Commencement 2004

Focus on Faculty
Patti Wolf

By Chip Cassano

Patti Wolf receives her doctoral hood from UMUC Provost Nicholas Allen.

For Patti Wolf, who teaches information systems management courses for UMUC and serves as director of faculty and distance education services in the School of Undergraduate Studies, UMUC’s Doctor of Management (DM) program came along at just the right time—and not a moment too soon. In fact, Wolf was already halfway through the enrollment process of a PhD program at the University of Maryland, College Park, when word came down that the DM program at UMUC had received approval.

“I wanted to do a DM as opposed to a PhD because I was in the business world, I knew that I wasn’t working toward a position as a tenured faculty member, and I wanted [a degree] that would be recognized in business as well as in academia,” said Wolf, who for 10 years headed her own companies—Wolf Publications and later Carroll Creek Marketing, which specialized in Web design, Internet marketing, and public relations.

Wolf applied to the new program immediately and joined the very first cohort. There, she discovered one of the program’s greatest strengths.

“I met a great group of students,” said Wolf. “If it weren’t for the cohort I was assigned to at the start, I would never have survived. I think that’s true for most of us. You really need the support of other people who are trying to do the same thing you are doing—you know, go through a very rigorous program, work full-time, and have a family life. You really have no other life.”

There were some rough spots along the way. Being in the first cohort meant that Wolf and her fellow students were pioneers, and, predictably, they ran into some glitches. When graduation time rolled around, they were in uncharted territory; UMUC had never graduated doctoral students before. Standardized forms had to be adjusted and new processes put in place to secure the appropriate regalia.

But it all came together in the end. Wolf completed her dissertation—“Best Practices in the Training of Faculty to Teach Online”—and marched in May 2004, roughly four years after she started the program. She is unequivocal about the impact her new credentials have had on her career.

“I got a promotion immediately,” said Wolf. “I’m now director of faculty and distance education services, and I wouldn’t have this job if it weren’t for this degree. I think that’s true of almost all of us who graduated. One man is retired and has no plans to return to work, but of the other five, I think we’ve all found new opportunities that wouldn’t have been available to us without a doctorate.”

Wolf was motivated by more than career goals, however.

“I completed the DM because a doctorate is almost required in academia,” Wolf said, “but I probably did it more for the personal fulfillment aspect that it offered. I kind of see myself as a lifelong student, and it just made sense for me to keep on going.”

And so it should come as no surprise that, with her doctoral work out of the way, Wolf has plans for her new free time—and that those plans involve more classes.

“What’s next for me?” Wolf asked. “I’m probably going to go back and get another bachelor’s degree. I don’t know in what, yet. I’m toying with a couple of options. It might be for fun or it might be career-oriented, but right now I’m leaning toward fun.”