5 Questions with Belinda Backous

“Part city dog, part country frog.” This is how Belinda Backous, assistant dean for academic success, describes herself, a result of growing up in rural Iowa with her mother and living a more urban and worldly lifestyle with her father. After graduating from Iowa State, Backous moved to Walla Walla, Washington, and later to Fort Collins, Colorado, where she earned her master’s in social work and a school principal license. She also discovered a love of the outdoors — climbing, mountain biking, river kayaking and rafting, hiking tall peaks, and backcountry camping, taking advantage of all that the American West has to offer.

After becoming a mom in 2014, Backous moved back to Iowa and stepped into the new position of learning specialist at Grinnell College. She became assistant dean for academic success at the start of the pandemic and has found the position affords her the opportunity to define meaningful work for students and the institution. She meets individually with hundreds of students each semester to offer guidance and support, directs a structured academic success program called Partners, teaches a two-credit course about the science (and art) of learning, and works closely with the Registrar’s office; Dean’s office; Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment; and the Academic Resource Centers, to promote learning development in a wide variety of ways. She kindly agreed to spend some time answering a few questions about her work, life on an Iowa homestead, and her love of the outdoors.

Q: Your family is committed to homesteading on land in Poweshiek County. What does that entail?

Years ago, a friend recommended the book Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture to me, after hearing about my childhood living in rural Iowa. Much of our homesteading is centered around growing food, but we also created a system of rainwater collection and treatment that was our sole source of water for several years. We also cut firewood from dead fallen trees to heat our homes. I’ve found that homesteading in modern times requires finding the balance of work and joy. I raised two pigs for a season and though it brought me a lot of joy, it was also a ton of work, for the same cost as pastured pork from another local farmer.

Q: When you lived in Colorado you took up climbing, mountain biking, river kayaking and rafting, hiking, and backcountry camping. Where do you get your outdoor fix in Iowa?

I grew up here, so I’m very familiar with all the typical places like Lake Red Rock and the big reservoirs. When I moved back, I leaned heavily into the state parks, especially those with excellent hiking trail systems and adjacent rivers. The driftless region in Northeast Iowa is my favorite place in Iowa, and I highly recommend Yellow River and Mines of Spain. I still hold dear my Colorado years, and you’ll still find us camping, kayaking, and hiking, and though I admit that the outdoor activities are slightly less challenging on our rolling hills, I love the scenery just as much.

Q: What is the favorite part of your job as assistant dean for academic success?

I love my position and the work I do because it situates me to engage with students about their challenges, and to also advocate for the College to adapt where it can so that we can continually meet the needs of students as they navigate their own definition of academic success. What I love most is bringing creativity and joy into the work of academic success. Scholars’ Seminar, the course I teach, along with my colleague Kate Ferraro, is a course that I developed back in 2017. It hits all the buttons for me — the ability to curate and create meaningful content and adapt it over time, as we continually learn what students need and want from the course.

Another creative outlet for this learning development work was the Tutorial Plus video series that Kate and I recorded last year — similar content as we teach in the course, but at a more foundational level for first-year students — an introduction to what learning development is all about, and how students can intentionally embark on the journey of becoming a self-directed learner. This is serious work, but it’s also flexible and fun.

Q: What can you tell us about the Partners program that you direct?

My observation of college students and Grinnell students in particular is how much they strive to figure things out on their own, which is so wonderful and appropriate. The catch is that they sometimes delay or avoid accessing support and this can result in unfortunate outcomes, especially in the academic arena, because there are clear parameters to their learning — deadlines, financial cost, a time-limited semester structure, a grading system that requires products as the demonstration of learning. This isn’t self-paced yoga — the stakes are high! When students experience struggle and poor outcomes, their confidence can really take a hit.

Thus, I would say that more than anything, the Partners program provides coaching to students who need feedback on what they are doing well, so they can keep doing it, and feedback on where they can make adjustments, as well as guidance on how to make those adjustments. This effort generates renewed confidence that is built upon continual reflection and adjustment, which is, in a nutshell, metacognition — the awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes. Most college students develop metacognitive skills over time, but when we make these skills transparent, students can do it much more intentionally and strategically. My main message for students is — don’t interpret struggle as an indication that you’re not right for Grinnell or college in general — interpret it as a signal to get connected and take advantage of the people and resources that can help move you along the process of learning development.

Q: Tell us about your experience managing a rock band — any good tales of debauchery to share?

A: Quite literally, no! I wish. I went to a lot of live music shows and was always chatty with the venue owners. My friend/aspiring rock star thought I could elevate his band. I tried my best, only to find out this wasn’t my calling (nor his).

Q: What is your favorite Grinnell memory to date?

A: Of course, commencement is at the top of the list, especially with the inspiring speakers in the past several years. I really enjoy basking in the energy of first-year students during NSO [New Student Orientation] and all the pre-orientations. Those are both big moments at the beginning and end of student life, but I have to say that the best memories are the small ones that happen day-to-day. I love a good laugh with a colleague, a nice walk with a student, an a-ha moment during convocation. It’s easy to value the good days, but I can genuinely say that I appreciate the challenges, too.