CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — When Karen Whitney steps down June 30, 2018, as the 16th president of Clarion University, she’s only sure of two things.
“On July 1, 2018, Peggy and I will be going on a really great vacation,” said Whitney on Friday when asked about her plans when she leaves.
“I’ve never taken any more than a week’s vacation in my whole life, and I’m thinking three or four weeks. Peggy is going to remain on faculty. She has her own career, and as of July 1, (2018), I will be a supportive spouse of a Clarion University professor. I will have to move out of the big house, and we’re looking at renting or buying. That’s all I know. I don’t know anything else.”
Whitney, in her eighth year at Clarion University, is the longest serving president in the state system. The average length of service for a president at one university like Clarion is approximately six years.
“I felt very strongly about giving the university and trustees ample time for a transition,” said Whitney. “The university is an interesting point of leadership, needing a president and a provost. We’re going to allow the presidential search to go ahead of the provost search. When the new president is named, the new president can be involved in the search and selection of the new provost so that they can work together as a team going forward.”
Whitney’s successor will be selected through a national search, and the university’s Council of Trustees will appoint a search committee that will include representatives from all areas of campus, including students, faculty, staff, and administration, as well as alumni and trustees. An executive search firm will likely be hired to assist with the search. The search committee will review candidates’ credentials and conduct the initial interviews before eventually submitting the names of two continuing candidates to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors for its consideration. The Board of Governors is responsible for hiring university presidents within the state system.
“I think we are also coming to a nice moment for the institution with the way we’ve reorganized ourselves and our new academic programs and our approach to our mission,” said Whitney. “A whole laundry list of things has been achieved, and this feels like it is one of those really good moments for a transition of presidential leadership.”
What would make Clarion look attractive to candidates?
The State System will be releasing a study of the State System and recommendations on possible missions that might include mergers or even closures, but Whitney thinks that such a report will be important for candidates.
“I think the report is going to have more to do about significant changes that need to occur with this system,” said Whitney. “It also needs to include the state’s support and relationship to Clarion.”
“It will help clarify the future, so that’s helpful. When you’re trying to build the national interest in Clarion, and you’re building a pool of the best candidates, I think clarity is the most important thing. All of higher education — every college and university has its particular strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it’s part of the mix. Often what drives anyone to be a college president is the mix.”
“The key here isn’t our particular challenge. The key is our strength and our resilience to overcome challenge. I think Clarion is very resilient. If you look at what we’ve achieved during a very difficult period, we have added over a dozen new credentials. We have a distinctive mission of programs in business education and health and human services. We contributed in a variety of ways to this region that are vital. That’s going to draw candidates from across the country to be interested in Clarion.”
Comparing Clarion
A series on PASSHE last week examined various aspects of the system, and one article compared Clarion and sister university Slippery Rock. On the one hand, Slippery Rock has experienced dramatic enrollment growth and expanding academic programs, while Clarion has recorded a 29 percent drop in enrollment since 2010.
When Whitney was asked what she thought the differences were between the two western Pennsylvania schools, she said Clarion constantly evaluates itself on its own measurements. She continues to be optimistic that Clarion enrollment is on the upswing.
“We’ve always looked at the other 13 universities on a variety of metrics so that we can gain an insight into what are we doing well and what do we need to do better,” said Whitney. “I don’t just look at Slippery Rock; I look at all of them. We’re always looking at our approach to recruitment and retrenchment, our overall approach to the college experience. The numbers are helpful.”
“There are areas that we do better than Slippery Rock, and there are areas right now that Slippery Rock does better than us. Right now, as of a report this week, we are up significantly in the number of new transfer students this fall, and Slippery Rock is down.”
“It’s a mix of numbers, and it’s not all one or the other. Slippery Rocks has its strengths and challenges, and so do we. It’s kind of like when you have a retirement portfolio with the stock market, and you have a bunch of stock in one area, and that takes a hit. We took a real big hit in our education credentials, and it took years to rebound from that by offering other credentials.”
