When I picked up President Richard Muma’s novel, I hoped it would be innovative and transformative for me personally. It was neither, but in the scope of history, I see the appeal of the name to the average reader.
“Student Centered, Innovation Driven” establishes itself as “A Guide to Transforming Higher Education.” I think this title is the singular aspect of the book that does not deliver. This novel is short, falling at 156 pages, preface not included. I went into this book with zero expectations or preconceived notions. I transferred to Wichita State last year, and had no clue who President Muma was. Nor did I know the history of WSU at its inception. This novel successfully tells me about both.
The story opens with “What to expect”, which establishes the story as a collection of vignettes– or short moments pieced together — with collective themes. I believe this story could have benefited from being an anthology from multiple presidents or faculty of WSU. This would allow for a variety of perspectives, solutions and understanding of the ideas the novel proposes.
Notably, Muma says this book is most likely to be used and read by educators, so the book is built for them. It’s a lot of questions posed as if you are an educator — statistics, and lessons he learned as an educator. However, I still feel that the vignettes and history are far more interesting for the average reader. The book could have benefited if it was written with a wider audience in mind.
From the “what to expect” portion forward, the stories are well written, with a clear voice and point. Muma has a distinct tone of writing in the three prevalent formats of the novel. The chapters contain an introduction of what to expect from the chapter, the subheading, which is a piece of advice, and the actual chapter.
Overall, “Student Centered, Innovation Driven” is a decent read for anyone interested in the history of WSU and its quest to innovate and educate people or educators looking for tips. For those interested in more of a narrative or driven story, skip this one.
