Hi, Penny!
Please describe your path to your current position; how you made decisions about career opportunities; and what, if anything, you might have done differently.
Tell us about a difficult situation that you encountered in the past year or two and tell us how you responded to it.
We know that your current work is not directly in student affairs, but what would you suggest are the keys to success in student affairs work?
How is student affairs work at an institution like yours unique or different from other institutions?
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ReplyDeleteDear Colleagues,
ReplyDeleteMy sincere apologies for not posting my responses earlier. I've had some challenges with connecting as I'm not a blogger. So with the help of Rob, I believe we're up and running. Thanks Rob. Let's test this again.
Looks like it is going to work!!!
ReplyDeleteSo here are my thoughts in response to the inquiries posted by Dr. Miller. I'll post a separate reply to each inquiry so that if you wish to reply to a specific aspect, you can.
1) Career Path. My path within student affairs was more of a traditional one. I was very involved in campus activities as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati. Although my ug degree is is elem. ed., I quickly realized after student teaching that I loved education but just not at that level. So I pursued a MS in Counseling at Miami Univ. in Oxford. Worked in residence life there and continued in that department when I pursued my Ph.D. at Michigan State U. I then accepted a position in St. Aff. at New Mexiso State U. and later moved to the NW as Director of Residence Life at Reed College. After 9 years I left Reed to become the Dean of Students at Portland Community College. Later I became the VP of Student Development at Floyd College in Rome GA. I then was asked to accept the presidency at NE Iowa Community College where I've been for the past five years. I have found that SA has been an excellent training ground for a college presidency so don't rule that option out for your career aspirations.
2) How did I make these career decisions? For so many years I was very 'planned' in my career development. E.g., for my master's practicuum, I asked to work with the VPSA so I could begin to ascertain if I would ever want to be a vp. Later my dissertation was on the career development of former CSAAs as I was getting close to becoming a vp at quite a young age...so what was I going to do after being a vp??? So, I studied the field and overlayed that knowledge with my own personal strengths and life style preferences.
ReplyDeleteThat was all good but I soon realized that I wasn't open to all opportunities that life presents to you. That was a real life changer for me....be open to new experiences and open to what you may learn from them. Take more risks! Learn from everything you can. Trust your intuition!!!
So that's how I approach my career now. Yes, I still garner lots of info if time is permitting. But I also listen to my inner voice much more often as I now have learned how to trust myself.
3) Difficult position. As a president, you do not typically have just one boss. Presidents report to a Board of Trustees. And even though the board can only act officially as one...as a board...members of the board are very unique individuals. The members are simply human beings with their own personliaties and styles...and insecurities. The board chair is the key person to whom the president must constantly be in good communication. This past year, the board chair and I faced some big communication challenges.
ReplyDeleteHow did I deal with it??? The same way I have faced other sometimes seemingly insurmountable situations (boy is that alliteration!) Plain honesty. In this job more than others I have ever had...you have to act on convictions; know and respect yourself; and accept that you can lose your job at any time and over any item as the position is ultra political. So you have to believe in yourself (please don't misinterpret this as ego.), shore up your shortcomings, have a strong support system (spouse? small group of friends who are not in your own college or even state), and be willing to walk away at any time if you or the board believes that is the best decision for the college.
4) My present position is President of a community college. Now the joys of a cc include a strong focus on student success and a very broad inclusion of who is considered a student. So I'm not that far away from student affairs in reality! Also at a cc, there aren't the big divisions felt often between St. Aff., and Academic Aff., or Business Aff. I am very fortunate to have three vps who are very student oriented.
ReplyDeleteNow advice for Student Affairs professionals...a) take time to study the worlds of your colleagues outside of SA. Appreciate where they are coming from...what are their professional pressures, expectations, backgrounds, etc. b) Don't whine!!! Too many of our colleagues have an inferiority complex because of perceived lack of recognition and/or receipt of small percentage of the college budget and/or other colleagues are perceived as not understanding or supporting student success efforts. c) Seek partnerships with colleagues across the college. Through such collaboration, others can learn, and believe it or not, we can learn too from them. Student Affairs professionals have an excellent knowledge base of student development and services, but we don't have the corner on student success.
So partner and be open to learning from others...including the physical plant staff as they really know the students...sincerely.
5) How is SA unique or the same at Northeast Iowa CC compared to other colleges?I think the uniqueness is not about NICC but rather about two other aspects....1) it is unique (and I personally think much more effectiveand rewarding:-) at all community colleges! Our very definitions of student success and being a student are very inclusive. In our work in economic development in our communities, we look at job training within the industries from a student perspective. It is much more difficult to attribute student development efforts to any one college division. For example, our Finance and Administration vp and his staff are always thinking of students not just the bottom fiscal line. We naturally work on our college's strategic goals as a team. That's heaven to me! The second unique aspect (2) is that NICC is one of many rural cc's. Life is good in rural America! Yet we are faced with unbelievable challenges, e.g., poverty, spatial barriers (physical distances, typical poor broadband access), and political inattention by our states and the federal government. So we must be more creative...or better said...we get to utilize our creativity genes more frequently!
