 HBCU Dutchess Radio, welcome back to our ongoing conversation with executives, faculty, staff, students at historically black colleges and universities. Today our distinguished guest is Joan G. Wilmer. She is the rector of the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors, the first woman and graduate of Norfolk State University, we must add, to lead that board in 20-plus years and part of an executive committee that is predominantly female, which is also history-making for the institution. She joins us this morning to talk about the updates on the presidential search for the institution and some of the positive things happening at the school that will lead it to greater heights in the years and decades to come. So, Madam Rector, it is a pleasure to have you on this morning. It's a pleasure to join you and I really appreciate your platform for the HBCU community, so thank you so much and kudos on the great job you're doing. That is so nice when you get cursed out so often. It's always a treat to have to have kind of words, so thank you so much. First, can you give us the emotion you have, of course, being a graduate of Norfolk State, being able to come back home, so to speak, to lead its board of visitors and not only that but to make history as the first woman to lead the institution's board in 20-plus years. Wow, what a loaded question. Let me tell you, every time I come to campus for an event, for an adherence or a meeting, I actually cure up and that's because Norfolk State gave me a voice and confidence at a time where I didn't know who Joan was going to be. If I may share, I was a real girl from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. That was predominantly Caucasian community, but beautiful community, absolutely beautiful, loving small-town country community. And when I decided to come to Norfolk State, I really wanted to come to an institution that would help me understand more of who I was as a black female. And when I came to Norfolk State, I remember the day my mother, the late pastor, Joan Wilmer, drove me in a rented van that she could only afford for the day and it was myself and my sisters and my brothers because they're six of us and we were all caught in this van and I only had a crate of stuff because nobody in my college, I mean my family had gone to college and so it was one of those very rare experiences, but my mom was full of faith, pastor Wilmer led by God, she was just like, you know what, we're going to college, I don't know what this means, but we're going to college. In the day she took me, we arrived five minutes after five at the housing department and they said, we can't take you into the next day and my mother was very upset and she rode around because she could not afford to rent the van for one more day. That's how much of a humble beginning that I had and we rode around and we went to this salon to just stop in and ask them some questions about the community. How my mother picked this one salon out of the tons of wands in the Norfolk area and the lady said, my sister is the head of international studies at Norfolk State University and she said, let me call her. She called Dr. Berthatia Scafery, an hour later here comes a lady in a big red hat, a big red suit she had on and the oldest really stopped and her husband walked in behind her with a Bill Cosby sweater and a Kango hat and she said, don't worry, I got your daughter and it was from there to my mom. I guess that's the confirmation that it was okay for me to go with her and it was at that moment when I realized the community and family strength of Norfolk State University. Dr. Scafery took me in her home that evening, the next day she took me to Walmart. My mother didn't know that I needed toiletries and and comforters and all this kind of stuff. She gave me my first work study job, the campus and the professors gave me scholarships so I could stay in school because I was an out-of-state student and it was at those moments when I realized that my future was bigger than just going to college and Norfolk State played a key role. So when I go to campus, I think about those humble beginnings. I think about the support I got from the staff, from Dr. Berthatia Scafery, from those who continue to be a part of my life in Norfolk State. So when I served, I served with only in that university because that university cared about me when I was a stranger. You know it's that kind of story that makes the HBCU experience more than worthwhile. It makes it almost essential to Black folks or any kind of people. But as a board leader, and I also say you've actually made history with the Dodgers because you are the first board member or board chair to actually come on this show. So that shows you how bold the sisters are. But how do you translate that experience, that culture of family, which we all know so well, from a board perspective? How do you look at the direction of an institution and say this is how we ensure that students know that this is what they can get and this is the benefit of attending Norfolk State? How do you communicate that to donors? How do you communicate that back to alumni to say now invest in the institution? How do you do that to the corporate community? Is there a way to distill that down to something that is I guess data in a data format or some kind of narrative that makes people know this is more than a worthy institution. It's an essential institution. Absolutely. You know I look at that experience coupled with what I've been doing for the last 20 plus years and I've been an HR executive for some very big global brands and in my role, I'm usually one that goes in and turns around institutions or help to rebuild them in their leadership team and their infrastructure. So as we are born through this change, really it's almost