Special Edition Fall 2023: Administration’s turnover and semi-reinvention
By M Yeager
With new and old faces in upper administration, how can we move forward?
Upper administration at St. Kate’s has gone through many changes within the past year. On March 21, President ReBecca Koenig Roloff announced that Provost Anita Thomas would be leaving the university at the end of May to become the president of North Central College in Illinois. On July 26, Co-Provost Denise Baird announced that Matt Goodwin, the previous vice president of student affairs (VPSA) and dean of students would be leaving the university in early August. A few days after Goodwin’s last day on Aug. 11, Roloff announced her retirement date as Aug. 15, 2024, after holding the role for almost eight years. With all of these turnovers in upper administration, it is worth considering the importance of these positions.
University President
There have been 11 university presidents at St. Catherine since 1919 and the average presidency lasted about nine years. Antonia McHugh, Alberta Huber, Anita Pampusch and Andrea Lee all served as president for between 12 and 18 years. The roles of the university president include leadership, planning and fundraising for the university. This means acting as a liaison between the board of trustees and members of the university community, such as students, staff and faculty.
The position description for the 12th president of the university outlines the role and responsibilities of the new president: The University will look to the president for vision and leadership to advance the University’s mission; to support the continued pursuit of academic excellence; to diversify and grow revenue streams; to champion social justice and inclusive excellence; to inspire a culture of innovation and thoughtful change; to continue and stabilize the enrollment growth trend; and to design and launch the next fundraising campaign.
Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Dr. JoNes VanHecke. Credit: St. Catherine University
The vice president of student affairs (VPSA) is in charge of leading the Division of Student Affairs and works with the university president, provost, executive vice president of Academic Affairs and deans to encourage an environment that promotes student success through all aspects of student life. On Oct. 19, the university announced that Dr. JoNes VanHecke would start as the new VPSA on Nov. 1.
“As the vice president of Student Affairs at St. Kate’s, VanHecke will oversee programs for all students across degree programs and levels,” the press release stated. “She will also direct the integration of student experiences within the University’s mission and academic vision, focusing specifically on student retention, persistence, and timely graduation.”
Provost
The provost is the chief academic officer at a university and is responsible for leading academic planning and the creation of academic values, policies and practices. Their duties include administrative practices dealing with enrollment, course offerings, tuition and other student fees. Overall, the provost is in charge of the oversight of quality and practices of all levels of study at the university.
On April 14, Roloff announced that Dr. Denise Baird and Dr. Dianne Oliver would be promoted to co-provosts and their previous positions as assistant and associate provosts, respectfully, would be eliminated. The announcement stated that Baird’s new role as co-provost/senior vice president for academic operations and student success includes ensuring the “effective operations in our academic policies, processes, facilities, and structure.” Oliver’s new role is co-provost and senior vice president for academic programs and faculty affairs. The role provides leadership for the development of academic programs and the nurturing of faculty development.
Student Views of the Positions
Student views and knowledge of these positions are varied. Fern Schiffer ‘25 (English) found each of the position descriptions to be vague. Skylar Mattson ‘25 (Exercise Science) and Autumn Yelich ‘24 (Communication Studies) found the position descriptions helpful in understanding what the roles of a university president and co-provost are. In terms of the new VPSA, Yelich said, “I am excited to have VanHecke as a part of our community and hopeful regarding her contributions.”
In each of the responses, there was a theme of not being fully aware of what these upper administration roles do. “I should be able to know what they do when they work for us, beyond vague descriptions that could mean anything,” said Schiffer. Schiffer later pointed out that this disconnect could be the result of poor communication between upper administration and the student body.
Mattson had a different view of the disconnect concerning the duties of the university president: “It is my own fault for not knowing what the role of the president is. I am sure this information is out there somewhere for me to read.”
Yelich provided a lighthearted comment on how the student body views those in upper administration. “I feel that students view upper administration as cloaked figures in a dark room who spend their day summoning donations.”
With the turnover of these positions, what do students want to see from incoming members of upper administration?
Students listed a fresh perspective, increased interaction between the student body and new members of upper administration, and greater recognition of the diverse identities of the student body as a few of their wants.
Schiffer summed up what they want from administration with this: “I want transparency, and a voice. This is not just a school, it’s housing and a social outlet for many students. In many ways, it functions like its own town. Except for the fact that it is not a democracy. Our leadership ought to be accountable to us. I should be able to know what they do when they work for us, beyond vague descriptions that could mean anything.” She said that any student should be able to raise these concerns about the performance of leadership. “The student body, who this institution is meant to serve, should be the deciding factor on the makeup and direction of the administration.”
While the searches for VPSA and co-provosts have concluded, students can still be involved in the presidential search process. When finalists are selected — most likely in the spring — students can attend the candidates’ campus visits and town halls. In addition, students may email the Presidential Search Committee with any questions or concerns they have.
