Première Haitienne d'origine à être rectrice d'une université américaine

Première Haitienne d'origine à être rectrice d'une université américaine

First Haitian-American College President Raises Bar at Community College

Une personnalité parmi les nombreuses compatriotes qui font honneur à notre pays à l'extérieur, Mme Carole Berotte Joseph, vient d'être nommée Présidente du City University of New York - Bronx Community College.  Elle était jusqu'à date Présidente du  Massachusetts Bay College, une université dont le campus principal se trouve à Wellesley, une banlieue de Boston Massachusetts. Elle milite dans l'enseignement supérieur depuis plus de 35 ans, parle couramment quatre langues et est une experte reconnue en matière de politique d'éducation et de la sociolinguistique. Sous sa direction, Massachusetts Bay Collège a adopté une approche globale sur l'apprentissage à travers des programmes d'études à l'étranger, de l'éducation internationale, et des cours de langue étrangère qui différencie Bay College de la plupart des collèges communautaires dans le Commonwealth.

Une bonne nouvelle mettant en exergue les valeurs haitiennes à l' étranger par ces temps de laideur qui frappent notre pays. Au nom du comité de modération, nous lui présentons toutes nos félicitations.

Herve

"The way I grew up, I learned not just to tolerate the differences in people but to really appreciate them."

Dr. Carole Berotte Joseph

 Première Haitienne d'origine à être rectrice d'une université américaine

Dr. Carole Berotte Joseph Named President of Bronx Community College; Distinguished Educator Returns Home to CUNY

Five years ago, when Carole Berotte Joseph left State University of New York (SUNY) to become the first woman to head Massachusetts Bay Community College and the first Haitian-American to lead an institution of higher education in the country, those who knew her history never doubted that she would transform the institution. A staunch advocate of community colleges, Berotte Joseph had a vision when she took the helm five years ago not only to make MassBay one of the premiere community colleges in the state of Massachusetts, but in the country.

The fact that MassBay is often overshadowed by its bigger, better known neighbors, Babson and Wellesley colleges, never deterred Berotte Joseph from her vision of positioning MassBay as an international leader. 

"Community colleges and the critical role they play in our global economy are not fully appreciated or recognized," says Berotte Joseph, who is one of only 49 African-American women serving as college and university presidents in the United States. "Today community colleges account for nearly 45 percent of the country's college enrollment. They are the foundation of a cost-effective, quality educational track to baccalaureate and advanced degrees, and the source of a highly skilled, technologically sophisticated American workforce." 

Jon Bower, the chairman of the college's board of trustees, says Berotte Joseph has done a terrific job of positioning MassBay as a premiere community college. He credits her as an executive, calling her "an excellent fiscal manager," and with building a strong management team as well as boosting the college Foundation's annual giving from a nominal amount to more than $300,000 in the 2008-2009 academic year. 

"She's an important symbol to our students," said Bower. "Many of our students are immigrants, minorities and women," he said, explaining that she raises students' aspirations by providing them with a vibrant, personal example. 

Berotte Joseph, who holds a Ph.D in bilingual education and sociolinguistics from New York University, re-organized MassBay's academic divisions into five areas to parallel the key economic drivers in Massachusetts and with a focus on student support and student success—health sciences; humanities; social sciences and professional services; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); and transportation and energy. 

Berotte Joseph, along with co-editor Arthur Spears, recently published "The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use, and Education." The book represents a rich global take on language practice in Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora, especially in North America with contributors from established International and well-known Haitian scholars. 

Below is one of her recent interview with: Color Magazine

When Carole Berotte Joseph was inaugurated as president of Mass Bay Community College in 2005, she became the first Haitian-American college president in the country. She has been in higher education for more than 35 years, is fluent in four languages and is a noted expert on education policy and sociolinguistics. Under her leadership, Mass Bay has embraced a global approach to learning - through study abroad programs, international education, and foreign language classes - setting it apart from most community colleges in the commonwealth.

CM: What was it like moving from Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn when you were 8 years old?

