As Associate Professor of Education Liza Finkel prepares to retire after 12 years of teaching, she looks forward to a new role at Lewis & Clark’s Center for Community Engagement.
What was your path to Lewis & Clark?
When I started my own post-secondary education, I was a geology major and was sure I would end up working in that field, probably outside somewhere. I earned both Bachelors and Masters degrees in geology before deciding to become a middle and high school science teacher. After teaching for four years at a small school in St. Louis, MO (where I grew up), I returned to graduate school and earned a PhD in Science Education, which led me to jobs working in higher education, first at the University of Michigan, and then (after a three-year “break” to return to high school teaching) and the University of New Hampshire, and Portland State University, where I served as associate dean in the College of Education for three years. I was drawn to apply to work at L&C when they posted a position for a faculty fellow who would lead the education-related work on a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that focused on encouraging undergraduate science and math majors to explore teaching careers. Once the grant was over the position transitioned to a full-time faculty position in the graduate school, working in the Secondary MAT program.
What was your favorite course(s) to teach?
I loved all of the classes I taught! In a lot of ways, it’s more about the students than the class, and the students are always so inspiring to work with. If I had to single out two classes, they would be the science teaching methods class I taught as part of the Secondary MAT program at the graduate school, and the undergraduate course I taught called “Science Education in the Twenty First Century.” Both were favorites for different reasons. The graduate students in the MAT program who were preparing to be science teachers were determined to learn how to plan lessons and units, develop meaningful assessments, and connect their teaching to real concerns in their communities, all with the goal of making social justice central to their teaching and creating authentic learning communities in their classrooms where all students were meaningfully engaged in learning science. The undergraduates who took the first class were always ready to talk about ideas, to explore why schools are the way they are, and to imagine how they might be part of making them more accessible for more students.
What did you enjoy most about your work?
The best part of my job was teaching. Working with graduate students planning to be teachers, I loved seeing their growth, standing by their side as they explored ideas that intrigued them, watching them become more and more capable of independently planning and teaching. I loved seeing them develop the skills and confidence needed to lead a classroom on their own. There is nothing more satisfying than that! Except maybe watching that confidence and skill continue to develop once they have left L&C and are teaching full time. In the case of the undergrads I worked with, it was hearing them explore new ideas, find and answer questions they cared about, and watching them find a path that worked for them while they are at L&C and after they graduate.
What changed the most during your time at the college? What remained constant?
The most obvious thing that changed for me was the growth and development of the graduate school campus. New classrooms, beautiful outdoor spaces, renovations to existing spaces—all of this made the campus more welcoming and accessible for everyone who works and learns there.
What remained constant was the people—staff and faculty committed to collaboration in support of learning and of making the grad school a better place for everyone, and students eager to learn and pursue careers in teaching and counseling and determined to make the world a more just and equitable place.
What’s something people might not know about you?
Well, anyone who has ever talked to me probably knows this, but I am a devoted St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan. I’m planning to go to Seattle to see the Cards play the Mariners in September.
What is your favorite place on campus?
It’s impossible to single out one place. I love working at L&C, which is one of the most beautiful places I have had the privilege to work. From the calm beauty of the Grad Commons, to the buzzing activity in the bee house garden, to the impressive sight of Mt. Hood over the reflecting pool on the undergrad campus, to the flowers and greenery that change with the seasons, there is something beautiful around every corner here and I am grateful to have been able to find a place for myself here.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the quality of the teachers who I had a part in preparing while at L&C. I love knowing that there are dozens of teachers in classrooms in Portland (and across the world!) who are doing the great work that they started here. Their presence, their persistence, and their commitment, give me hope for the future. I am also proud of the work I have done to expand the Teacher Pathways program over the last several years. With the support of Director of Admissions Rebecca Sexton-Lee, and people in Office of Campus Life, we not only increased the number of CAS students choosing to join Teacher Pathways from the low 20s to more than 100, we added a Living Learning Community for Aspiring Educators. In addition, graduate faculty teach two classes on the undergraduate campus for students interested in exploring careers in teaching, and we scheduled events on the grad campus designed to give Teacher Pathways participants a chance to meet current graduate students and faculty, including coffee hours, trivia night, and financial aid information sessions, and developed a pathway to admission that included modified application requirements that took these students’ work to become educators during their undergraduate years at L&C into account. All of these efforts led to increasing numbers of CAS graduates choosing to attend our MAT programs.
What’s next for you?
In the most immediate future I am planning a trip to the UK (Scotland and England) with my husband and friends. In the longer term, I am in the process of becoming a facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal. This 18-month program will prepare me to facilitate Circle of Trust retreats that offer participants the opportunity to reflect on their own and in community. Once I complete my apprenticeship, I plan to work with the Center for Community Engagement to plan and conduct retreats for teachers and others.
Several longtime staff members retired from Lewis & Clark this year. Check out the employee comings and goings archive for a full list of those who joined our community recently and those who said a fond farewell.
