In August, Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) welcomed a new vice president of academic affairs to their staff. Dr. Derek Shouba worked at Morton College as the Associate Provost before accepting the job at CCSJ. Shouba lived in both the southside of Chicago and Munster for many years, so he has always had an interest in the area, and was drawn to CCSJ because of their positive effect on the community.
“I’ve always been interested in this region,” Shouba explained. “I knew Calumet College was an important educational provider for underserved communities on both sides of the border. I knew I was interested in liberal arts education and there were great professional programs here, plus it is a diverse college.”
As vice president of academic affairs, Shouba will be working with the faculty in order to maintain the high quality of the college’s academic programs. In addition to that, Shouba will have other duties in his new position.
“I will connect college faculty and students to outside stakeholders, and make connections between the college and other programs like Ivy Tech and the area high schools,” said Shouba. “I want to make sure the faculty is connected to the community.”
Shouba has already taught a human resources master’s course as part of CCSJ’s Master of Science in Management program, on top of everything else he does. He is excited to continue teaching as part of his new job because it gives him the chance to connect with the student population.
“With my background and degrees in liberal arts and business,” Dr. Shouba said. “I wanted to teach here. That was my first business course, and in the spring I will be teaching liberal studies humanities courses. It will be a part of our fast-track business program and I am excited to get to know the students.”
Although only being at CCSJ for a short time, Shouba’s favorite memory from his new job was attending the Humanities Fest the college hosted in October.
“I really enjoyed the depth of faculty and student engagement across a range of disciplines, the festival was just outstanding,” Shouba said.
Outside of work, Shouba is a husband and father of two teenage sons, and he loves to travel with his family. They make frequent trips to Tunisia and have traveled to Malaysia, Russia, and Mexico.
Even when Shouba is away from his academic job, he is passionate about history and literature. His biggest fields of interest are the Russian revolution and Russian history.
“I am not in academics by accident, I really do love literature, history, culture, plays, and things like that,” said Shouba.
To learn more about Calumet College of St. Joseph, visit www.ccsj.edu.