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Printer-Friendly ModePolice academy teaching began Bachand's journey to University
April 17, 2006 —
Don Bachand's childhood aspirations never included growing up to be a vice president for Academic Affairs.
Raised in Detroit, Bachand was exposed to a number of highly recognizable positions - police officer, firefighter, teacher. High ranking college administrator never made the cut. Regardless, Bachand will officially become VPAA on July 1 when he takes over for the retiring Dr. Robert Yien, a man who has held the position for the better part of the last three decades.
Just after the end of the fall semester, a letter from President Eric R. Gilbertson signaled the end of an extensive search for Yien's successor, announcing Bachand, currently dean of the College of Arts & Behavioral Sciences, as the next VPAA.
"A long nationwide search was undertaken and we eventually narrowed it down to three applicants," Gilbertson stated in the letter. "Dr. Bachand was hired on the basis of his demonstrated record of accomplishment. We felt he would be best suited to help lead this institution."
As VPAA, Bachand will oversee the deans of all five colleges as well as a number of other facilities and programs, including the Melvin J. Zahnow Library and the Math Resource Center. In addition, Bachand will have the final say on all faculty hirings.
"(The position) is all about the students and the kind of education they receive at the University," Bachand says. "The vice president for Academic Affairs is the chief academic officer for the whole University."
While Bachand will not formally become the chief academic officer for another two months, it was his work as an officer of a different kind that brought him to SVSU in the first place.
After graduating from Detroit's Cooley High School, Bachand joined the Detroit Police Department. Working as a trainee, he primarily saw the job as a way to pay for college since the department was offering tuition assistance at the time. Before too long, though, Bachand had taken a liking to the work and enrolled at the Detroit Police Academy to further pursue law enforcement.
Three years later, Bachand was promoted to sergeant, a position he says was challenging since 24-year-old police sergeants are rare in an experience-dominated field. On top of that, he had enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Detroit, which meant he had to balance college along with a 40-hour work week and a family.
As a sergeant, Bachand got the opportunity to do some guest lecturing at the Police Academy, passing on his experience to the knowledge-hungry cadets in his classroom. Instantly, he fell in love with the work and began to seriously consider a career change.
"I had such a good experience that I started to give some thought to university teaching," he says.
After the thought entered his mind, it didn't take him long to find his way back into the classroom. During graduate school, Bachand had become friends with former SVSU Criminal Justice professor Jon Cisky, who told him of a full-time position available at the University.
Although he had never heard of SVSU - Saginaw Valley State College at the time - and had no experience teaching outside of a few spot lectures in the Police Academy, the man who conducted his interview in 1978 saw enough potential in the Detroit Police sergeant to give him a shot. That man was none other than Yien himself.
"I guess (Yien) saw enough potential to give me a chance," Bachand says. "The rest is history."
While the fact that Bachand was hired almost 30 years ago does provide somewhat of a historic element, his story is actually far from history. After taking the job teaching Criminal Justice, Bachand went back for his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Though his original plan was to teach for a few years at SVSU before relocating to a metropolitan area, Bachand says he became accustomed to the University and its surrounding community and the Saginaw Valley eventually became his home.
"Anybody who's been around this place can tell you it kind of grows on you," he says. "There are really a lot of fine people here."
One such person was Yien, who again hired Bachand, this time as interim dean of the College of Arts & Behavioral Sciences 18 years later. Bachand held the position on a temporary basis until a replacement could be found. Later, after that replacement stepped down, Yien did not hesitate to hire Bachand again, this time on a permanent basis.
"I've always had a good relationship with Dr. Yien," Bachand says. "He's always been a mentor to me."
It was after Yien decided to retire that Bachand was able to take his next step up on the University ladder. After Yien made the announcement, Bachand considered applying for the position, though he says it was not something he had been actively seeking.
"I was never so presumptuous to think in concrete terms about succeeding him," he says. "In this environment, all these jobs are the direct result of a national search process and you really don't know how people really feel about you until you put yourself in the pool and subject yourself to the institution-wide evaluation process."
It did not take long for Bachand to find out just how people felt. After it became known that Yien was retiring, several colleagues contacted Bachand, urging him to put his name in the running.
"What really made me apply was the encouragement I received from people all over campus," Bachand says. "I received a number of phone calls from people I really hold in high regard, and that was enough encouragement to get in the game."
It was not long after he entered the game that Bachand came out the winner. After several open forums and a lengthy interview process, he was hired for a position he says he is capable of doing. Bachand says his work as dean should help to ease his transition since it is the University's largest college, employing almost half the faculty on campus.
"I have to become as strong an advocate for all the other colleges as I've tried to be for Arts and Behavioral Sciences," he says.
In addition, Bachand says he is open-minded to different opinions and approaches and believes he is fair and honest when it comes to working with others.
"There are just so many amazing people here," he says. "We can do a lot of great things."
Some of the things Bachand has in mind deal with the new professional master's program in Science, Engineering, and Technology as well as improving the current programs. Regardless, Bachand says he is just thankful that he does not have to start from the beginning like Yien did some 28 years ago.
"I won't have the responsibility of building it from scratch," he says, "but I do have an obligation to make sure that all of these programs continue to improve so that students who come to this University have access to programs that are going to make them extremely competitive when they leave here, no matter what they want to do."
Bachand believes he can accomplish that by always keeping the big picture in mind when making decisions.
"The main responsibility will be to make decisions not in your personal best interest but in the best interest of the University," he says. "And that's what I aim to do."