Indiana Alumni Magazine
IU Kokomo's new leader reacts with good nature to plays on her name, from Dr. Ruth to...
That Chancellor Person
by Judy Schroeder
From her office in IU Kokomo's Main Building, Chancellor Ruth Person talks about the campus, which serves an
11-county region in north central Indiana. Photo Terri Hellmann.
“I knew she was the right one," reports Cathy Hightower, BA'89, alumni director at IU Kokomo and a member of the search committee that chose Ruth Janssen Person. Hightower was particularly impressed when Person told the committee, "My style is 'ready, aim, fire,' not 'ready, fire, aim.'"
Also a professor of management at IUK, Person began her duties on Sept. 8. She follows Emita Hill, who retired after leading the campus for eight years.
Before coming to IUK, Person was vice president for academic affairs and professor of management at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. In early March she talked to Indiana Alumni Magazine editor Judy Schroeder.
Schroeder: What was it about IU Kokomo that attracted you?
Person: Partly I was attracted by the fact that it's part of Indiana University, and IU has a really good reputation nationally. Who wouldn't want to be a part of it? Although most recently I was in Texas, I earned both my library degree and my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and worked there for a number of years. I was a librarian in Detroit, I've lived in Missouri, I've lived in Ohio, and I've lived in North Dakota. So I'm used to the Midwest, as well as the Big Ten.
Schroeder: Does your training as a librarian influence the way you do your job?
Person: Yes, it does. I started out as a reference librarian at a public library. One of the things you learn in library and information science programs is how to find out and understand what people's information needs are. That's really good preparation for public service. I'm adept at asking questions that help people clarify what they need to know.
Schroeder: What experiences in your past prepared you for this particular position?
Person: I've had a succession of increasingly responsible jobs, and this was the next step. I think I'm as well-prepared as anybody would be who has never been a president before. I've been at a number of different institutions, and that's really helped me understand what different kinds of students need. I've been part of the University of Missouri system and of the Texas state university system. You learn a little bit from everything you do; you take a little bit from every place you've been. I have an advantage in that I understand IU Kokomo as a comprehensive public regional university.
Schroeder: How do you plan to involve yourself in the community and region?
Person: I came from a meeting this morning of a group called "Partners in Education." We meet each month and talk about what's going on in the education sector and in the business sector as it affects education. That's just one example. I have been asked to serve on the Women's Business Council, which is part of the Chamber of Commerce. I'll be looking for other opportunities to serve in these kinds of capacities.
Schroeder: How can IU Kokomo be a focal point for the region?
Person: While visiting other counties, I've been taking some of our continuing studies people with me because they manage that outreach. We have an active noncredit continuing education program, and I want to learn more about what kinds of noncredit as well as credit activities we can offer these communities. This part of Indiana has a growing Hispanic population, and some people feel the need for better training to be able to communicate. If you don't get out into these communities, if you don't have folks in your organization out there, you don't learn what people need. We are extending our radar screen.
I really believe in partnerships. I don't think we can do this job by ourselves. I don't think anyone has all the resources to be successful. Everything, to some degree, is a byproduct of something else. As you do one thing, you learn something in the process that helps you in other areas. We just embarked on a campaign for equipment for our new science building. As the vice chancellors and I visit with potential supporters, it's an opportunity for us to get to know them better. We're finding internship possibilities for students. That isn't why we started making these visits, but we're getting very positive support.
Schroeder: You mention the science building. Here's what I've heard: IU Kokomo received $13.7 million to build a science building, but you have no money to equip it.
Person: That's pretty much true, but it doesn't mean exactly what it sounds like. If you look at the laboratories, the cabinets, the cold room, these are built into the buildings. But we need to provide the equipment that is independent of the building. Since we're building a new building, we're making sure it's not furnished with leftovers from the '60s. We're also looking at additional allied health programs that need specific equipment.
Schroeder: In your "State of the University" address, you talked about mature universities. What needs to be done to make IU Kokomo a mature campus?
Person: A really mature university has a certain set of programs, facilities, and services. When you get into the cocurricular areas, many regional comprehensive public institutions have programs that go along with having a more residential population. That could be a maturity model for this campus. Or a maturity model could be simply having a broader array of academic programs and facilities and services.
Schroeder: One of the big changes at IUK — indeed, on all the regional campuses — is the increase in the number of students who are in the 18-22 age range. What challenges will IUK face because of these changing demographics? Does this change the way faculty teach?
Person: If faculty members had come from certain other institutions some years ago, institutions that served primarily 18- to 22-year-olds, the transition to nontraditional, older adults would have been difficult. Interestingly enough, we have the reverse situation here. It's a challenge to know what kind of student services to provide.
Schroeder: Is the number of students aged 18-22 increasing because the number of older, returning students is declining? What about retention?
Person: Many potential students, who might still have an interest in education, don't have the time to go to school. There are two ways to get to that critical mass. You have to try to recruit as many good students as you can, and then you have to try to hold on to those students until they graduate. The more you hold on to, the fewer you have to recruit.
Retention for a regional campus is often difficult because typically you find many students who need to continue their education at a junior or senior level. Part of the retention issue for us is that we don't have the array of programs needed to both attract and retain students. The new science building will help. We want to be able to offer students the opportunity to stay here for four years, as opposed to coming here and then having to go somewhere else within the IU system. 