divinely lined up and it helps me to think about, okay, so how do we think about the business of education, which has become very much a business and then put before front the people that really are the product of the business. So how do we put in the front of Norfolk State again, the refocus around what today's learner looks like, what today's learner needs, what today's learner and students crave for as they try to find their voice. The times then versus now, they're different. But what hasn't changed is that there's a person. And so when I come to the meetings and I talk to the board or the board talks to me because I tell you we're a great team, great team of executives that come together to support this school. It's about what is that student focus? Not only what are we doing to bring the students in, but what are we doing to help them graduate? I don't look too much at enrollment numbers. I want to see the bottom line. Where's our graduation rate? What are we doing to support students to help them stay in school, whether it be financially or the resources and tools that are needed. And so when we pull together our metric and the team will tell you I'm very much a numbers person and we try to understand the story and the journey of students. And I keep in the back of my mind that little girl from West Virginia who wore sun dresses and didn't know her voice. I couple that with today's world and today's student and what they're challenged with and think about what are the governance points, the policies, the financial resources, the support that we as a board can give to our university president and our faculty and staff so that they become vested and motivated to take care of that student. If it's not about students at the end of the day, you lose a viable commodity. Listen, I was an out of state student. My mother had no money for college. If it wasn't for me pushing along, me seeking out resources and then garnering the favor and support of others who gave me scholarship, I wouldn't have stayed at Norfolk State University. It would have been easy for me to go to West Virginia, but because I was so tied to the school and my spirit and soul felt like that was home. I try to think about that as we make governance decisions with our board. You talked about the support that you can give to the president and the campus at large. So often, the narrative that is associated with HBCUs is that our greatest weaknesses, whether this is right or wrong, is that it's boards. It's that they don't fundraise. They can be too interfering in operations of an institution. This is something that I'm sure you've seen as an observer of the sector and having served on the board in an interim leadership capacity. What do you think is the secret for a board to, one, know its role and avoid interference in institutional matters and two, to embrace the heavy lifting of the role, which is the fundraising and the advocacy and the political maneuvering and all that. I think the key is, one, a board that's solid and knows the role of governance and shared governance. And what does that mean? And making sure that there's a common understanding around that that's embraced and valued amongst those members. We have a new board, essentially. We have five new members that are on the board. So when you think about the dynamics of a 13-person board, that's essentially a new team that has come in with some of the terms that have expired for those who have served on the board. So we're in the process of pulling the board together and thinking about how we want to continue to serve and support given how we want to redefine the HBCU experience. And as we're doing that to solidify ourselves and search for a president, we're also looking at a leader. HBCUs, as you've seen, have gone through many iterations of change and certain leaders were brought in to do things to help the university with their infrastructure and some of their operational challenges so that it can continue to stand. And then you have some leaders who brought in to help it reimagine its strategy and its position and presence in the education sector for the future. That's where we are. We're in the process of thinking about how we'll welfare state be that might eat the whole greening gold for the future. And so that comes from leadership because the only person that we really interact with, I would say on a day-to-day basis or for anything that we try to manage from a government, financial or policy-wise, is through the president. So as we're searching for this president, we're looking for someone who understands the business of education, but who also understands the needs of the sector and has an interest and a hunger to reimagine the HBCU experience and through that trusted relationship. And that's the key. Anyone will tell you that. It's that relationship where you feel like you have the confidence of a leader who understands the complexity of an HBCU presidency, which is very different than a private institution. They have a lot of roles that they have to fill in the air, and that he or she has the ability and the support which this person wills in welfare state to build and strengthen the team where there's leaders and executives in place that we carry forward. That's how you have a good marriage. You have star players. You go in there and you go in there to win it. And Norfolk State University is at a place right now. We're ready to position ourselves for the next chapter of winning. We've done a great job with standing the elements of the, the other city environment of HBCU and little was back in the HBCU. The Harrison v. Wilson days, which was one of our great presidents is not the same or what the president will have to deal with today. And so our seventh president, I'm counting on is going to do some