ReplyDeleteSo those are my thoughts. I trust that you will use my thoughts as invitations to look introspectively. How do you process your world? Are you denying yourself opportunities by limiting your 'eyesight'? And please be proud of what you offer students and your colleagues. Your professional talents are critical to the success of your college. Thank you for asking me to participate in your class.
ReplyDeleteDr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling that we were only a few keystrokes away...
In some cases, we have observed that the higher one ascends within a student affairs division or within the profession, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to work with students directly. In your current role this might prove to be case as well. How do you maintain a close connection with individual students and small groups of students from your role as president?
Hi Dr. Wills...
ReplyDeleteHow did you bounce successfully between Community College and other institutions? I am highly interested in transitioning to the CC sector...just feel that the people who are there are more "real". Further... which position in your career did you enjoy the most and would you go back to any of the other positions you have held preivously?
Dr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteIn your 4:54 PM post from the 5th, you listed a few of the challenges facing NICC (e.g. poverty, spatial barriers, and political inattention). Can you describe for us some of the efforts conducted to foster a discernable sense of community amongst students? When you think about the college culture there at NICC do you think about a common set of values or an overarching theme that frames a constellation of sub-cultures?
In regards to your 'planned' caerer path and the ties you made to your graduate education, do you wish you had broader interests or are you happy that you were focused?
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteI am really grateful for the advice you offered in your post at 4:24 pm on June 5th. Your candor regarding the challenges you've faced as president was helpful, especially the part about not being afraid to lose your job at any time and over any situation. I wonder how many senior-level administrators have been backed into a corner and forced to make decisions that have compromised their personal and/or professional values. I understand that you have to pick your fights and may have to give up some battles for the sake of winning the war, but your advice really puts this in perspective. I have never been fired/terminated/laid off/etc. and cannot imagine having to decide between my convictions and my check. Thanks for raising this point.
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ReplyDeleteDr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteYou had mentioned in your June 5th 4:33 post to remember to "seek partnerships with colleagues across the college." Could you give an example from your time at NICC that you saw a very successful, or unsuccessful, collaboration on a program aimed at improving student success?
Dr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteYour response to question #2, specifically, "...listen to my inner voice much more often as I now have learned how to trust myself" has renewed my self-confidence in making decisions. Usually, I listen to my inner voice, make a decision and move forward. Because I have been suppressing my inner voice, I was unable to think clearly about my career/personal goals. Thank you for sharing.
Dyonne
Dr. Wills,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the advice that you gave about not whining. I consider myself more of an optimist and chose to look at the bright side of things. Very often in my fairly short career, I have heard the SA side of institutions complain about being overlooked and disregarded which caused their focus to be somewhat channeled away from the students and more on personal "gripes" with the institution based on feelings of disrespect. In my world, the glass is always half full, never half empty, so I appreciate your insight that this type of attitude is okay (and necessary) at the administrative level. I'm sure it makes it a lot easier to get the job done. Is that an accurate assumption?
Dr. Wills: Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us! We appreciate the depth of your answers and advice for us as future higher education professionals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts (and Edna’s) on keeping a positive attitude. I stress that with my department. Although we are front line support for our eLearning online learning environment and student email system, we have been successful at projecting a positive attitude. Thanks for the reinforcement of that idea!
Quick question on your experience-how did the experience in res life impact the decisions you make now in your present position?
Thanks again for “blogging” with our class!
Rob, To answer your question concerning keeping engaged in student life, I say it's a matter of professional style. You're right the higher the position, the less direct student contact. As an administrator, you are guiding many others in their direct contact with students. I routinely meet with campus student leaders, out of respect for their positions as well as trying to keep up with students. I also ask my staff to invite me to campus activities and celebrations such as orientations, club meetings, honoraries' induction ceremonies,etc. I really enjoy just meeting students across the campuses. I try to take time and just walk around the hallways and say 'hi' to individuals and wait until they answer when I ask them how they're doing. Simple actions. Also a week before each graduation ceremony, I email the graduating students and ask them to name a faculty/staff member who made the greatest impression on them. Then I summarize students' remarks and send them onto the staff member as a way to remind them that they really do make a difference. Sometimes students will voice a concern in these emails and we get to work together to resolve it. Another example is my offer to host a lunch with a student and their guest in any student fund raiser. Have one of those luncheons tomorrow in fact!
