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Grand View is in the midst of filling its vacant provost position. A search committee has narrowed the field of candidates to four. Those candidates will all be on campus for interviews this week and next. All members of the GV community have been invited to voice their opinions about the candidates via online surveys (links at the foot of this story). To help decide who is right for GV, we asked each of the four candidates five questions. To make things more fun, we’ve opted to keep the identities of each candidate a secret until the end of the story. Read through the bios and Q&As, select your favorite candidate and then scroll down to find out his or her identity.

 

Candidate One

Candidate one has a Ph.D. in environmental science and has three years of experience as a provost. The candidate has held a variety of administrative and leadership positions for the past 13 years, including associate dean, interim dean and deputy provost.

What attracted you to Grand View?

“Overall, my overview is that Grand View looks to be really flourishing. It also looks like this place where innovation is valued, and yet it still has a pretty firm grasp on undergraduate core that’s oriented towards the liberal arts. Grand View has done a really good job of starting to expand into graduates continuing an adult education, which is something that I think more and more small colleges reach to in order to survive. Not only that, it’s a tremendous service to the community.”

How has your background prepared you to be Grand View’s next provost?

“I worked for 10 years in different administrative roles. I came to (institution) where I actually served as a provost, so I have real provost experience. I’ve been in a lot of really good situations, and I’ve had to handle some challenges. Grand View might surprise me in some ways, but I’ve already seen a lot and handled a lot, so I’m pretty confident in my ability to serve Grand View.”

Grand View has grown a lot in the past 10 years. How would you continue to build upon that growth?

“One of the biggest things for Grand View is probably continuing adult education and graduate programs. One of the things that you have to do when managing those types of programs is to be flexible. If you can do a good job of growing and expanding those programs, then some of the revenue that they generate can be used to continue strengthening the undergraduate programs.”

Do you have any ideas for lessening the financial burden of attending Grand View?

“The only thing that works there is fundraising. You need to be persuading people who have the capacity to give to the university that supporting students is a really noble thing to do.”

In a few words, explain to the Grand View community why you are the right person for the job.

“I don’t know yet for certain that I’m right for the job. What I know so far, it starts to feel like the people that I’ve met are people who are very authentic and very genuinely dedicated to Grand View, and it feels like those are people that I would love to work with. I need to learn more, and Grand View needs to learn more about me to make a determination whether I am a good fit.”

 

Candidate Two

Candidate two has a doctorate in educational administration and is an education specialist in higher education administration. This candidate also has his or her Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in business administration.

Candidate two’s higher education experience includes provost and chief academic officer at various universities since 2008.  This candidate has also been a professor of marketing, a professor of business administration and director of studies in management. The candidate held various other faculty positions in business-related disciplines prior to teaching.

What attracted you to Grand View University?  

“I’m interested in the type of university Grand View is, and I like the diversity and the openness. I like the way they serve the world instead of serving the church. So to me, something I just want to discover when I visit is find a little bit more about that. From what I read and the little interactions I’ve had, I just really like what I have seen in the administration and how the university presents itself.”

How has your background prepared you to be Grand View’s next provost? 

“Well, this is my 13th year being a provost. I’ve been in three different institutions, and so I think I have a lot of administrative experience. I have a lot of leadership experience. I have 10 years on faculty, so I think I’m able to work with lots of different people and lots of different circumstances. I just think I have a lot of experience, and I can make a contribution to the university. My background is in developing and expanding online programs and developing and expanding new programs.”

 Grand View has grown in the past 10 years. How would you continue and build that growth? 

“Well, I think as you pointed out, I would probably have to get some more information. If you’re talking about growth through new programs or enrollment there’s different ways to do it, but I think it depends on the strategic plan. I think it depends on the direction of the campus, so I would probably need more information and have conversations across campus to see what that looks like.”

Do you have any ideas for lessening the financial burden of attending Grand View?  

