The many educations of a Hiram grad
Roger Herman '65 brims with unconventional ideas for the future of his alma mater. This probably will come as no surprise to those who encountered Herman outside Hiram College's classrooms when he was a student, such places as:
• The magazine section of the library (then in Teachout-Price Hall)
• Food-service operations
• The College power plant
Herman's education was never circumscribed by classroom walls.
"I was hungry to learn," he said during a February visit to campus.
Herman's own hunger for knowledge continues unabated. Now, however, his emphasis at Hiram College is on infusing a new generation of students with this hunger and helping to bring to the table people who can satisfy it.
Herman inspired the College's Education that Works Conference held in December 2005. The conference brought to campus experts from many fields, including the sciences, law, and art. Herman's February visit from his home in North Carolina was made, in part, to assess, with College officials, the results of the conference and to plan future steps.
With Herman, it is all about the future.
He is literally a futurist – specifically, a futurist who examines workforce issues as chief executive officer of The Herman Group, a Greensboro, North Carolina, management consulting firm.
In addition to writing (11 books and countless magazine articles) and speaking (he has a worldwide reputation), Herman analyzes workforce trends for employers and advises them how to address what he foresees.
"When we work with a college or university," Herman said, "our focus is more on what they can and should be doing – given the same information – to help prepare tomorrow's workforce. It's a supplier-versus-consumer orientation."
Employers tell Herman that they are not so much looking for employees who have achieved advanced degrees or specialized training as they are for those who have the broad-based skills of the liberal arts graduate.
"What they want," Herman said, "are people who are curious, are problem solvers, are multidisciplinary, collaborative, and are good communicators. They want people who will challenge and question and don’t accept everything they hear."
What they want, Herman said, is the type of student that Hiram College produces – at least those who share Herman's hunger for knowledge.
"Unfortunately," Herman said, "too many students are not as aware, sensitive, engaged, and captured by what is happening around them as they should be. They are living in the moment and not seeing the full picture of what their lives after graduation are going to be like."
As a '60s sociology undergraduate, Herman explored the world with a vengeance, springboarding from what he learned in the classroom to tangential, even unexpected, opportunities.
He spent hours in the periodical room of the library, which was then located in the basement of Teachout-Price Hall. Herman placed no boundaries on his reading: "Architectural Digest," "Public Works Magazine," "Chemical Engineering News." He would read anything, even if he were not particularly interested in the topic.
To this day, he routinely recommends to people who seek his advice about learning that they read magazines.
"You'll become conversational in many fields," Herman said, "and you'll have a much broader platform from which to study and understand the world around you."
Herman's advice to read broadly does come with some specificity. Though he recognizes and appreciates the value of the Internet, he suggests that students "get out of their dorm rooms and go to the library and look at magazines."
"Physically turning the page and holding the magazine is part of the learning experience," he said. "It's tactile. The students who are receptive are the ones who will be the leaders of the future. Those who are not receptive will miss a tremendous opportunity and never know why."
Herman discovered learning opportunities in situations and places he did not anticipate. As an employee of food services, for instance, Herman often found himself setting up for a dinner and then killing time as he waited for people to eat so he could clean up. One day he was complaining to an older food-service co-worker.
"Why are we just sitting around?" Herman asked.
"They also serve who sit and wait," the co-worker explained.
That lesson in patience has stayed with Herman.
"That was learning that did not come from a professor," he said.
If such lessons can occur unexpectedly, more often Herman sought them out, following his curiosity into places where other students did not venture.
"I was probably the only student to talk to the operator of the power plant," Herman said. "I wanted to learn about the turbines. I was curious."
The information Herman gleaned from his power plant visit did not seem to even vaguely fit into his major area of study or, for that matter, into the broader study in the liberal arts. The years, however, can alter the equation.
"Thirteen years later," Herman said, "I was a director of public works, and fifteen years later I was a city manager – careers in which I had to deal with power plants. Careers take all kinds of routes."
Because they do, Herman is determined to facilitate those moments when the light flicks on for Hiram students. And if students do not always hunger for the light, as Herman did in his visit to the College power plant, he will bring the light to them in the form of people who are willing to share their life and work experiences.
"By exposing students to stimulating people who help them gain insights into aspects of life they might not otherwise be exposed to," Herman said, "we help prepare students to make critical decisions about their lives.
"Those people could be a CEO, or a lineman for the county. There is a lot that can be learned from all kinds of people."