Karen Levin Coburn, associate dean of student affairs, has a knack for making things happen. From making sure the concerns of international students are met during periods of world conflict, to serving as a mentor to students involved with the Women's Resource Center (WRC), to helping Student Life editors view the publication as a business as well as a newspaper, "things just work when you deal with Dean Coburn," said senior Allen H. Mattison, editor in chief of Student Life.
Coburn serves as the University's liaison to the newspaper and assists the editors in making sound financial decisions. "She's really done a wonderful job with helping us keep our priorities straight and making sure that we balance our interests financially and editorially. Yet she respects us as being editorially independent," said Mattison, a political science major. "She has superb organizational skills. Everyone I've talked to who has dealt with her has come away with a very positive experience."
As associate dean, Coburn plays a key role in the long-range planning and day-to-day operations of the Division of Student Affairs. She oversees international student programs and services; counseling services; student activities, leadership and community service programs; and orientation programs for students and their parents. In addition, she leads the division's efforts to enhance the climate for women on campus and serves as the women's crisis counselor for students.
Many students seek Coburn's help in solving problems or just to lend an empathetic ear. "She's a terrific listener," noted Mattison. But her skills go way beyond listening. "Coburn is an advocate for all students. She tries to grasp their situations and experiences. She not only listens --she seeks input. Karen is concerned enough to realize that, often, students may feel a certain way but are uncomfortable voicing their opinion. She really tries to get their point of view," said Kirsten Dunham, a second-year master's degree candidate in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. As an undergraduate here, Dunham worked with the WRC.
"One thing that I appreciated about working with Karen was that she never tried to say, 'This is what you should do.' She was there if we needed input or wanted support from her in ways she could provide. We needed to explore ways we could do things, and she realized that."
On any given day, Coburn addresses myriad student concerns, both simple and complex.
"I have a close working relationship with a lot of academic advisers, particularly freshman advisers, and with many other faculty members and deans," she said. "Often students confide a personal problem or concern to a faculty member that requires intervention. When that happens, there are certain faculty members and deans who simply call me and say, 'Karen, I have a student in my office who needs assistance. Do you have a few minutes?'
"With 10,000 students, there are bound to be difficult situations to deal with every year," Coburn said. "An international crisis in the Mideast or a hurricane in Florida reverberates here for students from those areas. And when something affects one of our students, it affects that student's whole community of friends on campus."
Jeff Pike, associate dean of the School of Art, often refers students to Coburn. "Each time I call Karen, a student is in real trouble," said Pike. "She has always made time to quickly see the student and has made the difference between a disaster and the hope for recovery."
"Karen has been a key player in the activities of the University Management Team," said Shirley K. Baker, dean of the Washington University Libraries. "I got to know her well when we worked as co-leaders of the Student Experience Cluster. Karen brought to that group a deep emotional and intellectual understanding of the student experience, as well as strong organizational skills. She molded the work of our group and is responsible, by extension, for many of the resulting improvements in services to students."
Coburn, who received a master's degree in counseling from Washington University in 1973 and is a licensed psychologist, has worked at the University since 1979. Originally from New Jersey, Coburn is a 1963 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where she received a bachelor's degree in English. In 1964, she received a master's of arts degree in teaching with an English concentration from Harvard University. She also is an alumna of Bryn Mawr College's Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration.
Before her 1987 appointment as associate dean, Coburn was associate director and later head of the Career Center. As director, she reported to James W. Davis, Ph.D., professor of political science, who then was a vice chancellor at the University. Davis said Coburn "is one of the University's most valuable assets. She is a careful listener, an experienced and wise counselor, and a sensitive person. She understands the concerns and feelings of students, faculty and, importantly, parents, and is an astute interpreter of one to another. Whether she is in a committee meeting, speaking to a group or seeing a student individually, she does all she can to ensure that the University is a caring community."
Whether working to create career opportunities for students, or striving to develop effective services and programs, Coburn relishes working with students. The students' relentless energy and sense of possibility invigorate her. "Sometimes they come in filled with ideas and dreams that are overwhelming. 'First I'm going to go to medical school and become a surgeon. Then I'll move to Paris and become an artist.' Part of what I do is help them harness that energy, clarify their vision and set some realistic goals.
"I think it's a real privilege to be in this kind of work, to have the opportunity to be involved in the education of young people who have incredible potential. To me, that is very exciting."
In 1988, Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger, a former counselor with the Student Counseling Service, wrote "Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Today's College Experience." The book, which is grounded in research, has been lauded by parents, students, administrators and faculty nationwide. It provides parents with an inside view of college life today, along with information about the predictable changes college students experience as they move toward independence.
More than 100,000 copies have been sold. In April 1992, Adler & Adler Publishers Inc. of Bethesda, Md., published the second edition of the book. "'Letting Go' is a standard for parents of children going to college," said Baker. "I bought a copy when my son was in ninth grade, afraid it would go out of print."
Last month, Baker's son Nicholas left home to attend Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. "I'm having sort of a hard time with it," said Baker. "Karen took me to lunch and brought me the latest copy of her book. I went home that night and read 60 pages and felt much better. It's a great book."
Coburn has been a guest on numerous national radio and TV shows, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning." She also speaks on the topic at high schools and colleges across the country, and has been a keynote speaker at many professional meetings.
Coburn became interested in "Letting Go" issues while working at the Career Center. "Changing career goals often instigates a conflict between parents and students, and it is often very complicated. I realized that most parents want the best for their children, but often they unwittingly get in the way of their children's development by thwarting their son's or daughter's desire to pursue their intellectual passions. For example, if a student enters as pre-med and switches to art history, often that upsets the parents. But if the student really is passionate about art history rather than medicine, that student is going to be much more successful and fulfilled and make greater contributions by pursuing his or her interests."
Coburn eventually began presenting workshops on parental issues of separation with Treeger. Of course, Coburn said, it was not by chance that she suggested to Treeger that they start doing research for a book the summer before Coburn's son, Andrew, began his senior year in high school.
When Andrew left home to attend Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., Coburn had to adjust. "I had anxiety about him leaving and what it would mean for our family. I wasn't going around in great angst, but I clearly had a lot of feelings about his departure."
Besides "Letting Go," Coburn has co-written two other books: "The New Assertive Woman" (1976), which was published in five languages and sold more than 750,000 copies, and "Hitting Our Stride: Good News About Women in Their Middle Years" (1980). She also has taught courses at University College, including "Leadership Skills for Women Administrators."
Although Coburn's life is tremendously hectic, the self-proclaimed night owl does take time to unwind. She savors physical exercise, such as bicycling and swimming, as well as dance and yoga classes. She additionally enjoys traveling, attending the theatre and symphony, and values her close circle of friends.
As for the future, Coburn's major desire is simply to continue growing as an individual and an educator. "Ten years from now, I want to be able to look back at the time since 1995 and say, 'I continued to learn, create, and contribute.'"
-- Carolyn Sanford
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