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The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President

Sandra Phoenix

Wed, Jan 16, 2013 12:10 PM

The Huffington Post
January 10, 2013

The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President

Finally, Tennessee State University (TSU) has new leadership. Her name is Glenda Glover and she is an alumna of the institution. She comes to TSU from Jackson State University, where she served as the Dean of the School of Business. From my read of the HBCU presidential pool, Glover was relatively unknown on a national front. However, her past experience seems to have given her the vision to lead TSU, an institution that has been struggling for decades and has been mired in controversy in recent years.

Glover gave a speech on the TSU campus this week and during the talk she did several important things. First, she began her speech by talking about the future of the institution rather than resting on the past. More HBCUs and their leaders need to focus on the future. Yes, the history of these venerable institutions is important, but the nation is changing and as such, HBCUs need to change as well.

Next, Glover jumpstarted her push for increased fundraising and subsequent philanthropic support by giving $50,000 of her own money to support student scholarships (David Wilson of Morgan State University did something similar when he became president). With this donation, Glover challenged the TSU alumni chapters around the country to raise $50,000 each. She seems to understand how important alumni giving is to the future of HBCUs. Although others may give, it is the responsibility of HBCU alumni to support their institutions by giving regularly. Glover has to communicate this sentiment and garner action on the part of the TSU alumni.

The third thing that Glover did was identify the problem areas on campus and commit to focusing her energies there. In TSU's case, those areas are the institutions' academics and customer service (a common problem for many HBCUs) as well as fundraising. In addition to these challenges, Glover pointed to two other areas that are particularly important to the future of HBCUs. First, she acknowledged the importance of shared governance. One of the biggest frustrations among HBCU faculty is the lack of shared governance that they often experience. In TSU's case, faculty members have had little if any voice in the institution's governance. In fact, interim president Portia Shields had the chair of the faculty senate arrested recently, causing uproar among the faculty. Although some presidents think that a college should be run like a business, they are mistaken. Yes, colleges need to be fiscally sound and efficient, but student learning and the production of knowledge complicate a steadfast focus on ONLY the bottom line. HBCUs need more cooperation between faculty and administration for the good of student learning. I am happy to hear that Glover is listening to faculty members' concerns.

The second important area that Glover focused on is diversity and inclusion. As the nation is changing in terms of demographics, HBCUs will become more diverse. Although they can and should maintain their historic focus on African American students, more and more Latino, White, and Asian students will be enrolling and HBCUs need to meet their needs as well. Of course, HBCUs have a long history of inclusion of other racial and ethnic minorities, but actively recruiting a more racially diverse class has not been the norm.

With these goals and her energy, Glover seems poised to lead TSU in meaningful and innovative ways. However, in order to do so, she will need the support of alumni, the community, and to attract the attention of business partners and philanthropists. By paying attention to the institution's challenges first, she will likely succeed.

SANDRA M. PHOENIX
Executive Director
HBCU Library Alliance
sphoenix@hbculibraries.org mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org
www.hbculibraries.org http://www.hbculibraries.org/
800-999-8558, ext. 4820
404-520-0593
Skype: sandra.phoenix1

1438 West Peachtree NW
Suite 200
Atlanta,GA 30309
Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS)
Fax: 404.892.7879
www.lyrasis.org http://www.lyrasis.org/
Honor the ancestors, honor

