 It is commencement season nationwide and historically black colleges prepared to say farewell to distinguished graduates And to welcome in the fall new students and part of that welcoming committee Obviously is College and University presidents and here to talk with us today one of the deans of the HBCU presidency One of the guys responsible For a cohort and a programmatic approach to developing executive talent at historically black colleges universities I'm talking about Wiley College president Herman Felton big brother. Always a pleasure, man Hey, Jared. It is always good to see you man. I appreciate the friendship and the fellowship. Although it is virtual It's good to see you and it's also good to be seen my brother. Absolutely man And we honor your time especially to talk about this subject the higher education leadership foundation So for a number of years, you've ushered through a number of cohorts You and folks from all over the HBCU community having real conversations and real training modules For brothers and sisters who want to come through the academy With the aspiration and the pathway to becoming a president or a chancellor and now you guys have big news That extends that operation in a really meaningful way Talk to us about that and what you think it will do for the sector and for a lot of the people coming along in This pathway, you know when we started this work in 2015 Jared it was really about Doing some work that would allow for us to Have a space where people who were Really interested in serving at our institutions had a place to work And health morphed into something that honestly we had no idea it would it spoke to the fact that there was a missing piece and And we think we spoke to that so since 2015 we've had 10 cohorts are 11th and 12th respectfully Will be June 3rd and 4th had Wiley College The lambda and mu cohorts Over 340 fellows from all across the nation 65 HBCUs Have been represented. We get an opportunity to fellowship And pour into those who aspire to lead We make no bones about it. We have no idea how to make presidents. So that's not what we do If your desire is to come to health Because you want to be a college president great, but we don't offer that training We will however help identify gaps that you may have in your leadership ethos and skills To strengthen those so that if that opportunity presents itself You're ready to lead as a leader What we have been constantly doing is evolving We went to a podcast We have a journal that we're releasing I'm not the greatest of writers, but I presented materials Only to find out that my voice wasn't Ready to be heard By someone else's standards at that time So we thought we produce a journal create a journal for Black colleges and leadership and scholarship In addition to that we came up with this notion a couple years ago about Making sure that we left the 3.3 life expectancy for presidents hbcu presidencies And when you if you study the presidency, you know that it appears that some of those presidents could have been salvaged if we had Different skill sets different tools And those who come outside of the sector don't fare Necessarily well as opposed to those who have come up through the sector But all of our institutions really deserve to have strong leadership And that leadership needs Toolboxes or tools in their toolbox that allow them to handle the myriad of challenges So we created the presidential leadership institute, which we're really excited That our first cohort the inaugural cohort will go through down at florida memorial in less than a month I really want to go back to something you just said about the the the individuals who come through the hbcu Network versus those who come from without from outside of it because one of the things you hear in our communities all the time is You keep recycling presidents You keep recycling presidents and one of the things that we don't understand is what may have been not so good of a fit at One institution may be a wonderful fit at another hbcu So can you talk a little bit about presidential chancellor fit? And and how individuals can identify it and more importantly, how can the public identify it? So they don't feel like it's a quote-unquote recycling of talent from one hbcu to another Well, you know one thing Jared is everybody doesn't have all the information Right. So when you don't have all the information you really have no idea what you're talking about Those who are looking from the outside? But fit matters just as you go buy a pair of shoes For longevity and purpose You should probably be applying the same thing. You want to kick the tires around you want to ask questions You know, we try to encourage people to not chase a presidency But to be in a position to where your leadership allows you to lead And if you're looking for a presidency any old place will do right You've got to understand I talked to Walter Kimbrough. He was Strickland's and Jenkins I talked to a myriad of people before I took my presidency Michael Sorrell And they gave me questions that I had no idea to ask Right because I did not want to be the last picture on the wall Know that I want my first presidency to be my last presidency So I wanted to be equipped with asking tough questions. I wanted to know if sacks was having any concerns about board governance I wanted to know whether hcm2 was coming around a corner or any type of things that would preclude you from having The ability to draw federal financial aid I'm a private guy So I know private hbcu is my space and that's what I mean by private public is not my space And I but I know that because the missions of privates Resonate to me more than the missions of publics. They are powerful and wonderful But I like the