“It’s not just a Grand View question I would say. So, affordability, I think, is a huge issue for college students. You know, I like to think about the investment that students make in higher education… To me we have to think more about what’s the investment in my future and what is it worth to me. So you have an affordability question, and you have a value question. So the affordability is ‘can I afford to go to the university, and if I can go to any university is it worth it to pay for it at this university, and what will my future look like because of that. And so when you pick a university, you have to think about ‘do the students get jobs after graduation, what’s the default rate, do they pay their loans back, are they able to get into graduate school and look at the alumni,’ and so to me it’s not so much the price, it’s the investment you make in higher education. ”

 In a few words, explain to the Grand View community why you are right for the job? 

“Part of the search process for this level of position is to make sure that the person is coming to campus and visiting and the community is agreeing that we are a good fit for each other. So while I believe that I am qualified, I believe that I can do the job, I believe that I can contribute and I can work with lots of different kinds of people. So for me, I know that this is an opportunity that I am very interested in, and I believe I am qualified, but it has to be a good fit. The faculty have to feel comfortable with me. The president and the cabinet have to fit. I have to fit with that group. So it’s not just a simple yes. I feel like I am the right person for the job, and I do think I meet all the qualifications, and I can do the job, but we have to look at the whole. And it’s really about fit and making sure out of the candidates there who is the best fit. It’s a multilayered answer. It’s both us; it’s the university and it’s also me.”

 

Candidate Three

Candidate three is currently an educational consultant and former vice president for academic affairs at Aurora University. He has his Bachelor of Arts degree in biblical literature, Master’s degree in theological and historical studies, Master’s of philosophy in modern history and literature and his Ph. D in modern history and literature. He has served as a faculty member several colleges and  has developed and supported academic programs all over the country, as well as in St. Petersburg, Russia and Quito, Ecuador.

What attracted you to Grand View? 

“Well, it’s an institution that I find I can feel most at home in. It’s rooted in the Liberal Arts and the Liberal Arts infuses and informs everything in the institution. I think it’s the best form of education for whatever career somebody is going to go into. I also really resonate with the fact that Grand View still isn’t just historically connected to the Lutheran Church, but the state tradition of the institution continues to look for who you are… Spirituality impacts the vast majority of our world population, and if we don’t help our students understand people of various faiths and what faith means to others, we can help them understand what it means to them so they can make their own minds up. They can learn about their own faith tradition… So helping our students and equipping our students to really grab ahold of that, is part of helping them merge to adults.”

How has your background prepared you to be GV’s next provost? 

“Well, every school I’ve worked at is in the same boat. They are trying to balance the budget and provide the best services possible to the students, on fairly limited resources. The challenge is always to build the quality, and I have a great deal of experience with that. Outside of the academic side of things I also help schools with honors programs, debate teams and some athletic programs like hockey and lacrosse… I also think my leadership style is something that has been a plus. This has been a very difficult time, in going through the great recession, a lot schools have had to make incredibly difficult decisions as far as what to cut and what to keep. That just creates a lot of raw nerves. My ability to read people through change, be cooperative and transparent and to be a person that doesn’t hold grudges or keep score is something that makes me a good candidate for any school.”

Grand View has grown a lot in the past 10 years. How would you continue to build upon that growth? 

“I think the thing you have to do is continue to expand your outreach as you’re looking for students, and create programs that meet a niche or need that will attract and become destination programs. To bring students from out of the region and to get your need and to get your name and your program recognized outside that immediate area, I think is really important. Most programs wouldn’t just be academic programs; it can also be athletics. Unique centers and programs that are co-curricular or extra-curricular; I have developed those at every school I’ve worked at. I’ve developed an Architecture program, a sustainability program, an American Sign Language program, a communication sciences and disorders and applied behavioral sciences. Perhaps none of those would be a great match at Grand View, but the point is, I know how to look for those opportunities and how to work with the right people to get those ideas to come forward and first identify the niche or need that we are uniquely situated to meet.”

Do you have any ideas for lessening the financial burden of attending GV? 

“Well, I think you do have to continue to keep the enrollment up. There are some programs that are less expensive to operate and there are other programs that, just by the nature of the beast, are more expensive to operate. So, if you can attract more students to the programs that are less expensive to operate, you can offset the cost for the institution… Some things you can do, shorter-term, to try to save an institution’s money is just trying to be more efficient, like being energy efficient. I think it’s something that right now, in our society, is something we are all really interested in. Sustainability resonates with alumni, so if we can ask smaller gift alumni to help you make the institution more energy efficient, if we can reduce our energy costs that’s one way to bring down the overall operating costs and would allow you to hold tuition down.”

