Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the Forward Together podcast. My guest today is Dr. Monica Lounsbury, Wichita State University's brand new provost and Senior executive vice president. Dr. Lounsbury comes to Shocker Nation from Cal State University, Long beach and brings with her an extensive record of leadership in higher education. Welcome to the Forward Together podcast. Monica, it's so good for you to be here today on the podcast and welcome to Wichita State University.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: Well, thank you so much. It's wonderful to be here with you.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Well, we're going to have a little conversation about what you're up to and why you decided to come here. I'm very thrilled that you decided to come from California to Wichita State University as our senior executive vice president and provost. So. But, so tell up, tell me or tell the listeners what attracted you to Wichita State University and what excites you the most about Shocker Nation?
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Well, I've said this many times already to the many people back home and the many people that are here, but I think Wichita State University is one of the most exciting models of higher education I've ever encountered.
I'm particularly very interested in the role that you play in really helping to shape incredible experiences for students here. The student centered nature of this university is incredibly inspiring. But I think additionally what makes Wichita State University extremely unique is that you're really working with the communities, you're building that pipeline talent, you're working to enrich the lives of the, the broader community. And you're really driving economic development as a university. And I think Innovation Campus is the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen. And I think it puts Wichita State University uniquely poised, I think, to lead the country and what is the future of higher education. And I certainly want to be part of that. And so it's certainly an honor to be here in this role and to work with you and the team that you've been able to bring to this table. And I think sky's the limit of what can happen here in this university in this setting. So couldn't be more pleased to be here.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: Well, that's music to my ears, of course, and we're just really excited about your fresh ideas and how you can help us move to the next level. And you've had an impressive career in higher education and you might want to, there's probably information that people can read about, you might want to just briefly talk about what that is.
But also how do you see that experience influencing your role here and helping Wichita State move forward?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Well, you know, I started out as thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. And of course, like many of our students, I don't think I necessarily knew, but I knew that I like to learn. And so I oftentimes joke with my students that if you stay in university long enough, they'll give you a job. And I think that certainly applied to me.
So I found myself in the role of an academic and really learning about teaching and learning about broader university service and certainly research.
I love all three of those missions. They're really important to me as I've pursued my career in administration.
I've been at many universities. I'm originally from Wyoming.
[00:03:35] Speaker B: So you're okay with the cold?
[00:03:36] Speaker A: I'm okay with the cold weather. People are worried about how shocking it is to me and I'm thinking, why are you so worried about this weather?
But what I really, you know, is exciting for me is that I'm a little bit coming back home because a lot of people don't know that. I got my Master's and my PhD from the University of Nebraska. But from there I really did a little bit of work with Purdue University. One is abd. I worked on a large scale grant with center for Disease Control and Prevention and Nike. So it was a business and industry partnership with the university. And that was super exciting to me.
I went from there to Utah State University where I was an assistant professor, and then shortly thereafter moved to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. And I was there for 15 years, pursued tenure, promotion, and of course moved into administrative roles pretty rapidly. I was a founding chair of a department and then I moved into upper administration in the provost's office.
When I was there, I was associate vice provost and vice provost and then eventually associate dean in a school of medicine.
What's really unique about the experience that I had at UNLV was they were under some of the same pressures, but also some of the same interests that Wichita State has. I mean, there was enormous pressure to really grow the economy and diversify the economy of Nevada for UNR and unlv. And so we really had a chance to work at that level in thinking about our relationship to the community and where we could really engineer some things on our campus that could pay huge dividends to the entire state. And some of the things that we really dreamed up and made come that came to fruition for us was the brand new School of Medicine and Medical Corridor, a health corridor that was established in Las Vegas. And I'm sure that that's continuing to grow since I've been gone from there. But we also dreamed up an NFL sized stadium. And of course, we had lots of discussions around where that stadium would be located, whether it was on the campus of UNLV or on the Strip. And we know where the legacy of that happened. And then after unlv, I had the opportunity to go work in the School of Medicine once we established that and put in the faculty enterprise there. But then from there I moved to Long Beach State University, where I had the extraordinary honor of running a very large, diverse college in health and human services. And so I was there eight and a half years and I'm really was thinking about my own career trajectory and leadership and super excited, of course, to apply here and then of course, be able to be appointed to this position. And so I'm super delighted about the roles that I've been able to play and how it plays into the role I can play here and what I can bring to Wichita State.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Yeah, and you have a lot of, of course, the faculty experience, which is always so important when you're leading divisions of academic affairs as provost, but you have that healthcare background. And as the university is embarking on building a biomedical campus, that's going to be really key to help us move that along in a positive way. So that was one of the things that I was most interested in you, at least on paper. But then further conversations with you. Well, it's not the most. I think that was interesting. What I was really interested about you was you immediately understood what we were trying to do here and saw that as an advantage and as an opportunity. And not everybody sees that and is threatened by that.
