While working at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita three years ago, Julie Galliart knew she'd reached a turning point in her career.

She decided to pursue a Doctor of Education in adult and lifelong learning from the University of Arkansas because, in faculty development, her job was to help KU faculty — who had been trained as medical doctors — sharpen their skills as educators.

"My students are adults who teach other adults and care about improving as educators. A program in Adult and Lifelong Learning was a perfect fit," she said.

She liked that the College of Education and Health Professions offered a hybrid program that met both online and in-person, and she was also impressed with the caliber of the university and its programs. "The university's status as an R1 research institution sealed the deal," she said.

Galliart shared an interest in "encore careers" with two of the program's faculty, Kenda Grover and Kit Kacirek. An encore career can be loosely defined as personally fulfilling work that a person undertakes later in life. Galliart engaged in an independent study with Kacirek to learn more about this phenomenon and to explore research opportunities. 

In July 2019 — eighteen months into her doctoral program — she got the chance to research encore careers up close. She flew to Chicago for a work conference and took the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise with some friends. At the end of the float down the Chicago River, the docent who had given the presentation remarked that she was a volunteer — and that all the Chicago Architecture Center docents write their own tours.

"Here was a woman, probably in her 70s, who had just given a highly engaging, 90-minute talk to more than 100 people — and she wrote it herself as a volunteer," Galliart said.

As a person studying adult learning, she was intrigued.

So, Galliart began a research project with several of the docents and returned to Chicago to conduct focus group discussions. The A.L. Chilton Foundation helped fund the trip.

"I look back on that trip and see a transformation in me. The woman who stepped off the airplane is different from the one who got on," she said. "I had no idea that hearing the stories of others and talking with them from a place of open curiosity and interest would bring about such a change in me."

Innovative projects like this ultimately changed Galliart's priorities. She was inspired to find a faculty role that would allow for future research in adult learning.

After defending her dissertation about problem solving in technology-rich workplaces among U.S. Baby Boomers, she became Dr. Galliart in December 2020. That event coincided with another one: a promotion at work that fulfilled her newfound dream. Her boss retired, and Galliart was appointed as the associate dean of faculty affairs and development at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

"In my new role, I feel like I literally have been offered the opportunity of a lifetime because it allows me to keep doing both of the things that I love to do," she said.

Galliart recommends the U of A Adult and Lifelong Learning Program to anyone whose work involves coaching or teaching adults.

"This has been a fantastic experience that made a doctorate accessible for someone with a demanding job who was also raising a family," she said. "Drs. Kevin Roessger, Grover, and Kacirek each have different strengths, but they all care deeply about the success of their students. Their diversity in interests represents the broad field of adult learning incredibly well.

"I know my future research will cast a much wider net for having had the chance to work with each of them on different projects. And the KU School of Medicine is undoubtedly benefiting as well."

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This story is the latest in a series called the Dean's Spotlight, featuring outstanding students in the College of Education and Health Professions. Visit COEHP's online magazine, the Colleague, for more news from the six units that make up the College. See more pictures and details about Galliart's research in this story. Find out more about the Adult and Lifelong Learning Program on the COEHP website.