autonomy the freedom To be able to change directions in a very number way and I'm not suggesting that they can't do that at publics But I just the private fit fits better for me So I knew jerry going in that I wanted to be a president at a private college And so people need to look at fit And they need to understand if the church Ethos are congruent with who you are as an individual because if they're not You're in trouble The culture matters as well Right, we've got to figure out how we have presidents that can evolve The culture that is so important to institutions and alums and people who work at them While making the these institutions relevant And I think the one thing That is a challenge jared is that we define Different as deficient And it's not it's just different. It's a different culture And I think that's why you have people that might be quote unquote recycled But what people don't understand is that the cycle of life dictates what Boards are really looking for right? Where is that presidency? Um or that institution at the time of the president that they're looking for Are they malleable the those skill sets fit with what's needed for this stretch assignment? Or if you're coming in in a coasting posture Where money's there Academic rigor all those things are there Or if you're following a giant you need a different type of leader to follow a giant you need humility You need people who are not opposed to Making sure that that giant's stature his or her stature Is is not tarnished or or you know You don't have a problem with them the the ghost of that giant still being around so There are different things that people have to look at jared and not just oh, there's a vacancy And why are they bringing this person and that person and he's being recycled? Well, he might have a skill set that is needed at that time that the casual fan May have no idea that that's what the board is looking for That's such a critical point man and you're you're basically running this interview for me because My questions are feeding off you I mean, how do you define for some of the people who are coming through now? Particularly younger professionals the difference between an anointing and an assignment meaning that in our culture We look for leaders who who who could be lifers We want a benjamin maze of bill harvey url richardson You know a Humphreys, you know Jimmy Jenkins, we want people to be there for a long time But you have talked about publicly and privately That sometimes you have to be there for a specific time with a specific skill specific objective and then move on Yeah, is that is that era of Anointed leadership over with and should boards and and candidates executive candidates be more Cognizant of I got a job to do and then I get out of here I think it's um, it's a it's a hodgepodge of all those things Jared right um In 16 actually in 14. I was appointed president at willful force And after understanding the magnitude of the need and looking at my skill set I knew that I didn't have what it what it what it took to get willful force to where it needed to be and then um A young lady came in and took the place to where it needed to be And so that the two years later I came was appointed again at the very same place I knew that I was ready For more prepared men than I was in 14. I was more prepared in 16 Um, and I ran that race for two years Um, and quite honestly Jared I was exhausted It was uh, it was a arduous task And I want to commend all those before me at willful force And my predecessor al genia freeman for Running as as hard as she could and as fast as she could to elevate the institution to take it off of A status of uncertainty to a very solid footing She did that and I ran for two years And then behind me comes tony pinkard who was in our provost And he's been running So I knew in that instance what you just saw there what in in that conversation jared was me recognizing one That at a particular time when I wanted to lead I knew that I didn't have the skill set to leave and I was honest enough with myself to push Secondly, I felt I was more ready and thirdly I felt When the time for my an opportunity at wiley came I felt I had did what I could do brand as far and fast as I could And passing the baton was going to be a great thing And it was time for me to leave I studied culture I came behind a giant He was trickling who was 18 years You know, and so when you have people like Strickland and beckley Yancey There people outside the specter don't give the spectrum don't give them their just desserts Jimmy jinkers has been a college president for 30 years at hbcu's You cannot sneeze at that You can't sneeze at the work that yancey did that My sister who was at st. Augustine's Dying broadly super you can't sneeze at the work that these people have done They they figured out when was it time to leave the park? Right. They stayed as long as they could gave as much as they could And in some cases to answer your question more directly There are anointings That happen And appointments that happen case in point if The newly Aspiring president now Got somewhere and sat out for a minute Right and established a tenure a culture a track record It's easy for you to to leap from there, but people I find in our work with health Not all of them, but a great majority of people are doing it the right way And there's no right way to get to the presidency quote unquote. Let me let me see it that way People are doing it in a way that allows him to be more malleable when search firms and those come For an institution say yes, and then there are some people who get with the right person at the right time And they find themselves Boom appointed Anointed I think for me is you find a person who you see As a