Community Engagement

The Internal Community

My favorite meetings as Provost were my yearly interactions with each academic department. I love the passion the faculty have for their disciplines and students, and always left each wanting to take many of the department’s courses. To keep lines of communication open, I implemented monthly open Q&A “Coffee with the Provost” sessions, and delivered monthly video messages to update faculty and staff on issues and major events. I also created an Office of the Provost Facebook site. I collaborate with faculty through the shared governance process, and have worked closely with unions/faculty staff associations from both the perspective of a union member and as an administrator negotiating on behalf of the University.

I remain connected to students and their concerns by attending student governance meetings when invited, attending a wide variety of sporting events and student functions, and by advising or coaching a student club. This gives me access to students with a wide variety of majors in a very informal and open environment in which I can engage the students in conversation.

Alumni

Alumni are a great source of support for the University. As practitioners of our disciplines they can provide invaluable intelligence on the strengths and weaknesses of the education they received. I have helped my deans establish and attract alumni to advisory boards. These recruitments often also resulted in significant gifts to the University for academic programs. Our alumni’s real-World experience is also invaluable to students and can help them persist, find internships and jobs. I helped develop a mentoring program, uniting alumni with students at FHSU, and during our trips to our Chinese partners, began conversations on establishing alumni chapters abroad.

Town & Gown

I have attended and presented on University related topics at many service organization meetings such as Rotary (I am a Rotarian), and at the Chamber of Commerce. This is an important activity as it increases community awareness of university offerings, improves town-gown relations, and increases support for state funding. In Kansas I had responsibility for the state-wide Small Business Development Corporation, and participated in tours of the community with local business men and women. Please see the pages on business partnerships and regional economic development for further information.