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Pathways and Insights
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Chapter 1
Suzanne Barbour
Suzanne Barbour is Dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the flagship university of North Carolina. The institution is a public Research 1 university in Chapel Hill with about 20,000 students in 70 programs and 13 professional schools and the College of Arts & Sciences. UNC Chapel Hill is considered a Public Ivy and its Graduate School has more than 8,000 students across the University. Suzanne started as Dean at UNC Chapel Hill in fall 2019, but her path to this position encompassed a long and successful career.
Suzanne's leadership journey started on the faculty track. After she obtained her PhD at Johns Hopkins in 1990 and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, she started (in 1993) an academic appointment as Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She progressed through the academic ranks as a prolific scholar and teacher, with multiple awards from top-tier foundations and the US government including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). She has many publications in her research area on the role of iPLA2β and lipids generated downstream of the enzyme in cellular signaling in mammalian cell models. Although very successful in her scholarship, Suzanne started to realize that where she was most likely to make an impact was not in her laboratory, but rather by doing something more administrative or, or as she says, “something more leadership related.” Suzanne then assumed increasing leadership responsibilities, serving from 2004 to 2010 as Graduate Program Director of Biochemistry and (from 2010) as Director of Research Training of the VCU Center on Health Disparities.
An impetus that drove Suzanne forward on her leadership path was the actual experience of obtaining several NIH-funded programs to train underrepresented students while in Virginia. She recalls that in 2009, she worked with faculty colleagues to write five grant proposals for research training programs for underrepresented students, hoping that they might be awarded one. To their delight and astonishment, they received four awards, three of which are still ongoing at VCU today. From this experience, Suzanne concluded that she could have an impact on higher education without running a lab. She could help faculty pursue funding and collaborate on special projects. Overseeing a broader group of programs that offered mentoring to students would, ultimately, have a greater impact on a larger group of students than running her own individual research lab. In addition, she enjoyed the administrative part of the grants.
Suzanne then started thinking about deanships, although she realized she did not have the actual experience she believed necessary to become a dean. Fortunately, Suzanne relates, she had always maintained an ongoing association with the NSF which had a program to bring professors to NSF for short periods for development. In 2013, Suzanne took the big step of giving up tenure and moved into a full-time position as NSF Program Director in the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division. There, for nearly two years, she managed a large budget and became a cluster leader of senior researchers with significant research budgets. She learned to collaborate with other program directors for funding purposes, which, Suzanne recalls, was different than collaborating as a faculty member. Those NSF experiences – budgeting, collaboration, and leadership – were her stepping stones to a deanship. Realizing she enjoyed leadership, Suzanne pursued the opportunity when recruited to the University of Georgia. In 2015, she became Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Georgia, a public Research 1 university. As Dean, Suzanne presided over a Graduate School with over 9,000 students that awarded master's degrees in 156 disciplines and doctoral degrees in 91 disciplines, a scope beyond the scientific and biomedical fields with which she had been familiar. Her focus on attracting minority students to graduate school, and her long-term commitment to diversity, became the cornerstone of her work at the university. In addition, she improved the quality of many programs, lifting the graduate rankings of the school overall, and increasing enrollment.
In 2019, Suzanne moved her leadership forward as a Dean at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she also holds the title of Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the highly regarded School of Medicine. In her current position, Suzanne is responsible for 80 disciplinary programs awarding 160 degrees to over 8,000 students who comprise more than 28% of the total student population of UNC. Noted for its diverse and international student body, UNC is proud of its national rankings in several disciplines which Suzanne has pledged to maintain and improve. In late 2019, Suzanne was elected to the Council of Graduate Schools' Board of Directors, adding to her other work on the Board of the Graduate Records Examination and to the NSF's Committee for Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering. She is a recognized leader in promoting diversity among graduate students and for mentoring students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
While Suzanne was quite deliberate about her path to academic leadership, it was not something she contemplated early in her career. As she tells us, “I don't think little girls grow up saying I would love to be a dean someday.” She was happy as a long serving (close to 20 years) faculty member, managing a research lab with graduate students, and running the discipline's graduate program and its training programs for underrepresented students. Suzanne recalls that she loved interacting with the bright scientific community of graduate students aspiring to become researchers and professors, and she was successful in obtaining federal research dollars to support her work. She spent a great deal of time mentoring students. But, after a couple of decades, she states she started to wonder whether she could have a greater impact doing something more administrative and leadership related. She asked herself, at this point in my career, “Am I going to cure a disease? Am I going to discover some great new thing about lipids and lipid biochemistry?” She answered her own questions with a no. However, she thought, it could be possible to make a difference by training others who would rewrite textbooks or discover some wonderful cure for diabetes or cancer. Suzanne concluded there was more of a likelihood that she could influence the next generation of scientists as an administrator.