CBJ: It was exciting; it was something new. When we first got here my parents kept us very guarded, very protected. We were not going out and playing in the streets even though in those days Brooklyn and Bushwick were really very good neighborhoods. We did go to catholic schools, elementary and high school. Then for college I told my parents, `Give us a break!'

Growing up in that time there were very few Haitians in the United States, most of my friends were Hispanic, Puerto Rican and Columbian. I grew up in their homes hearing Spanish, speaking Spanish. I also had Spanish in my family because I have a grandmother of Cuban background. We grew up in a kind of multicultural, multilingual environment.

CM: As the daughter of a teacher and a nurse, what values did your parents instill in you that helped you in your career?

CBJ: They instilled the values of family life, pride in what we did and who we were. They instilled the values of multiculturalism in us, so we had friends from all over. My family, we like to say, is a little United Nations, because we have people from all cultures intermarrying and whatever. I grew up in a very positive family, with respect for all people, respect for serving people. My parents did a lot of volunteer work. They were also very involved in their church in the community. Those kinds of values were important. Hard work, striving for perfection, being proud of yourself, those were things they always drilled in us.

CM: What did it mean to you when you became the first Haitian-American president of a college in the United States?

CBJ: It was kind of the crowing of my career, because I had been in higher education for a long time. But it also meant, as a very active community person, I had to succeed, because I was a role model and a lot of people were looking up to me. Personally, it meant that I had to make sure we had a second and a third. I'm happy to say that this year we have another (Haitan-American) who has just been named the president of a college in California.

CM: Was that personally satisfying, knowing that you led the way for him?

CBJ: Absolutely. I met him at a leadership program for aspiring college presidents. He said to me, `I hope that one day I can follow your footsteps.' I said, `Of course you can!'

After that leadership program, I told him he needed to start throwing his hat in. I was a professor for 23 years and then an associate dean. I got most of the jobs I applied for. It wasn't until another president who was a friend told me, "Carole, if you want to be a president you need to start applying. You're not just going to get the first one you apply for," that I realized it's a little more competitive. I kind of nudged him to start applying, and sure enough, this one came through.

CM: You are bringing a more global approach to Mass Bay. Why is this important and how are you achieving this?

CBJ: I see myself as a citizen of the world. Maybe it was because of the way I grew up, I learned not just to tolerate the differences in people, but to really appreciate them. My father was an international student. He studied in Belgium and the U.S. He knew how tough things were in the U.S. He always told his girls that we needed to be three times as good because we had the additional glass ceiling for women. You have to be good because you are foreign born, you have to be good because you're a women and you are of color. Part of my global approach comes because I have a very multicultural family. 

As a leader in a community college we prepare a lot of people for the work force. Business and industry are always telling us that they want people who are flexible, who are global. Now with the world being so flat - as (Thomas) Friedman's book reminds us - we're so close with technology that people really need to understand what other people are doing, how they live, how they think. I think it just enriches your perspective.

CM: Can you sense two different barriers, one for being a minority and one for being a woman?

CBJ: I can tell the difference. I can tell when people are acting chauvinistic. They go, "She's a woman and should do this or shouldn't do that." When it's racism, it's been pretty clear. I had a blog going on about me where they would call me (racial slurs). Another time, I opened the college when there was snow, but not so much that we couldn't open. Somebody at a meeting said, `What kind of a Haitian radio station was she listening to that she decided to open the school today?' When that got back to me, I really felt sorry for the person. If she had said, `What kind of crazy person, or president, opened the school?' I would have been OK with that. Did she have to bring up that I was Haitian?

My parents gave us very, very good self-concept. So through all this, I knew that I could do the job, that I was as good as anyone else.

And looking back, it's taken a lot of hard work and guts, but if I were to leave the college today, I would feel great. I have a really good team, and in the five years that we have been here, we have really achieved a lot.

CM: Who are your favorite authors who write in Haitian Creole?

CBJ: Well first off, Yves Dejean, who is a linguist. Locally we have Marc Prou, a professor at UMass Boston and former student of mine. I spent 23 years teaching at city college in New York, so it's been wonderful to see so many of my students who really became tops.