The Huffington Post January 10, 2013 The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President Finally, Tennessee State University (TSU) has new leadership. Her name is Glenda Glover and she is an alumna of the institution. She comes to TSU from Jackson State University, where she served as the Dean of the School of Business. From my read of the HBCU presidential pool, Glover was relatively unknown on a national front. However, her past experience seems to have given her the vision to lead TSU, an institution that has been struggling for decades and has been mired in controversy in recent years. Glover gave a speech on the TSU campus this week and during the talk she did several important things. First, she began her speech by talking about the future of the institution rather than resting on the past. More HBCUs and their leaders need to focus on the future. Yes, the history of these venerable institutions is important, but the nation is changing and as such, HBCUs need to change as well. Next, Glover jumpstarted her push for increased fundraising and subsequent philanthropic support by giving $50,000 of her own money to support student scholarships (David Wilson of Morgan State University did something similar when he became president). With this donation, Glover challenged the TSU alumni chapters around the country to raise $50,000 each. She seems to understand how important alumni giving is to the future of HBCUs. Although others may give, it is the responsibility of HBCU alumni to support their institutions by giving regularly. Glover has to communicate this sentiment and garner action on the part of the TSU alumni. The third thing that Glover did was identify the problem areas on campus and commit to focusing her energies there. In TSU's case, those areas are the institutions' academics and customer service (a common problem for many HBCUs) as well as fundraising. In addition to these challenges, Glover pointed to two other areas that are particularly important to the future of HBCUs. First, she acknowledged the importance of shared governance. One of the biggest frustrations among HBCU faculty is the lack of shared governance that they often experience. In TSU's case, faculty members have had little if any voice in the institution's governance. In fact, interim president Portia Shields had the chair of the faculty senate arrested recently, causing uproar among the faculty. Although some presidents think that a college should be run like a business, they are mistaken. Yes, colleges need to be fiscally sound and efficient, but student learning and the production of knowledge complicate a steadfast focus on ONLY the bottom line. HBCUs need more cooperation between faculty and administration for the good of student learning. I am happy to hear that Glover is listening to faculty members' concerns. The second important area that Glover focused on is diversity and inclusion. As the nation is changing in terms of demographics, HBCUs will become more diverse. Although they can and should maintain their historic focus on African American students, more and more Latino, White, and Asian students will be enrolling and HBCUs need to meet their needs as well. Of course, HBCUs have a long history of inclusion of other racial and ethnic minorities, but actively recruiting a more racially diverse class has not been the norm. With these goals and her energy, Glover seems poised to lead TSU in meaningful and innovative ways. However, in order to do so, she will need the support of alumni, the community, and to attract the attention of business partners and philanthropists. By paying attention to the institution's challenges first, she will likely succeed. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor

Swan, Ruth M.

Wed, Jan 16, 2013 1:19 PM

Thanks for Posting!

For those who need the source information, here is the link.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marybeth-gasman/the-right-approach-tennes_
b_2444807.html

Ruth M. Swan, Ph.D.
Interim Director of Libraries
309 Coleman Memorial Library
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL 32307-4700
Office: 850.599.3370
Fax: 850.561.2293
URL: http://www.famu.edu/library http://www.famu.edu/library

University Libraries; Striking for Excellence!

From: hbcu-lib-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org
[mailto:hbcu-lib-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org] On Behalf Of Sandra
Phoenix
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 7:11 AM
To: Hbcu-libadmin@lists.hbculibraries.org
Cc: Hbcu-lib@lists.hbculibraries.org
Subject: The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President

The Huffington Post

January 10, 2013

The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President

Finally, Tennessee State University (TSU) has new leadership. Her name
is Glenda Glover and she is an alumna of the institution. She comes to
TSU from Jackson State University, where she served as the Dean of the
School of Business. From my read of the HBCU presidential pool, Glover
was relatively unknown on a national front. However, her past experience
seems to have given her the vision to lead TSU, an institution that has
been struggling for decades and has been mired in controversy in recent
years.

Glover gave a speech on the TSU campus this week and during the talk she
did several important things. First, she began her speech by talking
about the future of the institution rather than resting on the past.
More HBCUs and their leaders need to focus on the future. Yes, the
history of these venerable institutions is important, but the nation is
changing and as such, HBCUs need to change as well.

Next, Glover jumpstarted her push for increased fundraising and
subsequent philanthropic support by giving $50,000 of her own money to
support student scholarships (David Wilson of Morgan State University
did something similar when he became president). With this donation,
Glover challenged the TSU alumni chapters around the country to raise
$50,000 each. She seems to understand how important alumni giving is to
the future of HBCUs. Although others may give, it is the responsibility
of HBCU alumni to support their institutions by giving regularly. Glover
has to communicate this sentiment and garner action on the part of the
TSU alumni.

The third thing that Glover did was identify the problem areas on campus
and commit to focusing her energies there. In TSU's case, those areas
are the institutions' academics and customer service (a common problem
for many HBCUs) as well as fundraising. In addition to these challenges,
Glover pointed to two other areas that are particularly important to the
future of HBCUs. First, she acknowledged the importance of shared
governance. One of the biggest frustrations among HBCU faculty is the
lack of shared governance that they often experience. In TSU's case,
faculty members have had little if any voice in the institution's
governance. In fact, interim president Portia Shields had the chair of
the faculty senate arrested recently, causing uproar among the faculty.
Although some presidents think that a college should be run like a
business, they are mistaken. Yes, colleges need to be fiscally sound and
efficient, but student learning and the production of knowledge
complicate a steadfast focus on ONLY the bottom line. HBCUs need more
cooperation between faculty and administration for the good of student
learning. I am happy to hear that Glover is listening to faculty
members' concerns.