Was she prepared for the leadership path she chose? Suzanne says that she was prepared, to some extent, through her experience at NSF where her leadership experience, collaboration experiences, and budget management experience were good stepping stones. But there were other things she did not know as she had never had the leadership gained by being department chair or assistant dean, and it was a big leap to move to a dean's position from faculty. As Dean (at UGA, and now at UNC), she had responsibility for a Research 1 graduate school with multiple disciplines and a variety of degree programs. Although the structure was complex, there were clearly defined identities and roles for faculty, staff, and undergraduate students. But the role and importance of graduate students was more nebulous as they were not only students but also employees. Addressing this duality was a challenge for a new dean and Suzanne knew she had to understand this issue deeply before she could build an integrated school that would address the concerns of both faculty and graduate students. She had previously thought everyone understood the connection between graduate students and research, and graduate students and teaching, and knew that grad students were in their own special employment category. But not everyone understood this and Suzanne worked hard to find the language to explain how important graduate students are to the operations of a Research 1 institution.
Suzanne's critical incident in leadership, her biggest challenge and biggest success, was breaking down the silos around the Graduate School with other parts of the University of Georgia. Perhaps by its very nature, graduate schools can be somewhat autonomous and the students not connected with the undergraduate student body and university services. Suzanne decided to work with the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Student Care and Outreach to develop programs for graduate students, including emergency financial assistance and counseling. Her efforts were successful as both offices worked, under Suzanne's leadership, to view graduate students as an important part of the student body. At the same time, she worked with the graduate students so that they too could see the benefit of utilizing all the support and services the University had to offer. She expects to repeat this accomplishment at UNC in the months ahead.
In discussing her insights on higher education, Suzanne thinks one of the issues facing higher education is the changing demographics of the student body which will affect the evolution of higher education to a deep extent. Recently, she recalls, she read an article that 60% of graduating seniors will retire from career paths that cannot yet be imagined. This leads Suzanne to conclude that the future of graduate education will change. She wonders if the contemporary model at Research 1 institutions where doctoral students study for five or six years, stepping away from the rest of life to generate a body of scholarship, will prevail. She wonders the same for master's students. Perhaps, adult learners 25 years after attending university will need to retool to stay employed, receive a promotion, or switch jobs. They will not necessarily be looking for a new degree but will seek a credential, a badge, attesting to mastering a skill. Looking at the university as a workforce development engine and not only an engine for training the next generation of scholars may be part of the future. This leads to employing adjuncts from industry, a trend that is not universally approved. Suzanne cites the change already occurring in the professional science master's degree programs where students are trained not only in the technical skills but also in the business skills they need. These programs rely on adjuncts from the professions who have deep knowledge of their fields. Giving adjuncts more respect and value will be an important change for the academy, especially Research 1 institutions that so highly value a traditional scholarly faculty.
Suzanne believes that another of the pressing issues in higher education is the need to diversify the faculty. She notes that the gender inequality so prevalent in the past has greatly diminished as women moved into the academy and obtained advanced degrees. But she does not believe equal progress has been achieved by members of underrepresented groups. She laments that she has seen too many junior faculty of color fall by the wayside due to lack of support and mentoring. From her own experience, she sees that many do not know what is expected in the academy and do not know how to work within existing systems. Some of the problems are related to funding agencies and the degree to which faculty of color are not on study sections or running programs. “Some of the problems, quite frankly, are just plain old racism. There is no other way to characterize them,” Suzanne states. Showing people with privilege just what their privilege brings them is necessary, since, she believes, so many are just uninformed. Suzanne gives a concrete example from the sciences. In the bench sciences, a professor cannot be successful if trainees are not attracted to work in her lab,
…but if trainees do not come to your lab because they don't envision that working for an African-American woman is the path to success, well guess what? You are not going to be successful.
Suzanne advocates the need for these conversations, hopefully initiated by the next generation of leaders.
Suzanne tells us that she is excited about the future at UNC because the institution now has a NSF grant to develop a leadership training academy targeting midcareer underrepresented STEM faculty of both genders. Starting in November, participants from around the country will form a cohort to receive leadership training and to work on special projects, many in the diversity equity and inclusion space. The funding is for five years and Suzanne is enthusiastic to see this program evolve. She hopes that by focusing on midcareer individuals, an effort on retention will finally emerge. She notes that retention is a much tougher nut to crack because “retention gets into these issues of institutional culture and institutional values.” Suzanne is well poised to be a leader of the needed discussion she so carefully outlines.
When Suzanne considers what insights she might offer to prospective higher education leaders, she emphasizes the need for building and developing relationships. While she did have relationships at NSF, she knows that in the academy, it is even more important for people to know and trust you. Academic politics is very complex, but good interpersonal connections can prevent an administrator from making serious mistakes. In addition, achieving a goal is much more likely when other people are excited about the goal and willing to collaborate. Some people might be put off by a collaborative approach, seeing it as weak or indecisive, especially if they are accustomed to a top-down approach. They may think the leader is indecisive, yet Suzanne notes, it is important to do your homework before deciding. A big part of said homework is “not just looking at the numbers but also talking to people, hearing their stories, and getting a sense of what the impact is essential to the boots on the ground.” This takes time and new administrators will have to work to build new relationships. A deliberate effort is needed and cannot be rushed.
