Interview with Dr. Robbin Crabtree

I recently had a fantastic opportunity to talk to Dr. Robbin Crabtree, Dean of the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. She is an award-winning teacher and author specializing in intercultural communication, gender studies, and pedagogy.

I asked her several questions about her book, her job, her childhood inspiration, and any advice she’d give to girls like me. Below are my notes summarizing our chat. I hope you find them as insightful as I found Dr. Crabtree to be. Many thanks, Professor Crabtree!

Childhood 

Since her childhood, Dr. Crabtree has always been ambitious and hopeful. When Dr. Crabtree was 10 she took over her brothers’ paper route. At that time girls weren’t allowed to have routes, but she did it anyway. Two years later there was a new law that allowed girls to have their own paper route. She distinctly remembers her dad boasting about how his daughter has had a paper route all this time. This change happened when she was a child, but there have been many changes during her lifetime. She mentioned that she “lived through a time when you could actually turn somebody down for a job because they were female and it would be legal to do so. And we fought for access, we fought for the right to be seen as professional and have leadership. And now we see female CEOs, we see female politicians. We see women in all of these roles now, but we still understand that there's structural inequity that's quite profound.” Although there have been many great advancements that have improved the lives of women around the globe, there is still much to be done. She mentions that women still have to work twice as hard as those around them to be seen as equal. 

Feminist Pedagogy

Her book Feminist Pedagogy: Looking Back to Move Forward is a collection of articles that were all about feminist teachings. Pedagogy, according to Dr. Crabtree “means to empower everybody, but in particular, readress the ways that females have faced barriers in educational contexts. So feminist pedagogy is a more caring approach. It's an approach that's more affirming of whoever's identity in their own experience and context.” From all the research Dr. Crabtree did for her book, she learned about the importance of taking an intersectional approach, particularly in the field of feminism. An intersectional approach is when you look at a problem from all perspectives. This is so important because in the past we have fought for equality as many separate groups. Now we are coming together and learning that fighting in that manner is not sustainable. We need to make sure that our advancements are unified with all identities and people.  

Job

The most rewarding thing about her job is that she gets to be a woman leader. As the dean, she described her job as being really hard at times. But, she also said that “I always remind myself that it is good and meaningful work. We do our work to make sure that Loyola Marymount University provides a great educational experience for students, and that the faculty here have a great context in which to realize their own vocations as teaching scholars.” She loves that her job has an impact, on those that go to LMU and those who are impacted by their alumni. She gets to make a real difference in many people’s lives. 

Advice

Finally, the number one piece of advice she’s received is “You cannot turn down a job you didn't apply for and that you haven't been offered.” This means that you shouldn’t prematurely disqualify yourself before pursuing an opportunity. This can be applied to college, jobs, and many things in life. 

Closing

From our talk, I learned so much. I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity and I hope that you, too, were able to learn a few things. But most importantly, I hope that you were inspired by Dr. Crabtree’s amazing story and how she has always looked ahead and hoped for the brightest future.