Cottey College faculty profile

Name: Rusalyn H. Andrews, Ph.D.

School: Cottey College.

Position: Professor of theatre and speech. (Margaret Emily Stoner Professor of Speech and Drama.)

I teach a variety of theatre and communication courses, direct theatrical productions, design costumes, and oversee a collection of theatrical and vintage costumes.

What inspired you to become an educator?

The professors who introduced me to theatre and communication studies directly impacted me and I loved what they taught me so much that I wanted to share my love of theatre with others. I actually resented that no one had introduced me to theatre before. As time progressed, I discovered the importance of communication skills and the desire to share what I was learning became almost compulsive.

What is most challenging in your role and why?

Actually, there are two challenges associated with my job: My job is pretty broad, covering many areas of theatre as well as the broader discipline of communication. It's a challenge to prioritize my use of my time so everything I want to accomplish gets done. I'm capable of doing more than I have time to spend. I spend more time tired than bored.

The most challenging part of teaching is convincing students to be brave enough and to take the time necessary to do their best; to engage fully in the learning process. To teach performance courses such as theatre and speech, it's necessary to get students to immerse themselves fully in the learning process. If they hold back, they can't grow as much as if they fully commit. It's more frustrating teaching a talented student that won't do her best than it is to teach a less talented student who will put herself on the line by doing her absolute best. It's difficult to convince students that giving one's all and having a teacher show you how to make it more is what the absolute BEST learning experiences are all about. It's not an insult when your best isn't perfect, but when what you give a teacher is less than your best, the teacher is telling you what you already know, not what you need to hear to really LEARN something.

What teaching moment is most memorable?

I remember once having to give an assignment back to a student who absolutely loved the subject I was teaching but who had not done well at all on the assignment. I wrote the reasons her work wasn't acceptable, explained what she would need to do and gingerly handed back her evaluation paper with a request for her to re-do the assignment. She blurted out "Oh, good, I get a chance to do it right!" I love it when students recognize the value of doing their best, of taking what I can offer to them and learning as much as they can from me. It's most rewarding when students recognize that their best can be improved on and when they are confident enough to be open to suggestions and critique. Learning is risky, difficult and can be hard on the ego. I respect students who can put themselves on the line in a learning situation; who aren't afraid to do their best and have someone tell them how to improve on that.

Experience

I began teaching high school at Farmington High School in 1977. I taught as a graduate student at Illinois State University and at Southern Illinois University; I was a professor at Blackburn College, Carlinville, Ill., for nine years, and taught as an adjunct at Troy State University in Dothan, Ala., before coming to Cottey in 1997.

Other professional work background:

I taught a graduate class in creative dramatics and children's theatre for Central Missouri State, so I guess you could say I've taught preschool through graduate level. I've also taught preschoolers through 70 year olds!

Cottey has provided me with opportunities to teach modules in London, Rome, Florence, Paris, and this spring in Barcelona.

Education:

Undergraduate work at Southeast and Southwest Missouri State University, Bachelor's of Science in education from Missouri University when it was called Southwest Missouri State University (trained to teach English, speech, oral interpretation, and theatre), MS from Illinois State University, Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IIl., (majors: Theatre, performance studies, communication education, communication theory)

I studied sign language interpreting, deaf culture, and theatre in deaf culture as much as possible, completing an internship at the National Technical Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, N.Y., and ultimately wrote a dissertation about Theatre of the Deaf. I pursued further work in interpreting in Illinois and Alabama. Can I sign now -- not really, it's impossible to maintain proficiency in a language without using it.

Family

Son, Wil Andrews-Weiss (25), theatre professional in Kansas City; and daughter Sarah Andrews-Weiss (22), legal assistant/secretary in the Kansas City area.

Interest/hobbies:

I love all the fine arts, creating and enjoying the creations of others. I love all cuisines, travel, and experiencing different cultures. And I love learning new things.

I wish when I was young that I would have learned more languages and experienced a greater variety of cultures. You'd think I would have since my father was in the military until I was 8 and we moved with him, but I really wasn't even exposed to African American or Hispanic American co-cultures until I was grown.

Notable achievements, awards, and recognition:

I was honored to be a part of a group of Fulbright Scholars who spent a month in Russia. We went the entire breadth of western Russia in an educational and cultural exchange. I gave a brief lecture at a university in Moscow using an interpreter ... it was extremely difficult.

Cottey College presented me with a grant to study improvisation, skit writing, and writing strong women at Second City in Chicago last summer. It was fantastic. I grew so much personally. I learned so much to bring back to the young women of Cottey.