Meet the President
An interview with George Litman, interim president, National–Louis University, and Jeanne Hartig, vice president of marketing and communications, National-Louis University.
Jeanne Hartig (JH): George, you are the 10th president of NLU—a university that was founded more than 120 years ago. In what ways has the job of "university president" changed over the last century? We all know you haven't been around for all that time, but perhaps you could look back over your academic career and give us some perspective.
George Litman (GL): At the risk of overemphasizing the obvious, I offer technology as a yardstick of change in all our lives, including that of university president. Social media, from email to Twitter, have changed campuses forever. Each day I'm bombarded with personal contacts from students, alumni, vendors, faculty, staff and others who, in earlier times, would not have had access directly to the president. Accompanying this personal access is the expectation that I'm available 24/7/365 and that I have concomitant access to information via the web. Therefore, I'm expected to have expertise in strategic planning; diversifying faculty, staff and students; fundraising; risk management; legal issues; capital improvement projects; budget and financial management; advertising; assessment; accreditation; and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Another major change is in the competitive landscape with the rise of community college and for-profit institutions. These late 20th century additions to higher education have challenged traditional public and private universities. They have forced us to question our formerly unalienable right to students, as well as our mission and our values. Ultimately, they have made us "better."
Finally, the diversity in communities and schools has changed our assumptions about students and our teaching. Universal design, which enables students with a wide variety of learning strengths and challenges to benefit from instruction, bilingual education and extensive academic support systems have become the norm on college campuses.
JH: If you and NLU's founder, Elizabeth Harrison, had a chance to sit down and talk about NLU then and now, would you have anything in common to discuss? How has NLU changed over the years?
GL: Certainly, we'd talk about this great university she started 123 years ago. It has grown from a handful of students to the 12,000 we serve every year. We'd talk about the university's expanded focus–from early childhood education to teaching and learning from elementary to secondary to the college level. I think she would also be interested to know her university now includes, in addition to the National College of Education, a college of arts and sciences and a business college.
Many of the changes at NLU have coincided with the changes in culture; for example, there is increased emphasis on data–driven decision–making and questioning so much of what we used to take for granted. The New York Times recently ran an "opinion" piece asking if teachers needed to have education degrees and questioning other traditions in K–12 education. I think Miss. Harrison, a reformer in her own right, would be in the thick of this discussion and challenging us to question our assumptions.
Also, at the end of our talk, I'd thank her in the name of the tens of thousands of students who benefited from the results of her vision, and let her know we still give a red carnation to each graduate.
JH: You've made it a point to say we all need to meet less–and work more. What are the priorities of your presidency? What sort of work should the NLU faculty, administrators and staff be doing in the weeks and months ahead?
GL: We need to focus on enrollment and, of course, the related issues of retention and margin. Together this translates to enrolling students, keeping students through graduation and providing the necessary teaching and services within our tuition revenue.
JH: You come to NLU's presidency with an insider's perspective–having held a number of positions ranging from faculty member in mathematics and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to interim provost. So, what's different now in terms of how you "see" the university? How has your perspective changed since you've become president?
GL: As trite as it seems, as you move up the ladder, you gain a broader perspective of the whole university. As a faculty member in the mathematics department, I was concerned, mostly, about my students' learning; the more successful they were, the more successful I was. While that remains true, now I have to balance individual successes against the potential success of the entire institution. In addition, I work much more in the future–reviewing and approving ideas that will affect NLU for years to come.
JH: Many of us in academia spend a lot of time worrying about everything from enrollment and the cost of tuition to how to hire great faculty and design courses students need to be good world citizens. What does a university president worry about?
GL: I try to restrict my worrying to the major issues, but I'm not very successful.
JH: If you only had time to tell a stranger three things about what makes NLU great, what would you say?
GL: I'm tempted, of course, to say, "Access, Excellence, Innovation," but people make NLU great–our students, our alumni and our employees.
JH: You have a well–deserved reputation as being able to tell a good story and a great joke. If you could only tell one story or one joke, which one would you pick?
GL: I can't choose among so many good ones–whether it be my favorite restaurant, novel, or, in this case, a joke. However, the best advice I ever got from an expert in management was, "In business, it's dog eat dog, but in academia, it's just the reverse."
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