Education dean Karen Adams’ death stuns campus

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Those who knew Karen Adams said talking with her was often like taking a trip around the world.

Adams, dean of the College of Education and Human Services since 2003, loved to share her tales of her travels with colleagues.

“It was almost like seeing vicariously through her eyes,” said Michael Fields, dean of the College of Business and Administration.

The plans Adams had to eventually hit every country in the world were cut short Tuesday.

Adams died Tuesday at MidMichigan Health Center-Midland, following an allergic reaction to initial chemotherapy treatments for cancer. She was 58.

“It is a major loss to the community, Fields said. “We will all miss her very, very much.”

Her death comes less than a week before her college was to move into the new Education and Human Services Building, a flagstone project for her tenure at CMU.

Michael Gilbert, chairman for the department of educational leadership, described Adams as a woman eager to put her plans into action. She didn’t just talk about her ideas for the college, he said, she saw them through to reality.

When it came to the new education building, Gilbert said Adams had an undying passion. She didn’t have to bring the project up in conversation and those she spoke with could still sense her passion.

“My father always said actions speak louder than words,” Gilbert said. “Karen was a person of action.”

EHS Building still on track

Kathy Koch, associate EHS dean, said plans for the move into the new building is on schedule. The deans office will move in the fourth floor Monday, with other departments making the transition beginning the following week.

“I believe she would want that, she wouldn’t want us to postpone that,” Koch said.

She referred to Adams as one of the most “student-conscious” people she knows.

“She was always on the lookout for the welfare of the students in the college,” she said. “She was especially caring for new faculty, to help them get started on the right foot.”

Phame Camarena, chairman of the department of human environmental studies, said he will always have an appreciation of Adams’ advocacy for providing multicultural experiences for both students and faculty.

Under her leadership, he said, students in HEV programs had opportunities to travel to Paris to learn about fashion. Others had the chance to work with children in shelters in Oaxaca, Mexico, even visiting a rural village to work on an art project, using money Adams allocated from the dean’s fund.

“She was a real advocate for the diversity of our programs,” Camarena said. “She encouraged faculty to run projects and students to get involved.”

Camarena said Adams liked to think big.

“She was the kind of person, that over spring break, she’d head to Mongolia,” he said. “She brought her love of travel and international programs.”

Provost Julia Wallace said Adams knew the importance of providing the best quality educational experiences.

She most admired Adams’ efforts to provide teaching internships in Australia, England and Ghana for students in the CMU’s teacher education program, infusing globalization into elementary and secondary school curriculum.

‘Champion of charter schools’

James Goenner, executive director of charter schools, said Adams’ interest in education was not just in higher-education, but also at the K-12 level.

He described her as a great supporter of CMU’s charter schools program, and said she took very seriously the fact that two-thirds of the schools’ students are deemed “at risk.”

“Karen was always supportive of the open opportunity to provide to those students and families,” Goenner said.

He said with Adams’ help, the first online master’s of administration degree in charter schools was developed in 2007.

“She really was a champion not only for charter schools, but for the College of Education and Human Services as well,” he said.

Just last Saturday, Adams attended the Threads Fashion Show and took great pride in the accomplishments of students in the apparel merchandising program.

Lisa Klager, president of the Education and Human Services Residential College, said she, as well as many other students, are appreciate of the initiative Adams brought to improve the educational experience at Central.

“She was one of the most passionate supporters of our program,” the West Bloomfield sophomore said. “She really helped make the dreams and visions we had come through.”

Wallace said Adams had a notable level of pride for each of the five departments in her college.

“Karen cared deeply about the students, faculty and staff in EHS ad about her colleagues in the university,” Wallace said in a statement. “She will be deeply missed. Her legacy, however, will continue to live on in all of us at CMU.”

Funeral arrangements are still pending.

What Happens Next?

Kathy Koch, associate EHS Dean said transition of the college into the Education and Human Services building will proceed on schedule, beginning Monday.

University officials say discussions have not yet begun to determine who will fill the EHS Dean position.

Karen Adams Timeline

1972: Adams graduates with a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia

1981: Adams is awarded a Doctorate of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina

1999: Becomes Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Western Kentucky University

2001: Becomes Chair of the Public Education Deans Council in Kentucky

2003: Hired at Central Michigan University as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services

2004: Accepts chairwoman position for the Michigan Deans Council

2006: Begins serving as a co-reviewer with former College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean Sue Ann Martin for WCMU’s weekly radio program “Children’s Books: The Dean’s List”

2006: Works as co-instructor of “Enhance Student Learning with Reflective Management,” a professional development and graduate coarse in Tema, Ghana

2007: CMU’s online Master’s degree in charter schools’ administration becomes available

2009: A $50 million Education and Human Services Building is scheduled to open on CMU’s main campus

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