Let’s begin this blog as you probably will begin your presidency: identify your priorities and craft your primary messaging around them. You may have done this during the interview process. Discuss these with your Board and with your Cabinet.
Almost every university or college will have a mission statement. The problem is that almost all of them fall into a couple of classes. Large public research universities, particularly the land grant universities where I spent most of my career, almost always have three pillars: transformative education, innovative research and scholarship, outreach and engagement to constituents. Smaller universities will generally focus on the education mission.
Radically changing the mission is an uphill push, one I would undertake only with complete Board support and an indication that constituents-from faculty to staff to students-are thirsting for this. Of course, if all is going well at your university, you can adopt the mission and simply try to improve. And, in certain settings, you must honor all parts of this mission. Talking to the faculty without engaging them on scholarship and research will simply lessen your credibility.
I think that the challenge of presidential leadership, and one that I did not understand as well as I should have until the final year of my presidency crystallized this issue for me, is to distill the mission into an important but actionable priority. This priority should drive allocation of resources, generate institutional success, and align with Board and stakeholder objectives. I cannot say what that priority will be for your university, but an example, one that I think most presidents should seriously considering adopting, may help you consider this issue.
The wonderful appeal of the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, is that opportunity that I had as a scientist to conduct an experiment and a control. In real life, we only get to do the experiment. As President at Idaho, I emphasized the tripartite mission of the University, and though I personally focused on student access and success, I spoke often of our research and engagement missions. Unfortunately, I think this did not communicate to any audience-Board, students, faculty, staff, or donors that one priority that would truly move the University forward.
If I had that magical “do-over”, my focus would be student success. By student success, I mean recruiting and retaining students who enter the university and graduating them to great careers and great lives as citizens. This priority is extremely difficult to debate or negate from any viewpoint. Students retained in college pay tuition, the financial lifeblood of even public universities. And, the success of students assists in recruitment of more and even better students, as well as attracts Board and legislative support.
Georgia State University may be one of the best, and most recognized, examples of a university that has used this priority to radically improve-both the university and their service to their constituents. Certainly other universities, such as the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida have also benefited.
Of course, this focus makes most sense at a “mid-range” university that is graduating about 30-60% of its students; a university graduating >80% of its students will need another focus. Other foci may be much more mission-specific or particular to an institution : meeting access needs of nontraditional students; educating for a critical industry; research supporting national needs.
Whatever your priority is, ensure that it drives your resource allocation and your messaging. “We are making this investment to optimize student success. This policy change will enhance our interactions with industry.” You may need to adapt the message for a particular audience-as I have said, speaking to a faculty audience at a research university strictly about undergraduate student success will lessen your credibility. But, every communication opportunity and every decision should be viewed in light of this presidential priority, at least until one can declare victory and simply sustain that mission while perhaps selecting the next objective.
