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Behind the Scenes:Pacific College Boasts Dream Deans
As Oriental medical education continues to incorporate more Western medicine within its curriculum, and as we discover new ways to teach and learn more effectively, it becomes all the more fitting to have academic deans that can address each of these diverse areas. Pacific College President Jack Miller has developed a dream team that
capitalizes on the diverse strengths of its members: an educational specialist, a licensed acupuncturist and a medical
doctor. Frank Scott, licensed acupuncturist and academic dean of Pacific's Chicago campus, ensures that the Oriental medicine curriculum is current and comprehensive. Carl Miller, medical doctor and academic dean of Pacific's New York campus, coordinates with other acupuncturists to provide a biomedical curriculum appropriate for the modern Oriental medicine practitioner. Stacy Gomes, academic dean of Pacific's San Diego campus, holds a M.A. in education and ties it all together with state-of-the-art instructional design and teacher training.
Gomes hadn't even been looking for a job when she was offered the position of dean in 1997. Gomes had been working at San Diego State University's (SDSU) research center doing grant evaluations, teacher training and web-based instruction when she met Jack Miller. Both were earning their masters degrees in education at SDSU when they worked on several projects together and became friends. Because of her experience with faculty training, Gomes was Jack Miller's first choice for academic dean.
"Stacy and I were classmates, so I have always known that she is organized and hardworking," Jack Miller said. "Since she became dean, she has also proven herself dedicated to both the college and its students. Working with her is one of the things I like best about my job."
Because of her previous work experience, Gomes feels that her main strengths are in instructional design, program evaluation and teacher training. However, she enjoys developing curriculum the most. "You get to work with faculty and really look at what best serves the students," Gomes said. "We don't just go in and change our curriculum; it's based on evidence of strengths and weaknesses. I'm probably best at facilitating those decisions."
In addition to her many other duties, Gomes said she also spends a lot of her time overseeing comprehensive exams and working on her dissertation on higher education accreditation for her doctorate, which she will receive from the University of La Verne. When Gomes first became academic dean, she spent a lot of time educating herself about Oriental medicine, something she hadn't had much experience with before working at Pacific.
"I'd been interested in alternative health, and being proactive about my healthcare, but I wouldn't say I had experience with Oriental medicine," Gomes explained.
In the seven years since becoming academic dean, however, Gomes has come a long way in her knowledge.
"I've read almost every student book," Gomes said. "I know when Western medicine should be used and when we should refer out, and that's been a personal benefit for me."
However, the fact that Gomes wasn't involved with Oriental medicine before working at Pacific College has proven to be a benefit rather than an obstacle.
"I come from a structured educational perspective of 'how can we meet our learning objectives,'" Gomes said. "That's been a benefit because I don't come with a preset agenda."
Carl Miller, academic dean of Pacific College's New York branch, also comes from a structured educational background. He received his M.D. degree from Cornell University Medical College and was trained at Cornell's New York Presbyterian Hospital. Until May of 2003, Carl Miller was also a faculty member at Cornell where he taught Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Digestive Diseases. "Medical schools are extremely organized," Carl Miller said. "It helped me work through the administration [at Pacific College]. I didn't have to learn from scratch."
After Carl Miller received the Charles L. Bardes, M.D. Teaching Award from Cornell Medical School in 2000, he was introduced to Jack Miller by a PCOM student that lived in his apartment building.
"Carl has a wonderful personality," Jack Miller said. "It's great to have someone with Western medical expertise be so genuinely interested in our medicine and our students. Carl is able to support the students in their studies even as he pushes them to perform at a high level."
In September of 2000, Carl Miller debuted at Pacific College by organizing its pure physiology course, and in the summer of 2002, he became the chair of the biomedical sciences department. However, Carl Miller was hesitant about accepting the position of academic dean at an Oriental medicine school.
"I didn't think an M.D. should be dean of a traditional Chinese medicine school," he said. "I thought it was an affront to the medicine."
However, Jack Miller disagreed.
"I thought that an M.D. was the missing link in Pacific's academic leadership team, which already had a Ph.D. in curriculum development, two master's of education and many licensed acupuncturists, " Jack Miller said.
Despite his initial hesitation about becoming dean, Carl Miller had been interested in Oriental medicine for nearly 30 years before coming to work for Pacific College. In 1972, a student in one of his classes did an acupuncture demonstration, and he has been incorporating it in his professional life ever since.
"It's usually one of the first things I think about - can acupuncture help this?" he said.
Since becoming academic dean, Carl Miller said that what he likes most about his job is the interaction with students.
"I really enjoy talking to the students about their problems, and I love working with the faculty," he said.
Though he is no longer a faculty member at Cornell because of his commitment to Pacific College, Carl Miller is still involved in several committees at Cornell and hopes to organize a student exchange for elective credit between the two schools in the future.But medicine isn't the only thing Carl Miller loves. In his spare time, he writes poetry, and has had two books of poetry published, titled "Cognitions" and "Through My Window".
Unlike Gomes and Carl Miller, Frank Scott was well established as an Oriental Medicine practitioner and teacher before becoming academic dean of the Pacific's Chicago branch in May of 2000.
Although he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in fine arts, Scott had been interested in Chinese medicine since attending high school in Los Angeles in the early '70s. According to Scott, many people at that time were interested in medicinal herbs, and he quickly discovered that Chinese medicine was the most organized herbal system in the world. After developing an interest in Tai Chi, Scott was hooked.
After earning his acupuncture license from Midwest College of Oriental Medicine, Scott started his own practice in Illinois 15 years ago, which he still maintains. In addition to his duties as academic dean, Scott sees approximately 35 patients three days a week in his private clinic.
Because Oriental Medicine is still developing popularity in the Midwest, Scott feels that having his own practice makes him an even more successful dean.
"Students need to be able to connect to someone here who has their own practice and to see that this is a viable career in the Midwest," Scott said.
That connection with the students is what Scott loves most about his job. "I love watching students develop from a limited knowledge of Oriental Medicine," Scott said. "This year [2003] will be our first graduating class, and I'm really looking forward to that."
These grads-to-be know that Scott has been there since the campus was established in 2000, working to develop its facilities, curriculum and faculty.
"Because of his longstanding connection to the community, Frank was the perfect person to develop our Chicago branch," Jack Miller said. "He has a reputation for being one of the most popular teachers of Oriental medicine in the Midwest, and he really cares about the students."
Though the Chicago campus has come a long way, Scott still has high aspirations for the future. Along with increasing the campus' visibility, Scott also wants to bring specialists from around the country to Chicago to teach at Pacific.
Scott is confident that he can achieve these goals, partly because Gomes has been his mentor since he became academic dean. "The way I operate as academic dean is very much modeled after Stacy's priorities and the way she works," Scott said. However, Scott is glad that he came into the position with a more extensive background in Oriental medicine.
"I think it's great that I come in with an Oriental medicine background because I can really advocate for the medicine and the special needs it has," Scott said.
With Gomes, Scott and Carl Miller at the helm, Pacific College students can be sure that their curriculum will remain state-of-the-art in both content and instructional design.
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