In a few words, explain to the Grand View Community why you’re right for the job? 

“I have quite a bit of experience with academic administration and there’s a great deal of challenges and disruption going on in higher education, today, that makes seasoned leadership more important than ever. I am very up-to-date with what’s going on in higher education both through my years of experience and my conferences and participation through various organizations. Also, I’ve been heavily involved with the higher learning commission, which is the regional crediting body for all of the institutions within 19 states that Grand View is also a part of.”

“Mostly, my leadership style, I feel is something that would work really well at Grand View. I’m highly collaborative and I try to be as transparent as possible. There are some things, as you know, you can’t disclose because of various regulations; like FERPA, but there is a lot of information that we can share with the campus community that sometimes schools don’t share as openly. I tend to air on the side being as open as possible, while also providing the appropriate context so people understand the information. I also like to work with, not just faculty on policies and procedures, but members of the administration, staff, as well as students. Of all the schools I’ve served on, I always try to make sure that the students are on as many committees as makes sense. I think it really enhances the conversation. It helps us keep that student perspective in front of us because that’s the group we’re serving.”

 

Candidate Four

Candidate four’s current position is vice president for institutional effectiveness and strategic initiatives. The candidate has a B.A. in social studies with high honors and a Ph. D. in political studies. This candidate has also been working in higher education since 1992 and has worked at the University of Michigan, Harvard University and Merrimack College within the past 14 years.

What attracted you to Grand View?

“I think Grand View is a really interesting and really special institution in lots of ways. In some ways, it’s a lot like (current institution). It’s a small, private college with a real focus on undergraduate education, the whole student experience and trying to provide the kinds of education experiences that can really help students move forward and develop in their lives—both professionally and personally.  It’s a mission that these kinds of institutions pursue that I really believe in and feel strongly about.”

How has your background prepared you to be Grand View’s next provost?

“I’ve held a variety of leadership positions in my career, from department chair to associate dean, to vice provost and then vice president. The other thing that is a little bit different about my background is I had this terrific leadership development experience. I feel like having had the opportunity to spend the year intensively learning about the landscape of higher education and some of the major issues that are facing institutions like Grand View, that brings a little bit broader perspective to a position like provost.”

Grand View has grown a lot in the past 10 years. How would you continue to build upon that growth?

“I think the key to the growth has been the idea of innovation and change and being willing to think about doing things differently. I think there’s a really strong faculty and a terrific student body. I think that the institution has done a really good job of articulating what the value of a Grand View education is.  Thinking about ways to continue to develop those key ideas and key values that are laid out in the institution’s mission and strategic plans are going to be ways to continue to help the institution succeed and grow.”

Do you have any ideas for lessening the financial burden of attending Grand View?

“The President of Grand View has instituted a plan (GV Complete), where the price is linked to student progress. One of the big issues in colleges and universities in general is time to completion. One of the reasons college becomes more expensive is because students end up taking longer than 4 years to complete college. Grand View has taken a lot of steps to make sure students are able to complete their degrees in a reasonable amount of time. I think that goes a long way to helping keep the financial burden and the amount of student loans manageable.”

In a few words, explain to the Grand View community why you are the right person for the job.

“Based on my own experiences at (current institution), an institution that has undergone a similar trajectory of growth, emphasizing the idea of the whole student educational experience, the perspectives I bring are aligned with the direction the institution is moving. I hope I would be able to help the institution to continue to grow and achieve new heights.”

 

 

Have a favorite in mind? Scroll down to find out who’s who.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candidate 1: Carl Owen Moses

Candidate 2: Mary Jones

Candidate 3: Dale Simmons

Candidate 4: Russell Mayer

 

Now that you have a candidate, feel free to pass your comments on to Paul Rider, head of the provost search committee. He can be reached at prider@grandview.edu. All comments will be kept anonymous.