ReplyDeleteMy apologies, Maria, for the delay in responding. I had my reply all prepared and it was refused by the computer gods. Let me try again.How did I transition between four year and cc's? At the time I applied at my first cc I was at Reed College, one of the ultimate selective private liberal arts colleges in the US. So, if I can go from one end of the higher ed. spectrum to the other,others can as well:-) I suggest that you focus on your strengths and speak with your passion. Get to know cc's as they are where the real action is (biased opinion I know!) If you truly want to make a difference in students' lives, come to the cc's. Take some time and see if you can teach a course at your local cc. Get to know the diversity of our students. Talk with cc's staff and become more familiar with our complex missions. CC's staff, especially student services professionals, are in their jobs because they love it and enjoy the tremendous amounts of opportunities to make a difference in our students' lives. Also, they get to work with faculty and other staff all of the time. In cc's there are no definite lines amongst organizational divisions. As far as my favorite position...that's tough because I learned so much from each one (yes, very different things in each...some professional and many personal things about myself). My more favorite positions were tied to my bosses and the mission of the institutions. My supervisors in those positions gave me or at times made me stretch my thinking. And I feel much more at home and feel more effective and accountable in cc's. Would I return to any of these positions? I don't think so because I don't think my skills at this point are as crisp as they were for those positions at that time. What I do wish is that I could return to a director level but at half time so I could teach at the graduate level in a higher ed. program.
ReplyDeleteRob, RE: Developing a sense of community amongst our students. 1) We recently transformed our student life programs on both campuses. We now have professionals in St. Dev. in those director positions. Big difference!!! 2) We use CCSSE and study the results! 3)We recently passed the college's first capitol bond levy ($35m.) In all of the new and renovated buildings we are including student lounge spaces. We are building a new student center as well as landscaping the campuses with student outdoor spaces. 4) We also are expanding our Learning Centers which are magnet student centers at our college. So these are some of things that we do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as college values....the first year that I joined NICC, I focused heavily on developing a strategic plan including college values. This was and is a living document that was developed and is reviewed by the college continuously by our Quality Council and its subcommittees which include 50+ faculty and staff members. We also created a new College Senate which has student members. If you are asking about campus student sub-cultures they tend to be around the vocational programs. Our John Deere program students are very close as well as our nursing, dairy science, welding, business student classes.
Dear Mstewar5...
ReplyDeletePlease know that I am a first generation student. I ended up with a fairly planned career as I'm a Virgo and we love to plan but I have learned to be more spontaneous and open to new adventures. Yes, I envy people with diverse backgrounds. We only live once depending on what one believe! So be open to all that walks into your life. In my world, that's why I love cc's, in any day, you are called upon to be a teacher, administrator, politician, civic leader, economic developer, and social worker, just to name a few!
Dear nGlen,
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate not to have had to face this but don't be afraid if you are in the future. The number one person you have to be accountable to is yourself. Your integrity is most important. And when you keep these in the forefront, you can survive alot of things. I'm still working through some tough times presently but I want others to respect my work and me personally. If they continue to like me that's icing on the cake!
Chrissy,
ReplyDeleteCampus partnerships. A successful one...our student services staff decided to go through LEAN...a business process that pushes you to become more efficient and effective in your practices. They asked one of our economic developers at our college to facilitate this process. As a result of their leadership efforts, our business services division are undergoing this same LEAN process. All parties are streamlining their processes to better serve students and eliminated many hoops for the students.
Unsuccessful partnership...our student services administrators sometimes get pouty about marketing to our students. We have an excellent marketing department who know today's students and publics and sometimes these groups can't get through the turf issues as their student passions get in the way and one wants all of the credit. Tip...don't care about the credit, get the job done. Just because a dept. doesn't have student in their title doesn't mean they don't know students.
Dear Dyonne,Have you read Parker Palmer's book...Let your Life Speak? Good one!
ReplyDeleteEdna,
ReplyDeleteIn my world your approach is much more effective. Plus you're alot more fun to work with!
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that the best preparation for anyone in any higher ed position is a few years in residence life!!! What an eye opener to so many things in student life...diversity, pressure, home lifes so different than your own, levels of student maturity, etc. Res life has helped me deal with crises, consensus seeking, creative problem solving, public relations (you all remember talking with irrate parents!), staff differences (old roommate counseling occurs in other arenas too), organization skills (love that housing assignments process), attention to maintenance needs, visibility, and so much more.
So classmates. I'll check in again soon. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance in your careers. Thanks for letting me join you!
ReplyDeletePenny - thank you for your insight - this part of our class has been an exceptional part for an old dog like me! Not only does it provide an opportunity to catch up with colleagues but it has truly provided some great insight on some great people... thanks for being one of the leaders of our profession and I know that if time permits I will see you at an upcoming NASPA - Ken
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