Home- College of Education Faculty Oral Histories
- Dr. Don Orlosky
College of Education Faculty Oral Histories
Dr. Don Orlosky
DO: Yes, I was. One of the unusual features of NCPEA was that every five years they held a “whither session.” This was a session that tried to answer the question, “Whither shall we go?” I chaired two of these sessions, so I was involved in setting the agenda over a period of ten years. The organization began as an informal barbecue meeting in 1948. They later met on a college campus, stayed in dorms, and rotated around the four quadrants of the country. The organization grew in numbers and stature. When I got involved, they were still meeting in dorms and they were still somewhat casual. And they had continued the tradition of previous years of domination by white male majority rule. I don’t say this critically because the norms of the 1950s and the norms of the 1980s and 1990s were different, and this organization was like most others. During the whither sessions we made several significant changes that continue today. They included movement from a college campus to a resort facility (leave your coat hangers home), creation of a refereed yearbook of research, and broadening the base of participation to include more women and minorities. The organization is flourishing today with over 300 professors attending on a regular basis.
LB: When you were hired, Jean Battle was the Dean, and then you experienced 16 years with Bill Katzenmeyer.
DO: That’s correct.
LB: And I guess that Roger Wilk was also the Dean?
DO: Yes, for a couple years.
LB: So you had nearly all the deans?
DO: Yes, I have. I think a chair has to make a decision about his or her loyalties. I think your first loyalty must be to integrity and what you consider to be professionally responsible. Sometimes there is not a clear-cut answer to issues in this regard, and it may be necessary to make a choice to align with your department or with your dean. Conflicts of this nature do arise, and if a responsible compromise can be found, that is usually the best outcome. When such arose, I tended to support the wishes of the department, but I always felt that I got along well with each dean. I think there was enough respect that we did not let our differences become personal.
LB: Could you have envisioned when you arrived here the growth of the University in either size or quality?
DO: That is a really good question. It grew so rapidly the first two years I was here. It just mushroomed. No, I didn’t have any idea how big it would become. I knew it was in a high population area, and I knew they had space to grow. John Allen was the President at the time and had a slogan: “Accent on Learning.” He wanted to build small classrooms to promote small class size, and he did not want a football program. These factors influenced the way USF developed, but when you consider those factors you would not envision USF becoming what it is today.
LB: You have many things to be proud of in your career here and elsewhere, but what are those things that stand out in terms of achievements or things that you influenced that you want to feel best about?
DO: That’s a little awkward to answer.
LB: Well, don’t be modest.
DO: In the early 1980s the Florida Council for Educational Management (FCEM) was created by the legislature to improve the preparation of school administrators. The council was led by Cecil Golden, and he created a policy board that included one educator and the rest were businessmen or professionals outside of education. In order to provide a voice for universities, the Florida Association of Professors of Educational Leadership (FAPEL) was formed. FAPEL worked closely with the FCEM as certification procedures, program approval, and academic requirements were established. I served as president of FAPEL for two years during these formative times, and was I heavily involved in creating and enforcing evaluative criteria for program approval, development of the Florida Educational Leadership Exam (FELE), and regular attendance at FCEM meetings to protect the interests of university programs and maintain cooperation with the FCEM and the school districts.
LB: And this is still ongoing, isn’t it?
DO: Yes, it is. Although the FCEM no longer exists, their functions have been shifted to another arrangement in the Florida Department of Education.
LB: We all have our favorite stories, some of them humorous others not so humorous about USF and the College of Education. Are there any that you might want to share with us that you can recall?
DO: I know what you’re asking and I am scratching my head to come up with something that might be appropriate. I think our department meetings were probably the fastest hour of the month. We met on Friday from 8:30-10:00 a.m. I always had a 10 o’clock meeting so we had to stop by then. The agenda was announced on the previous Monday, and anyone who wanted an item on the agenda had to submit it by the previous Friday. I always brought in pastries and coffee that was there by 8 a.m. So, we had an established routine that everyone understood. At times, I think if we had taped our meetings, they could have been aired on TV. I don’t know if they should be classified as comedy, drama, or tragedy. It was an hour and a half of no holds barred, sleeves rolled up, let’s dig in on this. Sometimes a topic was filibustered to the point we could not get to others, and I eventually listed a time limit on each item and tried to enforce it. We got a lot of work done, and people laughed, they argued, they conceded, they got angry, and sometimes they were just plain bewildered. But to me, these were some of the most interesting times.