“Slippery Rock started doing that before we did. It takes years to develop new credentials, to get them approved, to market them, to help people in the region to understand that we’re offering them, and then to get the recruitment pipeline. We’re doing it, and it is paying off. They did it years before us; I’m talking ten years ahead of us, predating my administration. Our interest is now to leap over them into other areas. It’s a friendly competition.”
“I’m happy for Slippery Rock, and at the same time, though, I’m fiercely determined to develop a diverse portfolio of credentials that are of interest to our students and in demand by regional employers.”
Clarion’s mission focus changing
“Hence our focus on our mission of professionally preparing students in business, education, and health and human services. We stepped back and did a lot of research and constituent engagement and evolved again, and we are launching our College of Health and Human Services soon at Venango Campus. The new college is an academic college that joins the College of Arts, Education, Science and the College of Business and Information Sciences. Clarion has three colleges operating on what I call four platforms or arenas—our campus in Clarion, our campus in Oil City, a site in Pittsburgh, and online.”
“All that is based on the data we looked at, determining where the student enrollment is driving toward and where the jobs are. That’s why July 1 we are officially launching our new College of Health and Human Services because that’s our largest portfolio of credentials that are growing.”
Does focus mean a different kind of education?
With the concentrated focus on health and human services and other programs, Whitney was asked if she thinks Clarion is becoming more of a trade school.
“I don’t know what a trade school is, so I can’t really answer that question. I can tell you we are focused for two reasons.”
“That’s what the students have consistently told us; that is what they are interested in, and they want a college academic experience, and that’s what employers are looking for in the region. Being a state-owned university I think that’s the role we fulfill in society.”
“We started out in 1867 as a seminary that graduated Methodist ministers, a professional position, and in 1887, as Clarion Normal School that supported a profession of teachers. We’ve always been professionally focused in what we do. It’s owning that history and leveraging it, and then we went from teachers to people in business, and we are now a major producer of people who wish to enter in careers of health and human services. The imperative need of people in health and human services in 2017 is equivalent to the need of teachers in the 1880’s. I think that is fully our purpose, and we’re continuing to fill it over the last 150 years as a university.”
Education for professional careers has been a familiar theme at Clarion throughout the years, including the slogan of “Advancing Academic Excellence, Shaping Professional Careers” in the 2000’s.
The Clarion years have been good for Karen Whitney
Whitney plans to have a very busy final year, much like the seven years she has already put into the position.
“I’ve worked very hard to do what I was hired to do, I’ve worked very hard to serve the community. Certainly, I’ve worked hard to do what was asked of me by the trustees as well as the system and the board of governors. It’s been an absolute joy to work with all of the people I’ve worked with.”
“Certainly, I’ve had many learning curves and surprises because every university is different, but I enjoyed that. I’ve enjoyed tackling tough stuff.”
Asked if she has had to develop a thicker skin since she has been president, and she said her prior experience in working in student affairs helped.
“Actually, coming from student affairs, you get a pretty thick skin working in the nitty-gritty areas with students and their challenges. You need to keep a sense of humor and perspective, and I don’t mind criticisms. In fact, I often find discussions to be very helpful because that gives me some insight into — are there still other ways to deal with whatever we’re talking about.”
“It’s fine to criticize a great position or something you’re compassionate about, but don’t vilify the person. I really believe — and it’s inevitable over the seven years — there are people who personally attacked me — that made personal attacks. I have had people say nasty, despicable things about me personally and about my family. I will never forget that. I feel sorry for people that do that, and I would ask that they not do that, and I would ask everyone around them to encourage them to stop.”
“I do enjoy a hearty discussion about differences of opinion — about how the university you love could fulfill its mission. I think that’s really fair, and it’s interesting and good that we should do that.”
“What I do not like is incivility and bullying. I have been disappointed at moments in time. It doesn’t hurt just me, but it hurts the whole community.”
