Tom Doubet: Celebrating a unique degree program
Another Degree?
When Thomas Doubet (MA ’81 Individual Option*) came to Springfield in the mid-70’s, he already had
- an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- a Master’s Degree in Agriculture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- a good job with the Department of Agriculture managing county fairs across the state.
With all of that, why would he want another degree?
Always Ready to Learn
Quite simply, Tom Doubet likes to learn. So when he heard about “a place out on the south side of Springfield called Sangamon State (now UIS),” he decided he’d start taking classes toward a Master’s of Business Administration.
That MBA hit a snag with his first course.
“I had already taken accounting at the U of I, as part of my Ag Econ undergraduate major,” Tom says, “so I didn’t have too much trouble getting an A. But I hated it.”
He decided he just didn’t want an MBA that much.
Individual Option* Sounded Interesting
“So I’m sitting over there in Brookens,” he says, “and I am going through the course catalog, and I come across this program called the ‘Individual Option.’ It had a little asterisk next to it that said, ‘This master’s degree may not be recognized by other institutions of higher education.’ But that didn’t matter to me. I already had a master’s!”
After a little investigation, Tom learned that with the Individual Option program, he could decide for himself what he would study.
Fairs, he thought. He would get his second master’s degree in Fairs and Expositions, and maybe one day he would manage the big daddy fair of fairs: the Illinois State Fair.
Designing His Own Program of Learning
He spent some time combing through the catalog, chose the courses he thought would be helpful, and then sat down with three professors—his advisors—to explain his choices.
“It was truly, truly an interesting exercise because I had to justify what I had chosen. These three people sitting there had not just fallen off the turnip truck. They were professors at Sangamon State University. And they were not going to just let me take underwater basket weaving. I had to justify every class I took.”
Tom included courses on psychology in his program so he could learn how to convince people to come to a fair, on administrative law because fair managers have to sign so many contracts, accounting and marketing, a recreations class, and many more.
Unforeseen Benefits
Like so many other Individual Option students, once he started his classes, Tom discovered a powerful benefit to choosing his own curriculum: “When I was sitting in Brookens taking a class at 9 o’clock on a Wednesday night, I couldn’t say to myself, ‘Why are they making me take this class?’ I was taking that course because I had selected it myself.”
In addition to classes, he wrote two thesis-length papers, one on the history of fairs and one on the qualifications needed to manage fairs. “These were papers I wanted to write, projects that I had chosen. It was a truly enjoyable process.”
And as it turns out a valuable one for more than just Tom: “The national fair association used my paper on the qualifications of fair managers for many years, as a template for what fair boards should look for when hiring managers.”
Tom Doubet knows he owes a great deal to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and he is deeply grateful for the education he received there.
"A Breath of Fresh Air"
But he also loved his time at Sangamon State.
“Going to Sangamon State was a breath of fresh air. Every class was taught by a professor. If it said in the catalog that Dr. Munkirs was going to teach the class, it was Dr. Munkirs who showed up. I spent so much time with my advisors. They were clearly very, very interested in what I was doing.”
A Landmark Scholarship: The First of Its Kind
In recognition of the unique and very special process that the Liberal Studies program offers both undergraduate and graduate students at UIS, Tom Doubet has decided to fund a current-use scholarship—the first that targets students in this program.
And next fall, when he comes to the UIS Scholarship Luncheon and meets the student who received his scholarship, he’ll be able to find out what this student has decided to study.
Will it be animal psychology…historical restorations….lobbying…travel writing… sports marketing?
With all the options at UIS, it’s impossible to predict. Maybe it will even be another student with a program in fair management!
*Now called Liberal and Integrative Studies.