sponsor and you see a protégé and you say this person has it I don't know if they have it to be the presidency, but they deliver on fronts. They're loyal They build consensus and they can handle a stretch assignment More than that though, what is important is that they can comfortably talk about Their skill sets From a lived experience. I don't care if you're just the vp for academic affairs Do you know anything about student affairs and the nexus between the academic and And student do you have any idea what the legal department deals with on a day-to-day basis? Have you ever asked To be a part of A million dollar gift or write a proposal Right building that Cache is really important and oftentimes people are one trick minded I'm good at the craft that I'm in And what we're finding nowadays is that boards are looking for people with diverse backgrounds That have a myriad of skill sets that can really be reflective In a leadership of people who are leading these complex organizations Let's talk about the the universe of training right because health is has quickly emerged as this invaluable resource Excuse me. Well brothers and sisters coming into leadership But they but they come behind programs like uh, ml I would ask you and charlie nelms and now Mary's I am Jared can we stop and talk about ml I Absolutely because I don't think people know That there were black presidents men and women Who put money together out of their own pockets To create the ml I Right and those were hbcu presidents a great deal of them were hbcu presidents And they knew that there was a need so that I just wanted to touch on that That what health is doing is not new people have been doing this forever. It's just the cycle of life And we're the crazy ones who picked up the baton and decided to do this work for free That's who we are, right No, it's adding in a big way because ml I and hampton's leadership institute and naffio presidential training Um, these things have all built and now it's building towards health and now we see a new addition to that This emerges out of clark atlanta. Yes. What what what does that? What does it look like from your perspective in the in the landscape of how do we get people trained up skilled up And smartened up for what it takes to be a president and does that is there Would you see a space where it's like, okay, we're pretty big now Or is it you can't get big enough? No, no, you can't Okay, the marine corps the army the navy the air force and the coast guard Protect and defend the united states of america. There are nine greek letter organizations. There were eight before, right? excellence makes way for its gifts right and The pwi space has c i c a g b ask you ace Harvard programs and everybody else training the hundreds of thousands of aspirants who desire to lead our space deserves excellence hbc's and the progeny of slaves who Traverse on those grounds and labor in those vineyards those sacred vineyards. We deserve options We deserve a vast array of modalities to help us get to where we want to go I'm excited that clark et alana has a program That espouses to create presidents That's not what health does we're about leadership and development. And so I think having a place That espouses to push Presidencies into the pipeline. That's absolutely wonderful While it was not an attention of health Five of us have become hbcu presidents and one Community college president Maybe 15 20 percent of the 300 have ascended to vice presidents executive vice presidents chief operating officers You know, so the work Will make room For promotion And so I think the The more training opportunities that the 10 000 plus administrators at hbcu's have To be the best that they can be Which translates to being the best for our institutions the more the merrier So I think it's great that they have a program And uh, you know one of our founders george french who became president at clark et alana university They had a program before he got there. I don't know that it was codified in the way that it is now So that probably has more to do with his imprint And his comfortability with leadership Let's ship real quick. Um hbcu's are are announcing Fall reopening plans a lot of institutions saying, you know, they're going to be mandates for vaccines We're still trying to work things out with federal guidelines with state and city guidelines on help and gathering and all that You were among the first leaders to say man, we shutting this thing down last march Um, and we talked then and you wrote then About what does that decision entail a massive piece on, you know, how the board is working how the administration is working How we communicating with students All that's laid out there, you know, and I encourage people to go read it Now that we're coming back What is it like for your your reentry? Strategy knowing that here's what it took to get out of it. Now, how is there any Is there any headache or any static when it says let's get back into it the way we used to do it Who is standing up a smoke signal and telling them come be all faced Come on Um, you know, that's a good question. I think the intentionality that was deployed While they were departing is is required for their return Um, and we can't wait for them to return We held our commencement May 1st on the grounds of wiley college In person and it just felt so amazing jared Have our students back on campus and they'd not been since march 23rd to be exact of 2020 So it was amazing to have them back on the campus and you know, we're taking up precautions. Um tomorrow Um, we have what is today the sixth day of the day is the sixth. We have had a vaccination Drive on our campus. We had the modern of that vaccine And I'd say about 70 of our faculty and staff