Feature: Meet Kim A. Wilcox, MSU Provost
Kim Wilcox, ’76, became MSU provost and vice president for academic affairs on August 1, 2005, returning to his alma mater after having served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and vice provost for general education coordination at the University of Kansas from 2002 to 2005.
Before that he served for three years as president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, providing leadership for a system of over 150,000 students. Wilcox began his career on the faculty at the University of Missouri. He then spent 14 years on the faculty of the University of Kansas, including 10 as chair of the department of speech-language-hearing. He has served as special counsel to the chancellor at the University of Kansas, as a past University of Kansas vice chancellor fellow and a fellow of the American Council on Education. In 1991 he initiated the Native American training program in speech-language pathology in collaboration with Haskell Indian Nations University. He has published extensively in the area of developmental speech acoustics, is the recipient of several teaching awards, and has directed teaching, research and service projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.
Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Wilcox received his bachelor’s degree in audiology and speech sciences from MSU (1976) and his master’s and doctorate from Purdue University (1978 and 1980), both in speech and hearing science. Wilcox recently met with magazine editor Robert Bao for this interview.
Q: First, let’s talk about the “Boldness by Design” initiative. Explain to us why this is important for MSU alumni.
A: Boldness by Design is several things at once. In its simplest form, it’s President (Lou Anna K.) Simon’s strategic plan for the future. It lays out a blueprint for how she believes MSU should position itself in the coming years. At the same time it is, by its title a suggestion, about how the university should behave. We should be bold in a purposeful way. President Simon is not suggesting that we become bold in a cocky and and reckless manner. Instead, she’s suggesting that we be bold in our actions, and in our words and deeds, but that we do it with a design, a plan, a purpose. One of the boldest parts of the plan is her challenge to the campus that it re-invent itself in seven years. By 2012, she’s suggesting that we become the first world-grant university.
Q: Is the seven years significant?
A: Yes. She modeled the seven years after the founding of the university. In 1855, MSU was created as the first university of its type—dedicated to people and dedicated to issues that are important to the people, what you might call an outreach and engagement mindset. Seven years later, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act that created land-grant universities across the country—every one of them in the model of Michigan State. They were universities for the people to study topics important to the people. So in seven years in the middle of the 19th century, we changed higher education for the world. President Simon has said if we can do it in seven years beginning in 1855, we should be able to do it in seven years now, beginning in 2005. So we have until 2012 to create a different model for our university. That’s bold. But you don’t do it recklessly. So this is a plan, a framework, that is imbued with boldness.
Q: I’ve talked to faculty around campus and they are struck by the wonderful simplicity of the concept.
A: I give President Simon great credit for the clarity of the plan. It’s bold, but it’s simple at the same time. We also have to applaud the Board of Trustees’ endorsement of the plan. They’ve committed real dollars to enhancing the quality of the education of the students here at Michigan State and that certainly moves the plan forward.
Q: What has been the impact so far of the fund committed to this strategic plan?
A: The board committed dollars last year in the budget to the enhancement of academic quality. That’s what some call the “Quality Fund,” for short. We will be investing approximately $10 million this year into a range of academic programs on campus. We will upgrade facilities. We will add about 90 new faculty to the campus. Fifty of them, who will be here in August, would not be here without these new dollars. That has let us move the five Boldness by Design themes ahead beyond what we could have done otherwise.
Q: Can you briefly describe the five themes, or imperatives?
A: The first is to enhance the student experience. There are 55,000 of us here, 45,000 of us are students. So, if we’re going to really move the university ahead, enriching their experience is important. That includes classroom experiences, off-campus experiences, the residence halls, throughout Student Life, in individual research enterprises, and for both undergraduate and graduate students. We need to continue to strive to make students’ lives all that they can be while they are here. Second, enrich community, economic and family life. Part of what we have to do—a responsibility to our state—in good times and certainly in economically difficult times, is help communities, families and businesses around the state succeed. Third, increase research opportunities. We’re a research university and we teach and we extend only what we know and that comes from our research program. Fourth, expand international reach. We’re one of the leading internationally engaged universities in the world. We think we can do better and we think we can do it in ways that are even more influential to the state and the nation. As you know we had a campuswide global summit in the spring. We invited students, faculty and staff, and more than 300 people came to talk about Michigan State’s global position and what we should be in 20 years. And lastly, strengthen stewardship. I think this is one of the underappreciated items on the list.
