Back in 2001, I was heading a committee at the college to change the method of faculty evaluation. Purportedly, faculty evaluation existed for the purpose of "improving instruction" and for rewarding those teachers who did just that. Realistically, however, the system did not achieve its purpose. Rather, supervisors had in mind a bell curve -- a few superior teachers at the top, a few poor ones at the bottom, with a middle curve of so-so/ mediocre teachers at the bottom. And they wanted to distribute merit pay along the lines of the bell curve.
The effect of this system was that the good teachers got better; the poor ones got worse, and the ones in the middle argued that they too deserved an "outstanding" evaluation because they too had accumulated the required points in the system. In the meantime, no one really was looking at the improvement of instruction.
Then an article appeared in the local newspapers about a book by Tom Coens: Abolishing Performance Appraisals: Why They Backfire and What to do Instead. I have found that the Providence of God always provides exactly what we need when we need it, like manna in the desert. Reading Tom's book was an answer to an almost unsolvable dilemma -- how to change the culture of performance evaluations and the mindset that "evaluating" people would actually make a difference to the students.
I wrote to Tom Coens, who had spent more than 30 years working in human resources, quality management, and labor law. I explained the mindset I was facing at the college and the struggle we had to actually use faculty evaluation to improve instruction. I thought maybe he could suggest a speaker who would persuade the college to take another look at the way they were doing evaluation. I could offer only 3000 dollars to a speaker, which would have to cover travel expenses -- plane fare, hotel, cabs, food, etc. The honorarium worked well for local speakers, or for those in education, who were used to subsidizing their salaries with speaking engagements, but those at the top level of management were used to drawing much higher fees for speaking.
To my surprise and shock, Tom wrote back to say that he himself would come to the college, and that he would bring his wife. I was amazed that this man would extend himself to a small community college, and take on not only the faculty at large, but the administrators, who had been looking with some distaste on the direction in which our committee had been heading. When he came, he spent two full days addressing the leadership of the college, answering their questions and addressing their concerns, in addition to a morning address to the college at large, along with afternoon workshops.
I was stunned by this outright gift from heaven. His presence, knowledge, and experience gave my small committee the weight it needed to move forward with a whole new concept of faculty evaluation -- changing the culture of the college for the better, I felt. At the end of two days, Tom was exhausted, but he and his wife met me and my husband for dinner before I took them to the airport. I felt I was in the presence of holiness -- someone whose whole life was dedicated to the good of others at the level of management, where it could make a difference. We had a wonderful evening, which ended in his inscribing my book.
A few months later, I received an email from Tom, telling me that he was battling stomach cancer. After explaining his treatment, Tom wrote:
I have lots to do, and will fight, with God's Grace, meaning that I accept His Will at a comfortable level regardless-- I do want some more quality time with my children and grandchildren and my work, my mission....but I must see how this plays into the bigger scheme of things, all in God's hands. The Gospel this week was about Jesus out on the water calling Peter out and Peter losing faith starting to sink. I keep thinking about that and me in this situation.
Tom died a few months later, leaving me a profound sense of loss that the world had lost a great saint, and a profound sense of gratitude that God had sent him to me in my hour of need.
We have all encountered "ordinary" people like Tom who were/are extraordinary in their union with Jesus Christ, and who allow Jesus to work through them to save the world from itself. Deo Gratias!
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