Introducing Beth Kautz, Interim Director
Meet Beth Kautz, who has worked at the Language Center since 2004. Her current job title is Interim Director, but what does she really do? In this interview, Beth highlights major aspects of her work and shares how she can help you tackle your next project. This is the first in a series of Language Center Staff Spotlight articles.
Which parts of your current job description should ElsieTalk readers know about? Are there specific services or expertise you offer that readers could take advantage of more than they currently do?
In recent years, the Language Center has done an excellent job providing professional development for instructors to improve the student learning experience, both in the classroom and the online environment. As Interim Director, I want to continue our support of instructors, but expand the services and support we offer directly to students. So I ask, what kind of support do your learners need at this time? Are there resources, learning spaces, programming, or support staff that your department isn't able to provide on its own? Perhaps other units have similar concerns. The Language Center can work collectively with departments to better address the needs and interests of students. In my position, I meet with other College leaders, such as the Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, the Committee on Second Language Education (ComSLE), the Office for Undergraduate Education, and LATIS. I can help you advocate for resources, services, and policies that impact the teaching and learning of languages and cultures.
Can you briefly describe 2-3 projects you've worked on in the past year?
Since I began this new position in mid-August, much of my energy has gone to managing change. The impact of staff retirements, the new Work With Flexibility program, and a completely new student staff required a lot of problem solving: what work needs to be done, who can do it, and how do we work together? At the same time, there have been unexpected changes to our facilities and infrastructure that I needed to learn more about so I could better help staff troubleshoot the problems: web conferencing and office equipment that no longer worked, changes to our website and reservation system, and computer updates or replacements in the classrooms and lab. I've also been talking with various stakeholders about how to craft a job description for a new position. This position, as yet untitled, would incorporate some of the responsibilities previously performed by Diane Rackowski, our long-time technical coordinator, but also align with the Center's current needs and visions for the future.
What skills and competencies do you bring to your current job from your educational background, positions you have previously held in the Language Center, or from work and relationships with other units at this/other institutions?
First of all, I have insight into institutional history as well as the multiple perspectives of those engaged in foreign language education here at the U of M. I began as a graduate student in German in 1989, but since 2004 I've worked 50% in two units: the Language Center and the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch. This has allowed me to experience many roles, including grad student instructor, part-time language instructor "let go" after one semester due to low enrollments, course level coordinator, Director of Language Instruction, departmental liaison to the Language Center, Hybrid Course Specialist, TandemPlus Specialist, and more. Secondly, my first decade in the Language Center included a great deal of "on the job training" where I first learned and then taught others to find and work with authentic materials, develop online grammar and vocabulary drills, or create a complete website with listening comprehension activities to accompany an in-house textbook. Finally, I've learned that technology is always changing and therefore I need to keep learning. I embrace opportunities to learn not only about how new technologies can support the study of languages and cultures, but also how those learning experiences can transform students and prepare them for lives beyond the university.
Is there anything else you would like readers to know about you?
I am very passionate about innovative curricular development, especially in German! I have led initiatives to develop an in-house textbook, blended learning modules, tandem exchange projects, integrated performance assessments, sustainability education in the language classroom, and most recently, a unit based on both social justice pedagogy and a multiliteracies framework.