Q: What exactly is meant by “stewardship”?
A: Stewardship is taking care of what we have inherited. One of the first things that most people think of with a university like Michigan State is the campus, the buildings, the grounds and the river; taking care of that special legacy is certainly an important part of stewardship responsibility. But we must also be good stewards of our financial resources. We must be prudent in our investments and in our spending policies. Arguably the most important stewardship responsibility, however, is taking care of our human resources. Our greatest resource is our people and their talents. When I think of strengthening stewardship that means support programs and development programs for faculty, staff and students who presently comprise the university, and the creation and enrichment of programs designed to continue to bring the very best people to the university.
Q: This is the 50th anniversary of the Office of International Studies and Programs at MSU, which is our cover story in this issue. Our leadership in this area has been impressive. We started bringing international students to campus back in the late 1800s and we continue to be national leaders in study abroad. We’re the first major university to have a dean of international studies. Now we’re opening a branch office in Beijing, China. I don’t know of many other schools with such a linkage.
A: A lot of schools are rushing to create this kind of linkage. What’s different about Michigan State is our long history. Our connections are long-standing and well-established, and we believe they provide a unique platform to build the international connections that will be needed by the university and the state in the 21st century.
Q: Is this a continuation of the momentum that President John A. Hannah launched?
A: It certainly builds on Hannah’s vision, but that vision has been expanded and enhanced every year since 1956. Most people here at the university have contributed to creating this legacy. There are so many things to tout about our international programs. As you mentioned, we are among the national leaders in the number of students who choose to study abroad. We have a presence in every continent and most nations. It’s incredible. What we’re doing right now is saying, “OK, we lead the world in so many areas, what should a world-class university in the 21st century make of those resources and opportunities? How should we use those resources to have the greatest possible impact on Michigan, the United States and with our partner nations?” That’s the question. The answer might include rethinking the balance of research and educational programs in various parts of the world. But few universities have the rich set of international resources that allows us to do this type of strategic planning.
Q: Is there a strategic targeting of areas?
A: That’s exactly where our conversations are pointed right now. Many of our connections in the past have been the work of individual faculty members. We’re trying to bring a more strategic sense to these efforts and to provide a more robust system of institutional supports so that, for example, when a faculty member chooses not to continue to pursue his or her research project in Tanzania, the relationship doesn’t end, but that but we have something to carry on.
Q: A lot of what we do in higher education impacts not only students and researchers, but also society and the economy. We’ve reported about the SmartZones and all the MSU research geared towards transitioning to a post-petroleum economy. Can you comment?
A: It’s a natural extension of our roots. In 1855 we realized we could play a key role in helping the agrarian state reach it’s full potential. That meant studying fertilizers, developing hybrid seeds, helping farm children understand how to best manage a farm. In the 21st century very few of us live on farms, but there is an awful lot of need to help families in difficult situations. So that means creating businesses where our graduates and their children can be employed or helping our graduates and others around the state start those kinds of businesses. When we start looking at what types of business opportunities, we can also go back to our agricultural roots. Michigan has one of the most diverse agricultural profiles of any state in the nation. There are only a couple of states that grow a wider variety of crops than Michigan. In a biomass-based economy where plant products start to take the place of petroleum-based products, whether it’s for fuel, pharmaceuticals, or plastics, we are in a unique situation to provide the full range of raw materials needed for this new economy. We also have a strong transportation infrastructure—roads, rails and ships—that can support a new form of industry based on plants. Thus there’s an opportunity to take advantage of our agrarian roots, our unique environment and diversity of crops, and our manufacturing infrastructure to create opportunities for employment for people of the state. It’s a natural alignment of existing university and state strengths.
