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Proffesor Byars Portrait

Character close up: Communications Professor Ann Byars

By Lauren Fitch GVL Managing Editor
2/3/2010

"I'm just going to close the door because I've been told I'm 'excessively loud.'"

With a laugh, this is how Ann Byars, adjunct communications professor, began one of her classes this semester.

She describes her teaching style as "unconventional, wacky and a little out there," and said her main goal is to aid students in becoming successful, however they define it.

"I don't want to come across as the 'fun' class," Byars said. "I don't want to be that, but if that's a side effect of our learning, OK. Our learning is first. I don't think it has to be painful but that's the top priority."

Byars started "temporarily" teaching at Grand Valley State University and 15 years later, she still instructs multiple classes ranging from Communications 101 to public speaking to nonverbal communications.

Even before working as a professor here, Byars was familiar with the GVSU scene after earning her undergraduate degree in 1992 and her master's in 1996, both from GVSU.

"When I find something I like, I go ahead and stick with that," Byars said.

Growing up in Coopersville, and now residing in Standale, Byars has called West Michigan home all her life, though she has tried to avoid complacency through different career ventures.

After college, Byars worked for an advertising agency in public relations. She left that job to start teaching but never gave up the corporate world as she has continued to do research, give professional seminars, write independently and work in broadcasting.

"I always need to change what I'm doing to stay interested; I'm just that type of person," Byars said. "But teaching is not just my career, it's my stability. I feel sane when I'm here and you need to feel sane."

Her professional experience also enhances the quality of her teaching, Byars said.

"I think I have a corporate approach to things, but I've become more theoretical," Byars said. "I want to instill (students) with a strong theoretical base. Being a critical thinker is going to be one of your top marketable skills. But I also want them to be business savvy. "

Alex Nesterenko, director of communications at GVSU, agreed with Byars' description of her teaching.

"She brings a good blend of theory and practice to her teaching," Nesterenko said. "She is very personable, yet honest and frank with the students."

Nesterenko said he has known Byars for about 20 years and was involved in her initial hiring at GVSU.

He said another thing that adds value to her teaching is her longtime presence on campus, which allows her to see how students' needs have changed during the years.

During her time at GVSU, Byars has seen not only the physical campus grow, but she said she has also observed some changes in the way professors and students communicate in the learning process.

"It's a change in civil discourse and what I mean by that is the entire style of what we consider acceptable and not acceptable in communication," Byars said. "We're very short, we're very to the point and we avoid face-to-face if at all possible."

She cited a dependence on texting, e-mail and Blackboard as some of the sources of the communication change, which Byars said left something to be desired.

She recalled her time as a student and early years teaching when office hours were "a big deal," and students and professors had more personal communication.

"We always actively engaged in face-to-face dialogue," Byars said. "We wanted to get as much knowledge from (our professors) as we could. Now I walk up and down these hallways and see professors in their office hours and no one's around. I think that's sad because we don't have that face-to-face anymore and that is where so much of our learning occurs ... I see that trend and it's disturbing to me."

To combat the trend toward impersonal teaching, Byars said she tries to include interactive discussion in her classes rather than relying on traditional lecture and textbook methods.

"I used to be primarily lecture but now when we open up and we're all a community in there, I wonder what is someone going to say and what direction is that going to lead us into?" Byars said. "It's very exciting to me because I feel like I'm learning every day and I'm growing every day and what career can you really say that in?"

Byars said her favorite moment in the classroom is seeing when a student "suddenly comes to life" and participates in the discussion.

Beth Schrotenboer, a recent GVSU graduate, took COM 101 with Byars and enjoyed it enough to switch into her COM 201 class as well.

"She taught from the book but in a way that related it to the real world," Schrotenboer explained.

She added she also liked how Byars shared her personal experiences with the class and felt comfortable talking about non-school-related topics, too.

Beyond the usual material covered in class, Byars wanted to advise students to "separate themselves from the pack" and focus on what made them unique and better than the rest of their classmates.

"My niche was un-relentless work ethic ... and my ability to see things a little bit differently than other people see them," Byars said. "Those two things combined is what has helped me to succeed and everyone needs to find that. Sometime we just are so concerned with the blending-in factor that we just don't realize that at some point that turns on us. You need to stand out."

She expressed her current feelings toward the career by telling of one of her own professors at GVSU.

One of Byars' professors started to cry during the last class he taught before retirement.

"He said students were the best part of his teaching experience," Byars said. "He appeared to hate us the entire time so it was really surprising ... I thought, how can you love a career that much and why are you getting so emotional? And now I absolutely realize I will have a total emotional breakdown if and when they decide I'm done."

Beyond teaching and various part-time jobs, Byars is a mother of two daughters, ages 10 and 13. She also enjoys thrift-store shopping.

managingeditor@lanthorn.com

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