I am grateful to the wonderful students, staff and faculty of Whittier College! It is through collaboration in support of our mission that I will succeed as president of this great institution. Thank you for being my partners on this journey. A big thank you also to my family and friends, and to the speakers who are here to support me today. You have each touched me in varying ways at different times of my life. Your love and support define who I am. Thank you to our Board Chair Jim Brown for your wonderful introduction. And thank you to the whole board for your leadership, and for giving me the chance to make change at Whittier College.
I’d like to start with a story. I vividly remember a day more than 50 years ago when I was pulled out of my first grade classroom at a mostly white elementary school in the San Fernando Valley to sit in the office with a stranger, a nice woman who let me draw pictures, read stories, and play with blocks and other toys. I also remember that the tasks I was asked to do, such as drawing shapes and numbers, and reading words on cards, seemed so easy, so simple, and yet she seemed surprised with the ease in which I completed each task. I went home that day and told my mother that I spent all day in the office playing. What I didn’t know until decades later was that my mother stormed to school the next day, and confronted the principal and demanded to know why Linda was in the office playing all day?! After telling my mother that I had been “tested,” the principal said something like: “We know you’re just a Negro woman, but you need to know that one day, Linda is going to college, and you need to make sure you expose her to everything you can to ensure that she can fulfill this great opportunity to get an education.” What I also didn’t know at the time was that those words were like a foreboding but inspirational dare that hung over the head of my mother for a good part of the next 15 to 20 years. Well, not only did my mother do everything in her power to ensure that my siblings and I had every opportunity to go to college, but she became a role model for all of us, going back to school and completing her own undergraduate and master’s degrees while I was working on mine. I’m sharing this story today because that one moment between an educator and my mother changed the entire trajectory of not only my life, but the lives of my entire family, including those who came after me. This is the impact that education can have. But I also tell this story because I want everyone here today to know that I appreciate the historic moment and opportunity that today symbolizes. I know who I am and I know what I represent. And I know what it means to have someone like me as a college president, at this place, and at this time. A new leader signifies change. And as your president, I know that just by walking in the room, looking the way I do, and being who I am, I am change! But I also represent the types of students we must learn to educate to survive: an LA public school kid, a woman of color, and the first in my family to attend college “the traditional way"—right out of high school. Even though my story took place many years ago, it is relevant for where higher education sits today, especially for a place like Whittier College. I represent the face of the future of higher education, but I also resemble today’s realty, and opportunity for Whittier College.
Change. Whenever I hear that word I think of the famous retort of Mark Twain who said, “I’m all for progress; it’s change I don’t like.” Our human brain is hardwired to hate change. Change is painful. It’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. But, change is part of life. As humans, we need change to survive. Part of this struggle is also a fear of the future and the unknowable elements that come with it, and yet the future happens anyway. To shape the future in a way that provides opportunity for our success requires innovation. Innovation forces us to get out of automatic and think and do things differently. Innovation requires a vision of what is possible. When I think about Whittier College’s role in change and innovation, I think about the impact that educational institutions have on the world. Whether through new literary works that tell the story of the changing human condition, or scientific discoveries, our nation’s colleges and universities are at the center of innovation. And yet, nowhere is the need for innovation more critical than it is in higher education. Ironically, we exist in an ecosystem that does not readily welcome disruption or change. A system that was invented hundreds of years ago to serve a United States that looked very different than it does today-one that is at risk of becoming irrelevant and obsolete. As Clay Christensen and Henry Eyring write in their book The Innovative University: “Higher education is an enterprise that has yet to address the fundamental issues of how academic programs and institutions must be transformed to serve the changing educational needs of a knowledge economy. It has yet to successfully confront the impact of globalization, rapidly evolving technologies, an increasingly diverse and aging population, and an evolving marketplace characterized by new needs and paradigms.” The nation’s large demographic, economic, and competitive shifts require that we in higher education innovate ourselves. Small liberal arts colleges across the country are closing due to seismic shifts in the context in which we operate. With declines in high school graduates coupled with higher proportions of students of color, first generation attendees, older students, and students with financial need, our nation’s colleges and universities have to think differently. We have to be innovative in order to serve our mission. And we have to be innovative to survive. At Whittier College, the future is already here: as one of the most diverse liberal arts and sciences institutions in the country, we are leading the way! We look like the future! We already represent where the United States is heading, and what higher education institutions need to look like to survive. Our student body this year is 50% Latinx, and 69% students of color. We have some of the best academic success rates for student of color in the country, particularly in STEM fields. We embrace all of our students. And through our engaged faculty, unique programs such as the Whittier Scholars program, and our support of global learning for all, we nurture the unique passion of every student. We are proud of who we are and what we have become. We are a model for the nation, and we must learn to innovate for the world. Because, here at Whittier College, we are leading the way in educating tomorrow’s global citizen. But, as Board Chair Jim Brown said earlier, we cannot afford to sit on our laurels. The world is changing too fast! So, how are we going to continue to innovate ourselves and shape our future? Here at Whittier College, to innovate, we must focus on implementing our ideas.
Since I came in July, many of you have heard me speak of the need to focus on 3 strategic imperatives. These imperatives are:
We must work collaboratively to find innovative ways to make these strategic imperatives actionable.
So what does innovation look like at Whittier College? In addition to us finding ways to make students “college ready,” let’s find ways for us to be “student ready:” to meet all students where they are, instead of assuming that a one-size-fits-all approach to student learning and student success is the answer. Let’s innovate our curriculum, not according to what we want to teach, but to give students the ability to be life-long adaptable learners, makers, and creators. Let’s embrace who we are and be distinctive; not just a copy-cat institution that tries to emulate the past or be like everyone else. Let’s launch new programs and delivery methods that provide access to broader student communities, and let’s develop initiatives that support commuters, part-time students, and adult learners. Let’s look for new sources of investment that help take some of the burden of financing a college education off the backs of our students and their families. Let’s find a way to develop partnerships to provide a pipeline to the future for our students. And let’s find ways that help the campus become more effective, financially stable, and environmentally sustainable. And finally, let’s embrace where we are, in the most multicultural region in the United States, as we continue the great work of this institution that has always reached a hand out to the local and regional community, while providing a bridge to the globe. But as we innovate ourselves, some things about Whittier College won’t change. At Whittier, we will continue to embrace our Quaker values of social justice and the value in every person; a place that welcomes everyone. We have always been and will continue to be an institution that provides a ladder to the middle class. Whittier College provided educational access to women, people of color, and poor students, when very few options were available for these demographic groups. And whether in our classrooms, faculty offices, or dining halls, we will continue to be a place where we sit at the table together and listen to other viewpoints, even when we disagree. We will continue to be willing to collaborate to solve our problems. And we will never give up on our shared vision to teach our students how to think critically and to work with other people. These principles are the foundation on which we will create positive change and a strong future for ourselves through innovation. We will do these things, because it is necessary. As stated in the book The Innovative University: “The universities that survive near-term challenges will be those that recognize and honor their strengths while innovating with optimism.” I would be lying if I told you exactly what our future will look like. That being said, I am confident that Whittier College is uniquely positioned to create a sustainable future for our campus and our students. We will create a culture of innovation and we will become a thriving institution where all students will leave equipped to serve an always changing region, state, country, and world.
At this place, and at this time, just by walking into the room and being who I am, I represent the change that is already here. Through our collective creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, and our ability to execute on our vision, we will continue to be a model for the nation as we innovative for the world. I am honored and excited to lead Whittier College on this journey and proud to serve as the 15th president of this great institution. Thank you!