So I really appreciated that when we first met.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: So, on a lighthearted note, I don't know how much you want to talk about this. You're the lead singer in a rock band, so that band's name is Higher.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Ed, by the way.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
So tell me more about that. I don't think we've ever had a provost who's been a singer. Yeah, maybe they sang in the shower or whatever, but certainly not a rock band. So tell us more about that.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Well, you know, I had a chance to visit with folks at the meet and greet the other day, and coincidentally, this conversation came up as a question from the audience because people have heard a little bit about some of my hobbies and things I really like to do outside of the university environment. But it really came from this real love of learning and being bold about, you know, trying new things. And I think when we try new things, it does create vulnerabilities for us around the possibility of failing at something. And it took some cajoling about, you know, from a colleague of mine, when I said, hey, you know, my kids are gone now. I'm not sure what I can do with my life besides being academic. I wonder what I'll pursue next. Maybe I'll just join a band. He said, well, what can you do? And I said, well, I think I can sing. And he said, well, are you any good? And I'm like, of course. I'm a legend in my own mind. Of course I can sing. And he kept asking me if. If I'd like to go and play with him because he used to be in the band. And I said, well, we'll do that sometime. And then he got pretty persistent about it. We ended up kind of having a few sessions, and he was pretty surprised that I actually could sing. And two members became three members, and they were all members of higher education. And three members became four and eventually five. And then we started getting gigs, and people were paying us, and people were like, there's a dean and she's the lead singer of a band. And that really attracted a lot of attention. And, you know, one of the things that I wasn't expecting in, you know, pursuing a little bit of a hobby and a singing career is that it really made me more approachable to our faculty, to our students, because they saw me more as a person and not an idea of a person that thought I was. And so I really, really enjoy that aspect of showing the diversification of the roles that we play in life and also the fact that we're all learning and we're all trying new things. And honestly, I think it's so important to have fun. So I just really like singing, and I think I might be able to join a band here.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: Well, that's what I heard. Yeah. Can't wait to Eastone is share that clip of you singing. Okay, so.
Well, that's kind of a segue. I've heard you talk about this before and how that has really helped you understand more what it's like to put yourself out there in a kind of a team environment and showing people, you know, you have to be a little vulnerable to, you know, when you're in that situation. Right. You don't always know how it's going to go. And I think that's a good lesson, a good way of introducing yourself to our faculty and our staff when you're talking about how we collectively can develop goals together.
So tell me more about how you plan to bring people together and help us move the university forward.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I really appreciate that because I also, as part of my background, I think many people know. But we'll tell our listeners today that I also once was a student athlete and I was a coach.
And in that role, I really learned a lot about individual contributions to a team and how important it was to play sometimes different roles to help the team succeed. And I haven't really dropped the idea about the importance of team chemistry, the importance of differential but valued roles that people can play. And I've really brought that into my leadership as a dean and now as provost. I think it's really important to learn what people's talent and proclivities really are and what roles they actually do play and want to play. I do believe in full participation and leveraging as much of our intellectual capacity and talent as we can to reach greater heights. And so I'm really looking forward to getting to know people and to learn more about how we can build a more cohesive team. And Dean's Counsel One of the first things I said, if we are a team and I want to propose that we are a team, and I think we are, we should think about the kind of team we want to be. Do we want to be a golf team where we go out and golf our round and then report our scores? Do we want to be a basketball team where we've got some strategy and different things at different points of time because of things that are happening and we all win when we can, I think, really leverage those strengths? And so we're going to continue to lean into that. But I think we really want to try to really think about taking inventory on time, thinking about our bandwidth, thinking about things that we're already doing well, but things that we need to really work on improving? And one of the things that I'm super excited to continue to leverage as an enterprise where we can really think about entrepreneurialism and our way of thinking about our roles that can bring new opportunities to our students in our campus. And I just think that there seems to be, at least preliminarily, a lot of appetite for that. And so I'm excited to see what we can make happen. But those things are starting to come into more clear focus, but more to come on how we're going to really start to learn more about what we're doing and leverage the things that we're already doing and advance our work.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: Well, it's been clear to me we've been here just a few weeks now but it's been clear to me just from hearing from you, but also feedback that people like to just share spontaneously about our new provost, that you have clear. You have a clear strategy, and they seem to understand that. And I learned a long time ago in central administration type roles is that we want to give people the freedom and empower them to lead and move forward. But they also want some boundaries, too. They need some parameters. And our three priorities help provide that.
So I. I really appreciate what you've been doing in this short period of time that you've been here so far. So looking forward to all the great things that come out of your office and. And what you're doing.
What. Before I ask this next question, because we're going to get into some little fun thing here just to try to get to know you a little bit.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: One of the things I love about Wichita State, y'all like to have some fun.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Yeah, we don't. I try not to take myself too serious, and I think most people around me feel the same way. We have this picture of Monica and I as members of the Kiss band because she's, you know, sings in a rock band. So that's always fun.