are vaccinated We're moving in that direction. I sent a soft letter out to the campus and to Our students Encouraging them strongly To get vaccinated if we're not talking about Religious ideology and medical impediments That vaccine People really need to take a strong look at at getting that vaccination. I'm fully vaccinated Didn't I think once about it and you know, I lost my mother January 25th of this year and Uh, if I would give anything for her to have had the opportunity to get the vaccination And she didn't have that We lost her to cope with and so I I shared that personal story to folks in hopes of trying to get them to to to really Be vaccinated because it is a life Changer life saver And so we're gonna probably recommend strongly encouraged at the very least that all of our students and faculty Are vaccinated upon return to campus You know and then just to round out the conversation and again We appreciate you brother and and even sharing, you know personal insight into why it's so important The way that we get back and not just that we get back. Um You and I have talked privately And while i'm always the master of panic, you're always the one who's like, you know, it's just just hold on Like it ain't as bad as you think and so I and part of that conversation has been around What leadership will look like in the future? There's a lot of presidents that have announced that they're going to be retiring There's a lot of transition that's going to take place. A lot of boards are going to go crazy Um around money and enrollment and things that are going to be look different because of the pandemic You are more optimistic than I am what what gives you the most optimism about Where hbc use will be all 21 and five years to come No, Jared it is because um Make no mistake about it. You you've interviewed more presidents than probably any Journalists ever and so you talk to some of the same people and you know, I get to talk to these folks and debt Financial resources or the lack thereof and the management of them is arguably one of the main predictors For a success for a president or not COVID While many things have been bad about it. There have been some blessings in disguise I share the beliefs that COVID has made The Runway clearer for some very long 10 years You talk about wiping out 60 70 80 90 98 percent of your debt at an institution Now you move from chaos Or be it organized to innovation The mind can't operate in chaos and innovation at the same time. I don't care who you are Right, but now you have some people who their main priority The thing that they deal with on a daily basis is not debt That's removed. Oh now I get to be innovative Oh, now I get to stretch The vision now I get to implement the vision Unimpaired That's a big thing. The second is is I think we will benefit from students who have been cooped up in the crib Right for some ready to come home And I think campuses have done a really good job at making upgrades while students have been away Even while students have been there COVID has been a blessing in many disguise in many different ways And so when I think about all the people that come through health all the people who Um are aspiring to lead and I I've only met three or four hundred of them I can tell you the future is bright I was talking to a young vice president Um who had a meteoric rise to the vice presidency and he was lamenting about I'm ready to be a president I'm ready to be a president So we talked about the gaps in his resume and why he's really not ready to be a president But I wanted to sagaciously admonish him if you will about um The meteoric rise that you had to the vice presidency won't be the same to the presidency because Every vice president just about on every hvcu campus just about wants to be the president Throw them in the pot seemingly there are a few board members on every board that wants to be a president Throw them in the pot There are legislators state and federal that want to be a hvcu president throw them in the pot There are vps At pwi's all 33 hundred of them throw them in the pot There are so many people vying for these jobs Which means that In most cases colleges are going to get it right and find some really good talent to lead the places, right? And so I think from my perspective I see nothing but Brightness in front of us. I am also cautiously Optimistic In knowing that things turn really quick. Yep. We've given y'all this money. No more woe is me What are you going to do now? And that is why we have to be In a posture that says we're not thinking about now or 2021 2022. We're thinking about 2030 We have long-term strategic planning and then talking to most of my colleagues man They're all over it and that's why I'm really excited and optimistic about it And the last thing I'll say and I tie this to the pre the presidential leadership institute Which we partner with united negro college fund With a grant that was powered by kresge foundation We have eight presidents coming who are less than 18 months in their tenure Jackson state, west virginia state university russ college morris brown Voorhees limon on pain And they're coming down and they're gonna be taught by You know the likes of henry tizdale Um charlie nails hayward strickland macaulab duel not taught but shared with Roslyn Clark artists They're going to be shared poured into and get an opportunity to share with each other In a way that is Really pretty special and we're happy at health to be doing that work And so that's another reason why because the more of us that get connected to The space we know who to call when stuff pops off We're able to tap into the vast libraries That hbc us have By way of personnel to help us solve some of the problems that we have