amazing things that will help us be stronger as partners. Can you give us some updates on where that search stands? And if you don't mind me asking, how do you as a board member figure out that fit for president? And I'm not talking about it, you know, an area of specialty or, you know, male or female, but more so, is it something that you say we need a president who can do X, Y and Z? And are there, I guess phases that you want to see growth? Is it total institutional growth? Is it, you know, we need a fundraiser now. And when, you know, when we reach those benchmarks, maybe we want to shift that person over to academic development, then maybe we want to shift over to recruitment. Are there phases of it? Are there, is it just overall? What is that? What is that process like about finding the fit of a president? So I'm going to answer in reverse. So let me talk about the pregnancy. I think it's about an executive who understands organizations and how to build within an institution a team that moves forward. As I mentioned before, I've been in human resources for over 20 years. My primary partners are CEOs and one and two levels down. They lead the division. So I'm constantly looking at executive talent and confidence themes and depth in their sectors that they lead and looking at their ability to tap into talent to build the best team. I think at the top, not necessarily reflected just with Norfolk State University, but I think in other HBCUs, they look at presence to carry the weight by themselves. Now that's not possible. We don't do that in corporates. We look at executives who have the leadership, gravitas, the president, who understand how to connect the dots and bring the best out of people, who know how to lead influence through people, who understand that through everything, whether it's your institution or the political leaders, the community partners, or those pipelines of students. It's all about relationships and presence, as well as someone who understands what it means for the education sector today and how to carve out a soul and a presence that's unique for your institution and brand that you put forth. That individual is what's going to win the game. They're going to surround themselves with people who do it and who can help be a part of the team. That's important. I think in overtime, we just put a pressure here or pressure there to answer a situation that's in a moment. With Norfolk State University, we're looking at the holistic picture. We're looking at the strategic down the road point where we can be and beyond. That's going to take a leader that understands how to build that team and have others there. When you speak to fundraising, when you speak to community partnerships, when you think about the life cycle of student recruitment to graduation point to post-graduation because the relationship is lifetime, that individual will know how to bring to pull the players together to make it happen, and that's how you win. As far as our presidential search, our board of visitors, I'm going to say they're great and I'm saying that so passionately. We have a great roster of members who are part of the board of visitors who love Norfolk State, but they come with very strong expertise. We have established a 21 person presidential search committee and you say, wow, 21 people. Yes, 21 people because we realize this person is going to meet the community around them. We have taken it back to the core of relationship. So that presidential search committee has everyone from the community, definitely the alumni community. Our president and alumni community, hi, James, does an amazing job representing the voice. We also have our BOV members. We have past faculty and staff. We work together to think about the profile and we've done so by going out to the community, literally a roadshow, Jared, to get feedback on what have you seen and what would you like to see and what do we need to establish a profile that works for us. We have obtained Greenwood Asher and Associates as consultants for the presidential search, amazing partners. They have worked with a number of institutions. What I would like about Greenwood Asher among many things is that they have really helped us to think us through our own voice. So we're really leading our search. They're partners to facilitate what our desired profile and for the individual to be. We actually have two of our members of the Board of Visitors leading the presidential search. Dr. Deborah DeCochie, who was our vice rector, amazing leader, CEO of the Heaven to Roads Foundation, has an amazing resume, but she's been a college president so she gets it and that expertise helps us a lot to think beyond our actions this far on how we can pick a stellar president. And then we have Larry Griffith, who's also an executive on the team, and two of them have been amazing to lead this 21 person search committee. And then, you know, we have, I'd say for a long time and we've purposefully taken our time to look for a president carefully to select someone. We've gone through these steps of reaching out, looking in, being introspective, thinking about competency very clearly, a profile of success. And as we've been looking at candidates, we've been taking this roadmap to say what is the right individual and the world is full of talented people. Let me tell you, we're so excited about what the future holds as we go through this process. Do you have, I guess, a timetable you've identified as when you'd like to have somebody announced? We're hoping that we have someone announced this year. The time is against floating as we are searching for the candidate. As I mentioned before, our key goal is to select the right person. That's the way the board leads and that's the way I lead the board. It is not a race because that person is