I've actually been here at Drury 13 years. I was dean of a business school (at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.) before I came ... to Drury to teach accounting and to lead the (Drury Students in Free Enterprise) team. I started as the director of the Breech school in 2001.
How has the Breech School changed?
It's grown substantially in terms of the number of majors. In 2001, we had three majors (and) we now have six: accounting, computer information systems, economics, finance, management and marketing. We've seen the corresponding growth in the number of (students with those majors). At last count, we had 315 (students with those majors). ... We've been able to establish a niche in the market.
What's your proudest accomplishment?
Our graduates are providing leadership all throughout the world. Even some of our younger graduates ... are making some significant impact on their communities and their particular companies. I'm proud that we have been able to grow and still maintain small class sizes and the one-on-one faculty interaction that sort of has characterized Drury. I'm proud of the accomplishments of the SIFE team. When I came, that was one of my first directives, to begin a SIFE team. Three national championships and two World Cup championships later, I think it's been a pretty successful venture. Last year was my last year (leading Drury SIFE). ... We've gotten lots of national attention, and students ... come here to be on the SIFE team at Drury. The Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship creation was a significant event during my administration.
Tell us about the Coker College job.
Last year ... I was on an (American Council on Education) fellowship ... so I was actually away from campus most of the last year at Hendrix College (in Arkansas). We spent time analyzing what we and others thought were our strengths and what would be an appropriate match. ... One of the presidents I met in my fellowship year nominated me (for the Coker job) ... and it looked like a nice opportunity. I took the initial interview and that went well, and then when my wife and I went there, we just fell in love with the campus and the community.
How are your preparing yourself to move into the role of college president?
I spent the last year working with the senior leadership team at Hendrix. I tried to solidify areas that I'd not had that much exposure to. For example, I spent time with the enrollment management function of the university, the admissions unit. ... I also spent time learning more about athletics, which is not an area that I've had much experience with. ... I've spent a lot of time already with (Coker College's) people ... trying to get up to speed with where they are in preparing a new strategic plan.
Will you teach at Coker College?
That's not going to happen. If I have one sort of misgiving about assuming a presidency role, it is that I won't be able to be actually in the classroom anymore. ... The Coker campus is so student-centered, that I suspect I'll be able to get those kinds of interactions in different ways. Everybody knows everybody ... and the president's house is directly across from his office on the campus, so it's a very residential small town within a small town kind of feel.
What do you hope to complete before your last day at Drury on May 31?
We're getting ready to launch what we're calling a blitz (Master of Business Administration) program. Students (who have undergraduate degrees) can come to our program and, in one year, finish a Drury MBA. If people have backgrounds that are not in business, they can take an additional summer before the program ... and have an MBA in a year and a half. The boot camp would be in August, and we've already got the curriculum developed. Of course, I'd like to see the SIFE team win another national championship.[[In-content Ad]]Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover.
