellence at Haverford, there are a lot of successes, large and small. Some that Dean McKnight particularly prizes - and he’s quick to qualify that his accomplishments happened as a team with colleagues – include transforming Haverford’s approach to academic advising.

"We have made some real enhancements over the last few years. Starting early with students - before they even arrive, and making clear that it’s part of the culture to seek help and support," he says. "It’s really made a difference."

He also spearheads much of the Student Life Division’s use of data to measure outcomes. He’s been part of the team that introduced new technology platforms to allow administrators to capture better data to inform decision making. He says this approach cuts across advising, housing, the Honor Code, and student disciplinary procedures.

"All of those things are better informed because of the data we now are able to capture," he says.

The Hard Stuff

McKnight sees it as his responsibility to understand the needs and interests of the entire student body and to facilitate an environment that is conducive to learning and to high achievement. Making sure every student feels welcome, connected, and has a sense of belonging is essential. First and foremost that means protecting the health and safety of students.

"I've been personally involved numerous times in trying to de-escalate situations, to bring hot emotions into safe spaces where they can be received. I'm a receptacle for those emotions often. I've also really been involved along with other colleagues in facilitating dialogue within and across groups. And those have been intense at times, but I feel proud of the work we've done at Haverford because the dialogue has been meaningful. It really has changed mindsets and expanded viewpoints," he says. McKnight notes that such discussions don't always get covered in the media or on social media.

"I can really connect on a human level with folks who have experienced oppression, so that makes me keen to understand where people are coming from and to be sensitive to their emotional state," he says.

He credits his ability to be a translator between various communities and across generations for helping resolve conflict. He can speak the language of students, faculty, Board members and alumni.

Like all people in helping professions, McKnight has developed routines for self care so that conflict doesn’t impact his well-being, his family, or his health. He focuses on living a healthy lifestyle and attempts to find work-life balance. When he goes home he has the support of his high-school sweetheart, wife Katrina, and his two teenage children, Joel and Lilia.

The Way Forward

With higher education in crisis generally, many people are considering leaving for new fields. At this inflection point McKnight emphasises that he still has a lot of leadership capacity.

"I feel proud of my track record at Haverford and other institutions. I’m excited to see what happens next. I still believe fundamentally in the bigger picture here of what we're doing. I'm also watching and interacting with students every single day. Not that they're not phased by all this chaos swirling around them, but they are pursuing their academic goals."

The Fords who graduated in May were first-year students when McKnight joined Haverford. His first class, so to speak. He loves seeing his coaching and mentoring and the impact it’s had on specific students and seeing them go off into the world to have real impact.