Monday, July 26, 2021
Dear Faculty Personnel Committee,
There is no doubt that some of us in academia relish the idea of progress. We consistently look to advance
knowledge, build upon ideas, develop dynamic and forward-thinking connections, and most importantly, share
these advances with others. Interestingly, and of course in my opinion, some academics also cherish the notion
of structure. Some of us hail organization and look to implement structures around any form of chaos. In other
words, we look to redefine and organize complex structures into understandable snippets that others (students,
colleagues, staff, community) can grasp, interpret, consume, and utilize. Although it may seem that progress (a
constantly moving force) and structure (a perpetual stagnant force) may be contradicting forces, in the mind of
professors such as Dr. Jenny Good, these forces form a foundation for progressive education. Over the last five
years, I have seen these forces in play through the efforts of Dr. Good, be it at the program or administrative
levels of the university.
Dr. Good was hired as the first graduate psychology online instructor. This was during a time where thoughts of
clinical education delivered online was ridiculed. Barriers were set in place to inhibit the development and
progression of online training for clinical practitioners. One of her many tasks was to assist in transitioning the
program’s culture and to help establish robust graduate-level online courses in which students can learn to
become therapists. As a self-starter who prides herself in completing tasks, Jenny did not hesitate to take on this
challenge. In collaboration with other colleagues, she worked tirelessly to evaluate program requirements in
multiple states for the MFT and PCC programs, respectively. She helped to develop student-facing documents
that clearly outline specific state requirements in relation to the MFT and PCC programs. Her contributions
made it possible for the university to now have a fully online clinical program.
Dr. Good was assigned the task to evaluate all graduate and undergraduate level online adjunct faculty. Staying
true to her core passion of progress and structure, Jenny developed a system that the psychology curriculum
team now uses to evaluate all adjunct faculty. The system allows for frequent communication with adjunct
faculty providing them with positive and constructive feedback to enhance their teaching. In addition, Dr. Good
revamped the psychology disciplinary community by creating an adjunct faculty meeting that is held once a
trimester where the psychology curriculum team discuss teaching tips, grading trends, university updates, policy
updates, and other supporting topics. The goal of this meeting is to keep the psychology adjunct faculty
informed and engaged.
Over the last year, Jenny has taken on a new task as the Vice-chair of the psychology program. In this additional
role, she has served as one of the admission reviewers, she primarily evaluates both undergraduate and graduate
articulation requests, petitions, assists in grade reviews, participates in student professional conduct reviews,
and supports the campuses by addressing questions relevant to BA and MA psychology. Jenny also served as
the scribe for the psychology curriculum team meeting. A task that is often overlooked but vitally important to
maintaining structure and documenting progress. In her spare time, she also served on the faculty personnel
committee and additional university wide committees related to the UMass transition.
Although Dr. Good strides towards progression and the improvement of processes, her ability to engage with
others highlight her compassionate and thoughtful nature. Over the years she has found different ways to
celebrate the accomplishments of others and to ensure that her colleagues do not feel alone during moments of
strife. She is an advocate for students and is always willing to schedule additional meeting times to ensure that
students feel heard and supported. Jenny understands what it means to be a member of a team and naturally
collaborates with others to enhance or develop new processes. She believes in progress and structure.
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It is my impression that Dr. Good has demonstrated her value as an instructor, mentor, and colleague. She has
demonstrated collegiality not only within the psychology program but within the university structure at large.
She has many questions that have led to more efficient functional processes and is certainly not shy when
voicing her opinions. These qualities make the decision easy for me to endorse and support the promotion of Dr.
Jennifer Good.
Respectfully,
_______________________________
Isa A. Ribadu, PhD, LMFT
Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Psychology
Program Director – Marriage & Family Therapy Program
Professor of Psychology
Brandman University
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