Q: Let’s address the issue of accountability in higher education. There seems to be an emphasis on holding institutions accountable for the spending of money. How will this focus impact Michigan State?
A: I think we will be well-served in the new environment. Michigan State takes great pride in its efficiencies, and in the impact it has in the state. Our College of Human Medicine alumni practice in nearly every county in Michigan, and nearly half of Michigan’s osteopathic physicians are alumni of our College of Osteopathic Medicine. The agricultural industry is on of the largest industries in the state, and we provide a good deal of the intellectual leadership for that enterprise. In our new knowledge economy, college graduates are important and MSU is producing graduates who are not only ready to work in this new economy, but who are lifelong learners able to adapt and expand their skills and capabilities. As one measure of our success, we take great pride in the number of students we enroll here who are eligible for Pell Grants. By most measures, I think MSU stacks up pretty well. We’re a university that should do well in an environment of greater scrutiny.
Q: We may do things right, but are we doing the right things?
A: Obviously, we want to make sure that the right things are measured and that we don’t lose focus of the goals. Some goals of a university are relatively hard to measure or are unique to an institution’s mission and core values. MSU’s collective impact on the economy is hard to assess when you think of how many tens of thousands of our graduates are out there participating in the global, national and state economies. We want to look carefully at measuring the right things and at aligning our metrics with our overarching mission.
Q: When you look at the success of the capital campaign, clearly there is confidence in the institution. Our goal was $1.2 billion—an ambitious target—and we’ve already raised over a billion.
A: That speaks volumes, not only of people’s love for the institution, but also of their faith in its future. These are investments in what people think the university can and will be more than what it was in the past.
Q: I understand our endowments and research funding are growing. In a future issue, I want to take a look at our efforts with the various funding organizations.
A: You should. That would be a great article. Our research funding has been increasing every year for over a decade. And the trend is continuing. President Simon deserves real credit for the programs she put in place as provost, for they have begun to pay off for the university.
Q: We have some major projects in the works. One is the expansion of the College of Human Medicine. Tell me a little about this development.
A: We’ll be doubling the size of the College of Human Medicine by creating the West Michigan Medical School in Grand Rapids. We will be building this medical school with several key partners, including Spectrum Health, Saint Mary’s Health Care, Van Andel Institute, and Grand Valley State University. It’s important to note that we’re also in the process of expanding our College of Osteopathic Medicine into Southeast Michigan. Both of these expansions are in response to the need for physicians across the state and the nation. They also build on the MSU model of community-based medicine and community-based medical education. For many years, the majority of our third- and fourth-year medical students from both colleges have been in residence across the state, not in East Lansing. This provides our students with the opportunity to learn from practicing physicians and it helps to develop connections with local communities, which, in turn, helps to create graduates who want to stay in those communities.
Q: What about the new residential college with an emphasis on the arts and the humanities?
A: Again, this will build on MSU’s traditions and our strengths. We have a long and rich history of providing learning-living options and remain one of the nation’s leading institutions in offering students these type of opportunities. Our residential colleges are good examples but we have lots of other living-learning options for students in our residence halls. As a way of taking better advantage of that tradition, we are adding a residential college. We currently have Lyman Briggs School for natural science and James Madison College for public policy, and we will soon have a third college to complement those two, this one for students with an interest in the arts and humanities. The college will have a new home in Snyder-Phillips Hall and an entirely new curriculum that will blend interests in the arts and humanities with public engagement. Students will have access to music practice rooms and art studios, but needn’t be music or art majors to enroll. All students, however, will be expected to integrate their interests in the humanities with public service through various internship and externship experiences.
Q: We are also entering a key era with dramatic changes of leadership. We have a new president and a new provost, and I believe we will soon have a number of new deans.
