Education is the “industry” where I have spent my entire professional career and it is the landscape and industry of higher education. From a philosophy framework, I believe education is the cornerstone of our democracy. I emphatically believe it must be accessible and affordable. From an application or operational standpoint, providing education gives the expectation one is gaining from the endeavor. Education is an active process of one learning and subsequently demonstrating the knowledge or skill gained. It is a two-way process of one accepting the desire to learn (or need to learn) and one providing the opportunity for the knowledge or skill. Education at the postsecondary level is often thought of as acquiring knowledge and skills to live a productive professional and personal life. Institutions of higher education espouse goals to have their graduates lead fulfilling lives making lasting contributions to their communities. One could say these are reasons for a public postsecondary educational system to exist: to create social mobility for its citizens who enroll in and graduate from one of its institutions and to broaden their sense of responsibilities to their communities and society in general.
We must be forward thinking and creative to reach today’s students and to meet them where they are. To do this successfully as institutions, we need to continue being a “student-ready campus” making excellence inclusive to support student success. It is important for all units across the institution to understand everyone is an educator and everyone impacts the student experience. It is also imperative to offer a robust curriculum which is relevant to today’s students as a solid foundation for recruitment and retention. We must also believe students have the capacity to learn and we must stay committed to this principle, so students flourish. We also need to be a convener and facilitator of cutting-edge great ideas, best practices, and solutions to ensure there are people and processes in place for students to thrive and excel. My leadership is focused on keeping institutions grounded in the approach we can support students and can remove barriers and challenges often getting in the way of student success. More specifically, I would like our postsecondary educational system to continue to provide a supportive environment, so students, faculty, and staff thrive.
It is important to note a robust curriculum should be very broadly defined as we need technical and vocational training programs in addition to advanced graduate research-based programs. We need an array of educational opportunities to meet the needs of citizens to accomplish their goals and to propel the workforce agenda of the region. As a campus leader, I will proudly represent an array of educational opportunities and ensure our institution is a key provider and sought after to address the burgeoning educational and training opportunities of the region and beyond. As President of two different institutions offering educational opportunities from certificates and associates to advance medical degrees and I understand the need for this range of opportunities.
Complexities about education come to the forefront for some who believe a postsecondary education is only about gaining knowledge for the sake of knowledge and not about an entry point or advancement to a career. I believe postsecondary education is both about knowledge acquisition and career development. I also believe education is a vehicle for workforce development for the region. There is a synergy among a highly educated population and great employment opportunities. One begets the other in that to have fulfilling employment opportunities with safe work conditions, strong salaries, and a good quality of life there needs to be an available educated workforce. With great schools and colleges, there are better opportunities for employers to locate in the region. In this respect, public education may be viewed as an agent of the State and as such must be seen as a public good and must be well funded to carry out this role.
A healthy postsecondary education system is predicated on and requires a very strong K-12 education system. Both K-12 and higher education must collaborate. Without high school graduates, postsecondary educational systems cannot function at optimal levels. Strong K-12 schools cannot operate at all without the postsecondary system providing the teachers, counselors, administrators, etc. Therefore, a strong educational system requires both K-12 and higher education to be held in the highest regard as both are a public good and must be funded to carry out these roles.
To be abundantly clear, my philosophy is education must be available to all, especially traditionally underserved populations to include adults and traditional aged students. A college education is viewed as one key path to addressing inequalities and inequities in our nation. I believe we must provide quality educational opportunities for all and to be accessible at affordable costs in a variety of needed modalities so we can increase the percentage of educated citizens across a region or the entire State. A strong educational system is intricately linked to the well-being of the citizens and a bright future for all is contingent on a strong educational system across the State where a diverse array of postsecondary institutions is central to this goal. The strong faculty and staff who provide the direct learning and development to and with our students are of paramount importance to this bright future. A highly functioning institution is a matter of public and personal economic development which improves health, life longevity, and allows a reduction of state services needed for criminal justice and other social support systems for the citizens of the region/State.