Yeah, we do.
Life's too short. Yeah. If you can't have fun and laugh, you know, what else. What else can you do?
Let me ask you, before we go to this next question, what would be something that you would say looks like success? In the first hundred days of Monica Lounsbury at Wichita State, what would you hope to be able to accomplish?
[00:15:48] Speaker A: Wow. Just one thing.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: It can be more than one.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: Well, I really think starting to operationalize how we're going to work together, I think among the deans, but across the divisions, you know, learning more about what we have and what we've been doing and then really setting a course of how we, you know, continue the play and really better leverage the work that has been going on. And I think what's really important is for me to just learn some of those things. I've already learned a lot. I'm probably retaining about 25% of.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: Drinking from the fire hose.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: Yeah, drinking from the fire hose. But, you know, I really think success is going to look like really understanding what are some of the catalytic immediate things that we can do that will pay huge dividends in the future, but have high impact so that people realize that we are advancing and we are going to get to some of the things that are on the minds of folks.
So I'm really looking forward to being able to, you know, Reveal the results of a listening tour that is really looking at a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats exercise to help us understand where we can really start to be on the same page with one another and how we can start to really think about the things that you have asked me to really accomplish as provost. With first and foremost, really looking at our enrollment and making sure that we can sustain enrollment, but really grow it. And really thinking about, of course, working on our inclusive excellence. Really, I think shaping and creating broader accomplishments in our research enterprise, growing our PhD graduates, and I think finally really advancing our work and thinking about conceptualizing and then planning for the biomedical center in downtown Wichita. Those are really what's on my mind. And I'm really excited to just see what we can garner from that SWOT analysis and be able to present that. That will be a way for us to start to codify a plan.
[00:18:09] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that would be a lot to accomplish in 100 days. We'll be there to help one another. And you have lots of great people on your team too, to help move that forward. So appreciate hearing that. Okay. So it's a little bit of fun so people can get to know you a little bit more. All those folks in Shocker Nation who are listening to this, we're going to do a rapid fire game of this or that.
[00:18:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: It's already ready.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Okay. I think you can answer. Next, please. Coffee or tea?
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Coffee.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah. I've seen you drink tea at night.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: Decaffeinated.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: Okay.
Summer or winter?
[00:18:49] Speaker A: I think summer. I have a little bit. Enough of that.
[00:18:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm with you on that.
Dogs or cats?
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Dogs.
[00:18:56] Speaker B: Okay. Do you have a dog?
[00:18:57] Speaker A: I do have a dog.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Okay. What kind of dog do you have?
[00:18:59] Speaker A: He's a stut. I mean, I love pound. I love it. Apca person. Love, love, love, love saving, saving things.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: What's your dog's name?
[00:19:09] Speaker A: Reese.
[00:19:10] Speaker B: Reese.
[00:19:11] Speaker A: Uhhuh.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: Cool. Sweet or salty?
[00:19:15] Speaker A: I think salty as I've gotten older.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Okay. All right.
Window seat or aisle seat?
[00:19:22] Speaker A: Definitely aisle.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, because you can spread out a little bit. I want to not feel trapped in.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't want to be blaster for me a little bit.
[00:19:30] Speaker B: Morning person or night owl?
[00:19:32] Speaker A: Definitely night owl. I know that that's not you.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Yeah, that's definitely not me for sure.
Beach vacation or mountain getaway?
[00:19:43] Speaker A: That's a tough one.
Well, I have a house near the beach, so I'm thinking a mountain getaway.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah.
Take out or dine in?
[00:19:53] Speaker A: Oh, depends if I'm tired or not. So if I'm tired. I'm definitely doing a takeout, but if I want to have an experience, I'm going to dine in.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: Okay.
Books or movies?
[00:20:06] Speaker A: That's also really hard. I like books at night and movies. Sometimes on the weekends. And sometimes mostly on the weekends also.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Okay. And then long road trip or quick flight?
[00:20:18] Speaker A: Quick flight.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
See, those weren't too hard.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: They weren't too hard, but I think I didn't answer some of them, but, you know, to be fair.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, it's kind of hard sometimes to think about which one of those. And, you know, like, I like sweet and salty things together. Yeah, I do, too. Yeah. Well, it's good to talk to you. We're looking forward to your time here at the university, and we'll probably have other times to have further conversations on this podcast, and I'm just looking forward to all the great things ahead. So good to see you. And we'll be in some meetings together, I'm sure.
[00:20:56] Speaker A: I'm sure we will.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:20:57] Speaker A: All right, thanks, President Midlaw, and thank.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: You all for listening. And be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to the Forward Together podcast. Go Shockers.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: Sponsorship for the Forward Together podcast is provided by Scott Rice officeworks and the Shocker Store.
Additional thanks to Nair Amp WSU Carpentry.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: Shop and Go Create.