A: The Board of Trustees recently approved the recommendation of three new deans—in the College of Engineering, in the College of Nursing, and in the College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, we have two acting deans, in Human Medicine and International Studies and Programs. We also have some impending retirements next year. This provides a new provost with a great opportunity to think about the future and think about the kinds of leadership that will best help the university in that future. It’s also a little unsettling to be relatively new to campus and be losing a lot of my senior advisors. But it’s great fun and the search processes are great reminders of MSU’s reputation, because great deans join great universities and we’re recruiting the very best.
Q: What’s your goal for yourself and for Michigan State?
A: My primary goal is to help the university realize its potential and help it achieve President Simon’s goal of becoming the first world-grant university. As you can imagine, this is a special treat for an alum. I was a small-town kid from the Upper Peninsula when I came to MSU, and this institution changed my life. I had no idea when I arrived what doors would open for me. As a result of my MSU education, I’ve done things I never imagined that I would have a chance to do. I know there are tens of thousands of people just like me who could say the same things about MSU. But very few of them get the chance that I’m getting to give back to their alma mater in such a significant way. I recognize this opportunity as a rare treasure and I don’t want to squander it.
Q: The concept of MSU as a place where knowledge is advanced and lives are transformed is one that I hear every single week from alumni that I have a chance to interview. When alumni are profiled in the MSU Alumni Magazine, you invariably hear about this—just as you describe your own experience.
A: I came from Sault Ste. Marie, actually 15 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. When I arrived at MSU and moved into a dorm, my suitemate’s father was a vice president at GM. There was a guy down the hall who was probably 35 years old, from Japan. A 17-year-old kid from Long Island lived across the hall. Somebody from Germany a few doors down. Unbelievable. This was a big, big world for me. That’s pretty special.
Q: So you and (basketball coach) Tom Izzo are two Yoopers.
A: Exactly. Regarding the alumni magazine, by the way, two years ago this summer, we were driving home from Kansas to visit my mom in the Sault.
My wife Diane had thrown a bunch of stuff in the car to read and she was thumbing through the alumni magazine and said, “Look, Lou Anna Simon’s just been named president. The provost job is going to be open. Maybe we’ll go to Michigan State.” So it was a story in the alumni magazine that prompted my return.
Q: We’re delighted to hear this. What are some of the changes that impressed you when you first returned to MSU?
A: A lot of people have asked me that question and a lot of them assume that I will remark on the changes to the campus. It is true that there have been a lot of buildings built and remodeled, but the campus doesn’t look that much different. The footprint is the same. It hasn’t expanded much, the streets haven’t changed much. The business school has expanded, the law school is new, the biomedical and physical sciences building—but those have been largely in-fill. The overall campus looks much like it did in the 1970s. What has struck me is something I didn’t appreciate as a student. As a student I thought every university was like MSU, because I’d never been to another one. But since then, I’ve been affiliated with lots of universities and when I came back I was most struck by the deep sense of the values that we have here. Chief among those is our shared commitment to each other’s success. We work hard to make sure everyone succeeds and we are personally invested in that success. This university also values student access in a way that few others do. We really believe that all qualified people should be able to come to Michigan State and receive the best possible education. President Simon takes about quality, inclusion, and connectivity. We live those values every day at MSU. I don’t know about my colleague alums, but I believe those institutional values helped me to succeed. This university was designed to help people succeed.
Q: What role do you perceive alumni playing in the future of Michigan State?
A: We are all family. As such, we share a set of core values that shape our character and guide our actions to this day. So I expect the same things from my colleague alums as I do from my family. Be supportive of each other—whether in spirit , in deed or in financial commitment. Simply helping others understand the values of Michigan State, the good things that it does, and its academic strengths helps us all. For those who have the time and ability to work at alumni clubs and do things on behalf of the university or make financial contributions to the university, all the better. It’s more a matter of remembering that we’re all part of the same family and believing in that same set of values. That’s what ties us together—the values.