Sometimes David McCarthy, associate provost at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, learns from his students.
That was certainly the case with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, who recently completed his bachelor of science degree in youth and community development through the Center for Accelerated and Adult Education at the Mount.
“I think, rather than exciting, ‘thought-provoking’ would be a better term,” McCarthy said about having Bowles as a student. “Mr. Bowles brought a wealth of experiences which became part of how he learned and how he contributed to learning for others. He was very generous and communicative. I know that I learned a great deal through how Coach Bowles approached the material.”
Bowles was encouraged to go back and get his degree online by his agent, Anthony Agnone, a 1975 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s. Bowles completed his degree through the university’s Center for Accelerated and Adult Education, which is centered around nontraditional settings.
Bowles, whose team will host the Baltimore Ravens Oct. 27 in a Thursday night showdown, created an interdisciplinary degree in youth and community development.
“Degree completion is difficult, as students have families and existing careers,” McCarthy said. “I have a sense that Mr. Bowles fit his course work into every spare moment in the day, with a good amount of patience and the ability to think long term. He was able to work within the framework of our Division of Continuing Studies, which offers various ways to help students manage courses and develop timelines toward degree completion.
“As a coach, of course, Mr. Bowles has a strong sense of teamwork and accountability. That is what made it work: the options we were able to offer matched the coach’s disciplined approach to life.”
In addition to completing his degree online, Bowles often offered advice and talked about overcoming adversity to Mount St. Mary’s sport management students and middle schoolers in the university’s summer College Experience Camp. He was also a guest lecturer for Associate Professor of Sport Management Corinne Farneti last spring.
“Completing my degree was something I had always wanted to do over the years because it was something I had promised my mother when I went to play in the NFL, and I wanted to follow through on that promise,” Bowles told the team’s website. “Over the years, as I became a father, it became something I wanted to do in order to set a proper example for my sons as they continue on their educational paths. I have also worked pretty extensively with children through my various community projects, and I felt it was important to show them they can achieve whatever they set their mind to.”
Mount St. Mary’s Division of Continuing Studies offers courses throughout the year in various formats, including five-, eight-, and 15-week courses, which are offered in-person, via web conferencing and online. Advisors help students develop a plan. Like other students, Bowles had a personal contact with Dr. Tim Wolfe.
“Mr. Bowles took advantage of our interdisciplinary self-design degree,” McCarthy said. “Todd, Tim Wolfe and I had discussions and correspondence on the kind of work he had been doing and what he is passionate about.”
He added, “Once we identified youth and community development as an area of interest, we looked at universities that offer the degree for what kind of courses and experiences would be required. We found that we could offer the same kind of program. Using a few transfer courses from Temple University – Bowles’ previous institution – we build the self-design utilizing courses in our criminal justice, sociology and human services degrees.”
Ultimately, Mount St. Mary’s and Bowles were able to find a balance between academics and professional coaching. They were also able to develop a philosophy about how they are connected.
“Our reading and discussions of Plato and Aristotle pertained to how we become good people, not simply people who are able to do something well,” McCarthy said. “This approach fits with Mr. Bowles’s philosophy of coaching: he is about developing good people through the demands of football, such things as focusing on the good of the team and being the best one can be given one’s position and role.”
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