Gerstacker Fellows

Roberts Fellows alumni are lavish in praise for their on-campus SVSU leadership seminar, but the Asian trip remains most vivid in memory. “I learned a lot while traveling in China, Taiwan and Japan,” wrote one Fellow. “The time I spent in Xian and Hiroshima was particularly life altering. In Xian, I was exposed for the first time in my life to abject poverty.” Another said of Todai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan, “We did not just look at photographs in a book, see slides in a classroom lecture, or pull images off of the Internet. We walked in the footsteps of people who lived, struggled, celebrated … worshiped and died throughout the previous 1,200 years.”14

The fellowship has achieved its 1999 goal of making available a “year-long program of both academic course work and extracurricular activities … designed to develop Fellows’ potential as future political, economic and civic leaders.”

Some Roberts Fellows alumni enjoy high-profile positions. Tricia Szymanski, for example, is regional director of Feed the Poor, the second-largest charitable nongovernmental organization in Central America. More typically, Roberts Fellows alumni are assuming leadership in their communities. Pam Logghe Szabo, of the first cohort, used her experience in Asia to develop a class curriculum in Howell, Michigan, which has become a blueprint for her entire school system.

Gerstacker Fellows

Inspired by the success of the Roberts Fellowship, the Gerstacker Fellowships grew out of conversations between Stephen Barbus, dean of the College of Education, and Gilbertson in 2006. Both were concerned about the continuing need for informed and effective educational leadership in mid-Michigan and SVSU’s role as a resource.

The discussions spawned a grant proposal to the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation in Midland. The foundation had a history of generosity to SVSU, including a $1 million donation toward the construction of the university’s Regional Education Center and $1.25 million to establish the Carl A. Gerstacker Endowed Chair in Education. In the fall of 2005, the foundation approved a $1.5 million grant to endow the Gerstacker Fellowship

Each academic year, SVSU selects 12 fellows, all teachers and administrators in positions of education leadership but not necessarily graduates of SVSU. The curriculum unfolded during 12 monthly weekend meetings. Topics included organizational development, communications, ethics, human resources, finances, global education and leadership, politics and diversity. International travel precedes a symposium at which fellows present findings and perspectives. The first six classes traveled to Asia, and the class of 2013 visited Finland.

The fellows speak of renewed energy and a reaffirmed sense of purpose in their careers in education leadership. Amy Hutchinson—then English/World Language Department chair for the Midland Public Schools and now assistant principal of Midland High School— wrote in The Gerstacker Fellowship Program: A Unique, Year-Long Learning Experience for Selected School Leaders [2009]: “I have gained a network of colleagues, whom I call friends, with shared educational values. Professionally, my knowledge base has increased in such a way that I am more competent and confident as an educational leader. The international travel to China and Japan is unforgettable. My perspective about people, cultures and how best to educate children will benefit my students and co-workers for many years to come.” As of 2012, fellows were active in 22 Michigan school districts—rural, suburban and urban.

Gerstacker II was initiated in 2011 to allow fellows to build on what they had learned in their fellowship year. An additional endowment of $1 million from the Gerstacker Foundation, supplemented by SVSU’s provision of instructional staff and administrative support, opens Gerstacker II to 10 graduates of Gerstacker I. For two-semesters, the cohort focuses on leadership in education and participates in a four-day domestic travel experience.

In 2012, the Gerstacker Foundation funded a student-staff exchange between Midland High School and Fushing Private High School in Taiwan, with Midland travel in April 2013 and reciprocation planned for spring 2014. Meanwhile, at SVSU, delegates from the Ministry of Education in Chongqing, China, arrived in November 2012 for a one-week stay during which they visited four Michigan school districts. The participants drafted a twoyear exchange plan before they left for home. The Gerstacker fellows had visited Chongqing during their Asian trip that spring.

Inspired by the success of the Roberts Fellowship program, the university received a $1.5 million grant from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation to endow the Gerstacker Fellowship, which was co-coordinated by Carolyn Wierda (standing in top photo) and Robert Maurovich (right).