One indicator of how well Suzanne serves is her recognition of others' efforts. Suzanne advises leaders that they serve an institution, not themselves, and that they should give credit where credit is due. Feathering one's own nest is not the point, and organizations achieve their best when people work as a team. Everyone's voice needs to be heard but not everyone's voice needs to be the voice chosen for the action. Suzanne notes that developing a thick skin is critical, as academic leaders have many critics, no matter what they do. Often administrators have to make difficult decisions, eliminating programs that people thought were eternal. They have to have conviction and believe that the decision is in the best interests of the institution. Most importantly, Suzanne believes, administrators should talk to students and get a sense of what they need and how those needs change over time. This is good advice from a student-focused experienced graduate educator.
In closing, we note that Suzanne's leadership as Dean of the Graduate School currently involves the daunting task of trying to provide comfort and support to graduate students while maintaining important scientific and medical research during the coronavirus pandemic which has shut down the normal operations of the University. With over 8,000 students, many from overseas, leadership through this critical time will make all the difference. UNC is a leading coronavirus research institution. The Baric Lab at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in an academic–corporate partnership with Gilead Sciences had developed the drug remdesivir (UNC website, 2020) and recently received $29 million from the State of Georgia to study treatment, community testing, and prevention of COVID-19. Suzanne's many years of experience will stand her well in coping with the pandemic and benefit her students, faculty, and staff.
Reference
UNC Website, 2020 UNC Website . (2020, April 29). Remdesivir, developed through a UNC-Chapel Hill partnership, proves effective against COVID-19 in NIAID human clinical trials. Gillings School News. Retrieved from https://sph.unc.edu/sph-news/remdesivir-developed-at-unc-chapel-hill-proves-effective-against-covid-19-in-niaid-human-clinical-trials/
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Chapter 2
Frances Rose Blasé
Frances Rose (Fran) Blasé is the Provost of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, a nationally ranked private liberal arts institution with 1,300 students and 150 faculty. The College, located in the suburbs outside Philadelphia, is part of a tri-college consortium with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore that enables students to take classes at all three institutions. About 18% of students are international, providing a rich complexity to the small liberal arts institution.
Fran entered the academy on the traditional faculty path, earning her doctorate from Bryn Mawr before joining the Haverford chemistry faculty in 1991. Fran was a successful researcher whose area of expertise is organic chemistry, focusing “on the enantioselective synthesis of organic molecules isolated from natural sources” (https://www.haverford.edu/users/fblase). Fran's research was fruitful, with publications in such journals as Tetrahedron Letters, The Journal of Chemical Physics, Organic Letters, Synthetic Communications, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry. She was also the recipient of an NSF grant. Fran rose to associate professor and served as chair of the Chemistry Department for a number of years.
Fran's leadership began at the faculty level. In addition to serving as department chair, she participated in campus-wide service including chairing the Admissions Committee, as director of the Mellon Tri-Co Faculty Forum Grant, and as a member of the KINSC Steering Committee, the Diversity Initiatives Group, Academic Council, and the Task Force on Academic Enrichment. Fran's leadership and administrative abilities attracted the notice of Haverford's senior leaders. In 2013, Fran was invited by the then provost to become one of two associate provosts. In this position, her responsibilities were broad. She supervised the hiring of interim and part-time faculty, supported departmental external reviews, oversaw the mentoring of new faculty, acted as the Provost's Office liaison to the Office of Academic Resources, Athletics, and the Registrar, and engaged with budgeting processes. Fran did such a good job as Associate Provost that in 2015, when the provost advanced to the presidency of Haverford, she was asked by him to take on the full provost position. Now, with a new president in place, Fran continues as a provost. When she began in the position what she most looked forward to was “helping to move Haverford forward and helping the faculty thrive, which helps the students and the larger institution thrive” (Haverford College, 2015).
Fran tells us that her path to leadership was more happenstance than planned as she initially did not have ambitions to be an academic administrator. She was the first in her family to go to college and was encouraged by her undergraduate professors at the University of Pennsylvania to continue her education. She did so by continuing on to Bryn Mawr to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry. As a professor at Haverford, she relished her research agenda in her lab and loved teaching and working with students and developing close ties with her colleagues. After 29 years at the institution, she believes wholeheartedly in the mission of Haverford. If she returns to the faculty after serving as a provost, she admits, she will be content, as she truly values the life of a professor.
Although Fran did not enter academia planning on becoming a provost, she has learned the responsibilities of the position. One critical incident that inspired Fran's leadership shortly after becoming a provost was the need to make changes in the faculty housing provided by Haverford. Fran knew that many professors had lived in faculty housing for long periods of time, some even for 40 years over their entire tenure at Haverford. Yet the institution needed to make changes in this robust housing benefit in order to accommodate newer professors and nontraditional family structures and to manage housing costs. Although this housing system was no longer working for the institution, there was the expected resistance to change. Understandably, many senior professors were reluctant to give up campus housing or to accept any change to the housing benefit. Fran had to deploy her skills of collaboration...