The second important area that Glover focused on is diversity and
inclusion. As the nation is changing in terms of demographics, HBCUs
will become more diverse. Although they can and should maintain their
historic focus on African American students, more and more Latino,
White, and Asian students will be enrolling and HBCUs need to meet their
needs as well. Of course, HBCUs have a long history of inclusion of
other racial and ethnic minorities, but actively recruiting a more
racially diverse class has not been the norm.

With these goals and her energy, Glover seems poised to lead TSU in
meaningful and innovative ways. However, in order to do so, she will
need the support of alumni, the community, and to attract the attention
of business partners and philanthropists. By paying attention to the
institution's challenges first, she will likely succeed.

SANDRA M. PHOENIX

Executive Director

HBCU Library Alliance

sphoenix@hbculibraries.org

www.hbculibraries.org http://www.hbculibraries.org/

800-999-8558, ext. 4820

404-520-0593

Skype: sandra.phoenix1

1438 West Peachtree NW
Suite 200

Atlanta,GA 30309

Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS)

Fax: 404.892.7879

www.lyrasis.org http://www.lyrasis.org/

Honor the ancestors, honor

Thanks for Posting! For those who need the source information, here is the link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marybeth-gasman/the-right-approach-tennes_ b_2444807.html Ruth M. Swan, Ph.D. Interim Director of Libraries 309 Coleman Memorial Library Florida A&M University Tallahassee, FL 32307-4700 Office: 850.599.3370 Fax: 850.561.2293 URL: http://www.famu.edu/library <http://www.famu.edu/library> University Libraries; Striking for Excellence! From: hbcu-lib-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org [mailto:hbcu-lib-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org] On Behalf Of Sandra Phoenix Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 7:11 AM To: Hbcu-libadmin@lists.hbculibraries.org Cc: Hbcu-lib@lists.hbculibraries.org Subject: The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President The Huffington Post January 10, 2013 The Right Approach: Tennessee State University's New President Finally, Tennessee State University (TSU) has new leadership. Her name is Glenda Glover and she is an alumna of the institution. She comes to TSU from Jackson State University, where she served as the Dean of the School of Business. From my read of the HBCU presidential pool, Glover was relatively unknown on a national front. However, her past experience seems to have given her the vision to lead TSU, an institution that has been struggling for decades and has been mired in controversy in recent years. Glover gave a speech on the TSU campus this week and during the talk she did several important things. First, she began her speech by talking about the future of the institution rather than resting on the past. More HBCUs and their leaders need to focus on the future. Yes, the history of these venerable institutions is important, but the nation is changing and as such, HBCUs need to change as well. Next, Glover jumpstarted her push for increased fundraising and subsequent philanthropic support by giving $50,000 of her own money to support student scholarships (David Wilson of Morgan State University did something similar when he became president). With this donation, Glover challenged the TSU alumni chapters around the country to raise $50,000 each. She seems to understand how important alumni giving is to the future of HBCUs. Although others may give, it is the responsibility of HBCU alumni to support their institutions by giving regularly. Glover has to communicate this sentiment and garner action on the part of the TSU alumni. The third thing that Glover did was identify the problem areas on campus and commit to focusing her energies there. In TSU's case, those areas are the institutions' academics and customer service (a common problem for many HBCUs) as well as fundraising. In addition to these challenges, Glover pointed to two other areas that are particularly important to the future of HBCUs. First, she acknowledged the importance of shared governance. One of the biggest frustrations among HBCU faculty is the lack of shared governance that they often experience. In TSU's case, faculty members have had little if any voice in the institution's governance. In fact, interim president Portia Shields had the chair of the faculty senate arrested recently, causing uproar among the faculty. Although some presidents think that a college should be run like a business, they are mistaken. Yes, colleges need to be fiscally sound and efficient, but student learning and the production of knowledge complicate a steadfast focus on ONLY the bottom line. HBCUs need more cooperation between faculty and administration for the good of student learning. I am happy to hear that Glover is listening to faculty members' concerns. The second important area that Glover focused on is diversity and inclusion. As the nation is changing in terms of demographics, HBCUs will become more diverse. Although they can and should maintain their historic focus on African American students, more and more Latino, White, and Asian students will be enrolling and HBCUs need to meet their needs as well. Of course, HBCUs have a long history of inclusion of other racial and ethnic minorities, but actively recruiting a more racially diverse class has not been the norm. With these goals and her energy, Glover seems poised to lead TSU in meaningful and innovative ways. However, in order to do so, she will need the support of alumni, the community, and to attract the attention of business partners and philanthropists. By paying attention to the institution's challenges first, she will likely succeed. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org <http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org <http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor