Leadership Philosophy & Achievements

Leadership Philosophy and Approach

Many people do not know that at its core the Boy Scouts is a leadership development organization. It is structured so that its young members organize into groups with leaders, elect a senior youth leader, and govern themselves through consensus building. The adult supervisors are trained to delegate leadership and to influence rather than dictate to the members – you can’t tell a teenager what to do anyway! The organization’s adult “Wood Badge” leadership training course, in which I participated, is so highly respected that many corporations pay for their employees to participate.

I have only recently realized the degree to which this organization and its training have influenced my life. As a boy I learned not to fear to step forward when needed, and to accept leadership roles and the responsibilities that go along them. Later, as Scoutmaster of a large troop in Michigan, I learned how to develop the skills and leadership abilities of the youth in my charge.

In my professional life I have accepted leadership roles because I am driven by a vision that requires influence to be enacted. However, my experience with the Boy Scouts inspires me to delegate leadership and responsibility and grow the people in my organization. I consider myself an integrator - of people, organizations and systems, and enjoy creating an environment and structure that enables the institution, and the people within it, to achieve their maximum potential. As a leader I believe that my role is to help create a strong institutional vision by distilling existing culture, mixing it with my personal vision and best practices from other institutions; to forge consensus and create a sense of joint purpose for the faculty, staff and students, and to apply innovative approaches and problem solving skills to achieve our mutually arrived at goals.

Major Leadership Achievements

The following are some sample initiatives in which I have had a major leadership role:

Radford University

- Implemented a data centric approach to allocation of faculty positions across colleges and departments which enabled deans to make the case for new positions, and for replacing positions within departments or moving them elsewhere.
- Developed a very positive relationship with the faculty and the faculty senate. Was complimented by three site visit times (AACSB, ACS and ACOTE) on the enthusiasm expressed by the faculty for their Provost.

Fort Hays State University

- The University set enrollment records each year of my tenure defying the national trend of declining university enrollments. National rankings of its academic programs also increased significantly. Virtual College (on-line) grew 8% in credit hour production from FY15 to FY16; the Graduate School grew 10.46% and the College of STeM saw a 10.1% increase.
- Organizational re-engineering including formation of a new
  - College of Science, Technology & Math (STeM). College subsequently named with $5,000,000 gift.
  - Department of Social Work
  - Honors College with significant subsequent growth
  - Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Quality Improvement
  - Office of Internationalization and Global Partnerships
  - Director of Liberal Education
- Implemented first doctoral program at the University (DNP).
- New partnership with the American University of Phnom Penh to deliver on-site 4 yr. degrees.
- Led the creation of the University and Academic Affairs strategic plans
- Strengthened shared governance
- Selected by American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for participation in the Re-imagining the First Year student success project
- Conducted successful national searches for two deans, an assistant vice president and numerous chair and faculty positions
- Achieved a U.S, News & World Report ranking of 16th out of 298 schools in online bachelor programs.
- To meet the academic needs of our men and women in the military and that of our veterans, the University developed and implemented several initiatives including streamlining the application and advising process. As a result, the University achieved the Gold Level Military Friendly School designation in November 2016

Mercy College

- Led the Middle States decennial self-study.
- Led the development of and implemented strategic plans for teaching & learning, educational assessment, the Honors and General Education programs, and for global engagement.

Stony Brook University

- Significantly raised faculty awareness of, and engagement with, excellence in teaching and academic assessment.
- Merged multiple support groups into a cohesive one-stop-shopping faculty support organization.
- Created and staffed The Faculty Center (pedagogical and assessment support organization).
- Implemented a new faculty orientation process.
- Modernized and created classrooms to support a variety of pedagogical approaches. Created more student centered learning environments.

Penn State University

- Participated in the restructuring of The World Campus (Penn State Online)
- Increased instructional development staffing at regional campuses.
- Significantly improved coordination and accessibility of central services to regional campuses.
- Instituted and supported intercampus course sharing.

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