By Cheryl Madsen
In a society where only 20 percent of jobs require a college degree, the number of students graduating from college is dwindling.
Jobs in restaurants, retail sales, call centers and housekeeping dominate the 80 percent of jobs not requiring a college degree, according to Commissioner for Higher Education Richard E. Kendell.
'I''m not dismissing the value of work,' Kendall said of such positions. 'But if you want to be a self-sustaining adult, you''ve got to go to college.'
Kendell recently announced his retirement as commissioner in December and says he hopes the next commissioner will continue his campaign for a better-educated Utah and 'a better educated populous of people.'
Kendell has pushed his education campaign to Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr., several Latter-day Saint General Authorities, executive branch legislators, business leaders and Baptist, Catholic and Jewish communities.
That campaign has three main points. The first, Kendell said, is that high school students need much better preparation for college during high school. Second, students should be encouraged to participate in college. Third, Kendall urges every student who starts college to finish.
Christine Kearl, Deputy of Education under Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr., describes Kendell''s greatest success as being a great educational leader. She credits Kendell with creating 'a seamless education' and says students can transition smoothly from public education to higher education because of his accomplishments. Kendall founded the K-16 Alliance, in which public education and higher education are strongly linked.
Kearl said she is impressed with Kendell''s strong background in public education, which has helped him 'bridge the gap between public and higher education.'
Kendell has been involved in education since his graduation from Weber State University where he earned his bachelor of science in English. He worked as an English teacher at Ogden High School for one year. He then moved on to the Utah system of Higher Education. He eventually became the superintendent of Davis School District and worked with Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt as deputy for higher education before becoming the commissioner and CEO of higher education.
Kendell said one of his first goals during his career was to incorporate technology into the school systems, and he succeeded in placing at least one computer into every classroom. He remembers the controversy during the late ''80s, when he was asked, 'Don''t you think this might be wasteful?'
Kendell replied, 'This will be the biggest thing that will happen in several years in education.'
Val Peterson, vice president of administration and academic affairs at UVSC, said Kendell contributed greatly to education through his emphasis on math, science and technology. Kendell helped establish six math and science high schools throughout the state. Peterson said he and Kendell believe a background in hard sciences is necessary to move society forward.
Michael T. Benson, president of Southern Utah University and family friend of Kendell, attributes Kendell''s success to his background and qualifications and says Kendell is 'very articulate and intelligent with a great sense of humor.' As commissioner, Kendell works hard to encourage everyone to take part in secondary education, Benson said.
Throughout his career, Kendell has had many experiences which have helped him become the extraordinary educational leader he is credited with being today. As superintendent, Kendell learned the value of students having hands-on experience. Some high school students came to him saying they wanted to become teachers. Kendell sent those students out to be teacher''s assistants for a month and at the end of the month the students reported back to him. Kendell remembers some of the students as having said, 'This is just fabulous. I''m going to become a teacher.'
Kendell also recalled others saying, 'I did it for a month, and I don''t think this is for me.'
Kendell would reply, 'Boy, it''s valuable to know that now as opposed to going all the way through college, getting a degree, going out into the classroom and then saying, ''You know, I don''t really enjoy this.'''
Kendell also visited a vocational school in Virginia, where a teacher at the school shared an experience with him that impressed upon him the value of hands-on experience. The teacher said sometimes he would have a hard time motivating certain students. He would take those students into a garage, open a door and show the students a 200 horsepower Chevy engine. The students'' assignment was to turn the engine into a 350 horsepower engine.
The teacher said he would often find students out at the engine before school, after school and during breaks trying to figure out what would make the engine produce more power. At the end of the semester, they would put the engine in a car and take it to a raceway and see what they could do with it.
'It was a really tremendous opportunity for them,' Kendell said.
UVSC has been pushing for more hands-on opportunities for their students, which Kendell says will make huge differences throughout students'' college careers.
Kendell said he is deeply concerned with the dwindling number of high school students moving on to college, though Utah schools appear to be doing significantly better than the rest of the nation. However, Kendell is not impressed, as he believes the national average is not very good. He said family support and comparatively low neglect and crime rates factor into Utah''s higher graduation rates. But, Kendell says he believes that at 17-18 percent, the 'drop-out rate is still too high.'
Kendell is also worried about the future of public education''s teacher shortage. Last year Utah was short 1,400 teachers. As student enrollment continues to increase, the teacher shortage is expected to grow larger. Kendell predicted that teaching positions would continue to be left open unless teachers are paid more. However, he suggested making teaching a year-round option for teachers to make more money by working during the summers.