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| Lynette Robinson |
Lynette Robinson will become ANAC executive director on September 1. John Ross, ANAC communications advisor and principal at RossWrites, interviewed Lynette to introduce her to ANAC members and friends and to provide a glimpse of her views and plans as she joins the Associated New American Colleges.
In your interview, both presidents and institutional representatives were impressed when you began your answer to the question of why you were interested in ANAC with the statement: “Well, I just turned 60….” I’m sure others would like to hear your thinking on this. Turning 60 felt like a perfect time to reflect on where I have been and where I want to go, both personally and professionally. Although my position as vice chancellor at the Board of Higher Education was still satisfying and challenging, I decided that if I were going to make a change, now is the time to do it.
But I did not want to change for the sake of change. I wanted to be sure my next position was one to which I could be totally committed and one for which my diverse and somewhat unusual combination of skills and experiences could be beneficial.
When I first read about ANAC and what the group was seeking in a new executive director, I immediately felt a connection. The position seemed to bring together all the varied parts of my career. It would utilize the skills and strengths I value most. That feeling has only intensified as I have personally met and talked with members of the consortium during the interview process. I am confident that ANAC is where I want to commit my energies and where I can make a difference.
You speak of your diverse and somewhat unusual combination of experiences. Can you talk more about them and what they mean in terms of your work with ANAC?
To me a great strength of American higher education is its diversity, yet when one looks at career paths, often there are lines that are seldom crossed. The line between the public and independent sectors is one such barrier. Curricular and co-curricular is another. Even moving from one institutional type to another is somewhat uncommon. I have been fortunate during my career to have spent considerable time in both the public and the independent sectors. I have worked on individual campuses, in associations, and in large state systems. In these roles I have worked closely with institutions representing the breadth of Carnegie classifications and have held leadership positions in admissions, student development, and academic affairs. I have been deeply involved with trustee relations and in accreditation. I know something of the frustrations and rewards inherent in many of the responsibilities borne by the staff and faculty of ANAC institutions, and the challenges in being at an external agency coordinating campus efforts. These experiences bring useful perspective to our work together.
You have worked at Earlham College, Simmons College, and Boston College, and with a public system that includes community and state colleges and universities. How does your experience at these institutions inform your understanding of the New American College?
It not only informs my understanding of the New American College, it makes me a passionate proponent. The three independent institutions share important values and priorities.
I was first a student and later an administrator at Earlham, a small, Quaker, liberal arts college. Earlham is a student-learning and value-centered institution that cares deeply about community, service, and preparing students to contribute to the world in which they live. It is also one of the most integrated and collaborative collegiate environments that I have seen—where governance is truly shared, where decisions are made (or not made) using consensus, where teaching-faculty and administrative-faculty participate in faculty meetings, where each person’s voice is respected, and where education is viewed as a “process of awakening the teacher within” each student.
Simmons’ mission is different but equally clear and shared. Simmons values the importance of the liberal arts and sciences, but it also places equal emphasis on integrating learning in the liberal arts with professional preparation with a focus on preparing women for successful careers and meaningful lives. Faculty are mentors not only in the classroom but also in applying what students learned to the world outside the classroom. When students graduate from Simmons, they leave with a tremendous confidence about themselves and their futures that supports them wherever they go. Boston College, with its Jesuit mission, combines many of the attributes of those institutions but adds the responsibilities and pressures of being a highly competitive and successful research university.
All three institutions are invested in their local communities and encourage civic responsibility through community service. They clearly acknowledge their responsibilities and commitments to contributing time, knowledge, and energy of both students and faculty to making the community around them stronger and thereby enriching the lives of both the campus community and the community at large. All are also well aware of preparing students to live in this increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.
I think public institutions share many of the same values but do not always have the financial or political support to achieve them. As publicly supported institutions, they must also remain accessible, highly affordable, and responsive to states’ needs. Because they are part of systems, their ability to pursue their own institutional priorities is often limited. Most private institutions have an autonomy and independence that encourage innovation, flexibility, and creativity – a set of freedoms often envied by those in the public sector.
Many ANAC members cite public flagship universities as among their primary competitors for high-quality students. From your perspectives as a former dean of admissions at a small private liberal arts institution and then at an independent comprehensive master’s institution and from your recent work as the chief academic officer at the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, what must ANAC members do to sustain a competitive advantage over the public sector?
By doing what we profess to do, by staying true to our missions, by demonstrating – with evidence – that we actually do what we claim to do, by remaining affordable, and by getting the word out, we will continue to be institutions of choice for students (and faculty) who understand the needs and opportunities implicit in the emerging global community.
