What song should we listen to while we learn more about you?
Jeff McNutt
This is a hard question to answer. Music is a really important part of my life and what I listen to often depends on my mood. I listen to everything from Simon and Garfunkel and James Taylor to Jethro Tull and Trombone Shorty, pop music to jazz and classical. I’m a classical musician so that genre is particularly important to me. If I had to pick a single piece of music it would be the last movement of Gustav Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. Mahler’s music is amazing beautiful and so very emotional and spiritual. Also, since I am a French Hornist, I’ve had the opportunity to play a number of his symphonies, all with great French horn parts.
What’s your position in CEHD and what is it that you do?
I am the Coordinator of Data and Reporting for the CEHD. I work with all things data, whether that is running reports from Cognos and TK20 or taking those data and putting them in a format that helps understand how a program is performing, revealing the data story of that program. I am also the administrator of the college’s TK20 data system which is used to gather information from our students and support accreditation processes in the college.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
The best part of my job is the people here at CEHD and at WMU. People are always the best part of any job I have had.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Kalamazoo?
Kalamazoo has a rich arts community. I like attending symphony concerts. I have a great love of classical chamber music.
Here in CEHD we have a diverse set of programs, ranging from literacy studies to nutrition and dietetics. Speaking of what’s your favorite book and kind of food?
My favorite book from this past year has been “Everything Sad is Untrue” by Daniel Nayeri. My favorite genre recently has been mystery novels, especially the Armand Gamache series written by Louise Penny. My favorite kind of food is probably Italian; I love all things pasta.
Of course, with over half of our programs being teacher education we are also the heart of WMU, which began as a teacher’s college. Who was your favorite teacher and why?
This is another difficult question because there have been many. Let me mention two. The first would be Neill Sanders, my college horn instructor here at WMU. Not only was he a great horn player, he was a tremendous support to me during some difficult times. The second I would like to mention is Dr. Carol Payne Smith who helped me break through some barriers that were limiting me at the time. I owe much to both of these former teachers of mine.
Life isn’t all about work! What does a day off look like?
A day off for me consists of spending time waiting on my cats and playing with them. During the spring and summer months it is gardening and working in the yard. We grow around 20 different varieties of tomatoes, all started from seed in our basement as well as other vegetables.
