37 // � e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

Jean SchwindP

HO

TO B

Y JUS

TINE S

CH

ULER

UD

GET TO KNOWJean Schwind

Arrived at Elon in 1989

Favorite leader: Journalist Ellen Goodman

“When in doubt, cut it out.” - Mark Twain

� e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // 38P

HO

TO B

Y A

SH

LEY

BA

RN

AS

Anyone involved in the Elon’s English department knows Assistant Professor Jean Schwind, or, at least, they should. The same goes for any faculty, staff or student involved with any number of the programs, committees or classes with which she has been involved.

In the 21 years since arriving at Elon, she has put her mark on several policies and initiatives that have helped the university transform into the engaged learning institution it is today.

Before coming to Elon, Schwind spent her undergraduate years at St. Olaf College and then continued her education at the University of Minnesota. Afterward, she jumped around teaching at St. Olaf, the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas. But it was the fi ve years Schwind spent at Earlham College that really infl uenced the professor and leader she would become.

“[Earlham] was the place where I really learned how to teach,” she said. “So that was a very important place to me.”

After leaving Earlham, Schwind came to Elon. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Schwind has played a role in several important campus-wide initiatives. Schwind helped establish the university’s common reading program, received grants that allowed the school to implement the Global Experience courses and worked to immerse the school in interdisciplinary studies. During her time as President of Elon’s Academic Council, Schwind assisted with instating a standard code of professionalism and a new system for hiring faculty.

Whether in or out of the classroom, Schwind has never been afraid of tackling hard work or menial tasks. In fact, it’s the ability to handle the more daunting, behind-the-scenes tasks that she believes well serves those in leadership roles.

“I think being a leader is almost kind of being invisible but very involved in the details and time consuming work that goes on backstage,” she said. “It’s like the worker bees and queen bees analogy. The queen bee is glamorous and gets all the credit, but the real leaders are the worker bees.”

Schwind proves much like the worker bees she admires. She possesses much of the same drive, perseverance and overall mindset to “just keep at it.”

“[Leader] is not really a word I would use to describe myself, but then I don’t really follow,” Schwind said. “So, I don’t really know what I would use

to defi ne myself. ...I work hard in purposeful ways and maybe that’s how I defi ne being a leader.”

Fellow English professor Rosemary Haskell has worked with Schwind since her arrival at the school. Haskell commends Schwind for her “high moral standards, complete devotion to the task at hand, willingness to work harder than everyone else and love of intellectual life.”

Haskell cites the above attributes as qualities of a great leader, adding: “I fi nd I try to live up to [Schwind’s] high standards.”

Schwind credits her standards and view on leadership to a few particular past experiences. Growing up in a large family, as one of six children, Schwind learned that to get noticed, a person has to stand up for themselves and actually do something to be recognized. Early in her teaching career, Schwind was fortunate to have had a few colleagues, who were “powerful teachers” and taught her that real leadership requires extraordinary giving.

The idea of giving back to others and working to help people become better drives Schwind’s overall view of leadership.

“I would defi ne a leader as someone who moves both individuals and larger groups...to be better, that moves them forward,” she said. “It’s kind of vague, but I fi rmly believe the idea that even people who are really good today can be better tomorrow. So [leadership] is just kind of getting them there.”

Schwind gives back the most, where she feels the most comfortable—in the classroom. Making a conscious effort to stay in the classroom and away from substantial administrative roles has kept Schwind motivated in her work. Elon’s rapidly changing environment, she said, has pushed her to stay fresh. With increasingly ambitious students and expectations, Schwind must challenge herself to continuously reinvent her courses and teaching strategies.

By evidence of the many students who take multiple courses with her, request her as a faculty adviser and simply want to stop by her offi ce to chat, Schwind’s commitment to her students certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. Availability, a leadership quality Schwind said she considers highly important, is one she defi nitely practices in her own life.

“Students love her because she’s an absolutely brilliant teacher,” Haskell said. “She gives her students absolutely all her intellectual and emotional energy both in and out of the classroom.”

Story By Amanda Kennison

THE QUEEN BEE OF WORKER BEES