going to be in place. Our plan was for them to be in place for a long time and so this board is vested in making sure that we have the right individual and the good thing is we have our partners from the administration, Virginia, who are helping to make sure that we are supported in that process so that we can, again, set Norfolk State University up for its future. When you think about an institution's assets, so to speak, Norfolk State has quite a bit of them. So you have academic strength in computer science and natural science and cybersecurity. You have strength in mass communications, strength in education, strength in athletics. So there's so many positive things to sell about the institution. Is that something that as a board chair, particularly a board rector, I should say, I'm sorry, that you try to emphasize, especially with an interim president, like, hey, you know, we're working towards this, but we have some things that we got to go out there and move and push to the community. Is that something that you personally say is a thing that has to be done and then a person comes in and just gets on board or does a person come in and set a new agenda for you? Well, it's interesting you say that. So we've been going through this process of our strategic plan, which is on the website and thinking about our future. And as we work with our interim president, President Melvin Stets, who has done an amazing job as I call holding up the banner and keeping things going as we get a new president in and who loves Norfolk State, he has continued the charge around building our academic programs. So what does that look like? It's taking where we've put a good stake in the ground with our cybersecurity program being a part of some key platforms for the state of Virginia and beyond. And that they've taken legacy programs where we've had award winning recognition with our nursing program, our school of social work program, and thinking about that in where have we had success that we continue to promote success and where can we call that new niche opportunity for the future like our new arts program that we have where performing arts is going to be an area that you'll see more of a focus at Norfolk State University. And so as we pull together this strategic plan, it was done in the spirit of how do we set this up to where the president can come in and bring their vision that we're not putting them in the box. We give them a new degree and bring their innovation because we want to think beyond ourselves. The answer is not just with the team that's in place, it's with the individuals in the new mindset that you bring to the table. And so although we recognize what we have some strength in these areas of academia, we realize that we can grow beyond that, strengthen our program and produce a winning product that today's learner wants to be a part of. They want to be a part of it and they know that there's a formula of success. That new president is going to have an opportunity to be a part of the finding what that looks like and influence in the direction of that strategic plan which will be to build upon the program that we have in Norfolk State University. And the great thing about it, we have a faculty and staff and an executive administration that are 200% on board and they know that we have a bright future. And with their hard work and support of this new president, I'm excited talking about it. I know we're going to be amazing. I can't wait to come back to you after this president comes on board for a few years and say, Jared, guess what we did. And then the last question, I mean, you've obviously excited and knowledgeable about the school. It's your alma mater. What would you say to the point that you just made five years from now that you say, Hey, guess what we did? And guess what? We did it. What would be the signal of success at Norfolk State? Because there are, again, there's so many good things happening. There's so much positive. It's not like you're starting from the ground floor. Like you're already executing in a lot of areas. So what is a demonstration of success at the school five years from now? We want to continue to make more success out of the areas that we are already achieving great success. You know, the school has done amazing work. So how do we continue with those successes? And, you know, it's a conscious thought around what do we do to get here and what do we do to stay here in those particular areas? It's also five years from now we have Norfolk State continuing to be stronger and to have a team in place that will help usher in, I'll say, the next generation of existence with the seventh president. We have a seventh president who has been successfully onboarded, immersed in the communities in which we have a president and want to have a president and help in the school to realize its growth, whether it be growth in resources, growth in students, and more importantly growth in our graduation rate. And then last but not least, it's a point in five years where people have another level pride of Norfolk State University. So whether you're the alumnus who went to Norfolk State University in the 60s or 70s, or you've graduated just this year in 2019, that the pride and support and reinvestment you make back in your institution all align because you see what the future holds for Norfolk State. You know, we have Dr. Deborah Fontaine speaks to our new logo and our branding. We see the future in you and it really is not just about the students, it's about the community and the alumni and hopefully in five years everyone will realize that to a greater level and will make Dr. Fontaine proud with all the work that she and her team are doing and that will be in that stronger place that will perpetuate the university's existence for the future.