Often large institutions live in departmental and programmatic silos; disciplines do not co-mingle; general education is segregated from major fields of study; co-curricular is divorced from curricular; research is separated from teaching; service is yet another interruption to academic pursuits; and students are, not infrequently, passive bystanders to their own education. I do not see this happening at ANAC institutions. In fact, what I see is exactly the opposite.
ANAC institutions are best practice institutions: student centered—learning-focused, service-oriented, and scholarship-based. They are small and flexible enough to innovate and adjust and respond to the world around them and to know their students and appreciate their various learning styles. Yet ANAC institutions are large enough to present an amazing array of academic and professional opportunities, both at the undergraduate and graduate level—especially when they collaborate. They are wise enough to know that their enduring value is in their ability to integrate these approaches in order to intentionally prepare graduates who are empowered to improve the world.
I do believe, however, that to maintain our “competitive advantage” we need to be more aggressive in communicating the advantages of ANAC schools and the model of higher education we demonstrate. I think there are many ways to do this together and I look forward to exploring these with our campuses.
You’ll come aboard on September 1st. What are your plans for your first few months as ANAC’s Executive Director?
The first ten years of ANAC have clearly been very successful. The question before us is how we build on the strong foundation that Jerry and the many ANAC champions – past and present – have established. During the first three months of my tenure, I plan to visit many of your campuses – hopefully, all if I can. I spent the first two decades of my life as a Texan, and Texans are not intimidated by a few hundred miles in one direction or another if there is something they want to do.
I have already spent a great deal of time on each institution’s Web site, and I am incredibly impressed by what they offer, both individually and collectively, and by the leadership and vision of faculty and administrators. But I want to see each campus for myself and to meet my campus colleagues. I want to hear what they expect from ANAC in the next five to ten years and how ANAC can support their aspirations. These visits will help the campuses get to know me, but above all, I want to listen and learn from them.
The dialogue that results from the campus visits and from discussions with institutional representatives, presidents, leaders of affinity groups, and our friends in higher education will lead us toward a strategic planning process. Many of our campuses have recently gone through dynamic, inclusive planning processes as they set their own goals and priorities. I hope to use these as models for the formulation of our own strategic plan. ANAC’s plan should complement those of the campuses. As a veteran of scores of self-studies, I believe that ANAC’s plan must be future-driven, action-oriented, and results- focused. As firm a believer as I am in inclusive processes, I am equally committed to outcomes.
Though the focus of ANAC on sharing experiences and data for the general improvement of its members has remained consistent since its founding in 1995, the membership has changed, new leadership is emerging on campuses, new initiatives have been undertaken, and the external environment in which we operate is ever-evolving. The ANAC of tomorrow needs to reflect the aspirations of all of its members from our founding members to our newest additions, and all should be assured that they have an equal voice. One of my goals will be to make that happen.
Effective consortiums demonstrate the value they add to the endeavors of their members. I want each member to be able to point to the benefits of membership in ANAC and how those benefits enhance the institution’s ability to achieve its mission and goals. I want the larger higher education community to continue to view ANAC members as “best of class” and to be able to point to the impact ANAC institutions have on American higher education overall. President Steve Jennings, John Ross, and I have meetings scheduled already with many of the higher education associations in October, and we plan to also meet with several foundations to explore funding opportunities as well.
Where will ANAC be located?
For the time being, I plan to stay in Boston. The education community here is vibrant. Simmons, one of our members, is close at hand, and I live almost next door to the airport. President Harre at Valparaiso has generously offered to continue the University’s role as our fiscal agent. My initial feeling is that there is value in the long run, in terms of organizational credibility, reputation, and resources, to house ANAC on one of our campuses. I will be exploring that possibility with my colleagues when I visit campuses this fall.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes! The letters and e-mails I have received from presidents, provosts, and others have made me feel so welcome. Jerry has been simply tremendous—a natural mentor. He has agreed, graciously, to stay on through December to complete some projects he is working on and to provide support. The more I know about the people who really are ANAC, the staff and faculty, the more convinced I become that I am very fortunate to have been selected for this wonderful position. I cannot wait to start on September 1.
Beginning July 27, Lynette can be reached at lynetterw@comcast.net, (617) 418-5261, 603-498-8875 (cell). Her mailing address: Lynette Robinson, Ph.D., 195 Webster St., Apartment One, East Boston, MA 02108.
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