“The School of Teaching and Learning is excited to welcome Dr. Robyn Seglem as the director of the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy,” said Dr. Erin Mikulec, interim director of the School of Teaching and Learning.
Seglem is a recognized scholar in the field of literacy, serves as co-editor for Voices from the Middle, has authored numerous publications, and has led several initiatives on campus.
“Dr. Seglem will be an innovative director for the Borg Center, and there is no doubt that with her leadership, it will continue to grow and serve ISU, Bloomington-Normal, and beyond,” Mikulec said.
Seglem shared her thoughts about this new role, including possible new partnerships or initiatives, and a fall event that would bring a bilingual middle grades author to campus as a writer-in-residence.
What are you most excited about as director, and what challenges does the Center face?
I’m most excited about the possibilities. Dr. (Deborah) MacPhee did an excellent job building the Center into a valuable resource for our college and the community. I’m excited that the foundation is sturdy because that gives me the flexibility and freedom to move the Center in new directions, while also maintaining current services.
While I have a lot of ideas for potential next steps, I’m not sure which will be further developed, and which will be abandoned—I’m waiting to explore alongside my colleagues. But that’s what’s exciting about it—I don’t have to put any ideas into action right away because we have a great Center, giving me the luxury to explore possibilities.
The challenges to the Center are the same as pretty much any unit on campus: having the resources to do everything we want to do. This includes money, but it also includes time. As I consider new directions, I am also going to have to find ways to fund those ideas. This just means that I’m going to have to consider what services we can provide that people will want to pay for, as well as what grants that align with our mission are available. And while this can be daunting, part of my passion is finding creative solutions, so I’m excited to start working on this challenge as well.
How have other leadership roles on campus prepared you for this role?
I think all of my experiences—as a teacher, professor, and a leader—have helped prepare me for this role. If I focus solely on leadership, I think I have a better understanding of budgets, as well as many of the processes that go into making decisions. Having a broader view of the University as a whole has also allowed me to engage more in systems thinking because I have a better understanding of each unit’s role in supporting our mission.
I have also been able to make more connections with people, which provides me with insights on who can assist me in reaching goals for the center, as well as with more brains to tap into in order to build creative solutions. I believe the more people we have working on a problem, the better the solution will be. And of course, the more I have worked with people in leadership roles, the more empathy I can bring to a situation.
What new partnerships or initiatives are in the works?
I am still early in the building of these. I’ve been talking with various campus partners, as well as community organizations about what we might be able to do to support each other. I’m hesitant to start too many initiatives until I have a chance to work more with literacy faculty. I am a big design thinker, so I have planned a design thinking workshop for August, which will bring together literacy faculty and other stakeholders together to explore potential new directions for the Center, keeping in mind that we still want to continue the work that the Center is known for, including tutoring, the lending library, and professional development.
What are some upcoming events that are planned for the Borg Center?
One event that I’m really excited about is bringing Pablo Cartaya, a middle grades author, to campus for a week as a writer-in-residence. We are targeting early October. Cartaya is a bilingual author who features both English and Spanish in his work. I have been collaborating with Unit 5 and District 87 to develop workshops for their English Learners. I’m also hoping to collaborate with Metcalf and to develop programming that’s open to the public.
I have also been talking with Molly Allen, the Assistant Regional Superintendent of the Regional Office of Education #17 about co-developing a literacy symposium to support area school partners as they work to implement the new Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan. We are waiting on guidance from ISBE.
