Dr. Boggess Discusses Changes

After the buzz of the vote of no confidence came over campus, Elliot Hicks, chairman of the Board of Governors, answered some questions and gave some insightful information to clarify what was happening. This week, Dr. Kendra Boggess, Concord University President, also gives some clarification for a follow-up article. 

    Boggess states that she has been at the university for a long time and has seen many no confidence votes. However, she says that the key is communication. She also says that she believe the vote of no-confidence loses its effectiveness when it is the first action rather than communication between faculty and administration. 

    Boggess also says that as a formal faculty member for many years, she understands what the faculty wants, but the process of actually achieving it isn’t always so simple. 

    As a result of the faculty caring strongly for these things, Boggess says that they try to follow the process as closely as they can, however, things can get difficult because there are many people reporting to her with different opinions. “My job, and it’s a very difficult one, is to try and sift through and decide what everybody wants and what best meets the needs of the institution. That’s [what] makes it difficult. … So it’s a balancing act and it’s not always easy to come up with a solution that everybody’s happy with.”

    As previously stated, things can be a balancing act between trying to do what’s best for our university, our students, and our faculty and staff. Boggess is aware of what is happening in our university and the state of West Virginia, but she is prepared to try and do what is best. “I will also say this is a time of tremendous change,” she says.  “And the changes are internal but there are more external. That comes from a national level, state level, regional level and there are things that were going [to] have to do as [an] institution.”

    Boggess gives an example of this, saying “We had a meeting yesterday of the task force on cost savings and efficiency. It includes students, it includes staff, faculty and administrators. There are things that we’re going [to] have to do that are going [to] be unpleasant. We’ve known it as the budget continues to get cut, [so] we’ve known that we have to do those things. Our board expects us to do these things and the board hires me, I report to the board. You all as students have an advisor capacity.” 

    Although these things are happening, Boggess wants everyone to know that she is always open for people to come talk to her. “You can always come in and I always want to know what you think. I do have students who come in regularly. I have staff members who come in. I have faculty that come in. That’s how you come to some resolutions and decisions but nobody gets the only last voice and the responsibility to make final decisions. Unfortunately, [those things] sometimes fall on my shoulders. It is very tough to do but I will tell you, I always try to find the best decision that my thinking can get its head around… for the institution because I love this place.”

    As Mr. Hicks stated in his interview, he agrees that she will have to make tough decisions for this university and believes that Boggess is prepared to try and tackle the challenges that our university faces. Boggess states that she is very encouraged by the fact that the board supports reasonable change. “I think they would like to encourage all of us to look at many, many options. So if anything, I think the votes of confidence give us an opportunity to say, ‘You know, I don’t like the fact that you do something this way,’ but it gives me a chance to explain and say, ‘Come in, let’s talk.’ And I’ve been doing a lot of that since the vote has gone on.”

    Among these tough decisions is the change in the general education requirements. As Hicks stated, it is a controversial subject; however, Boggess believes it is the best decision. “I think many students today in many schools today offer broader options for students. We probably and since we’ve gone through the general studies changes, we’ve looked at the same general studies coursework for forty years. I think things have changed in the world in forty years and I would like to think we need to keep up with those and so looking at the general studies and giving kids more options.”

    Boggess says that it may take a while for students to realize what this change could have done for them. However, she believes they will come to that understanding. Even if students don’t want to enter into the new catalog, they are able to stay in the old catalog as long as they came in at a time when it was available. Boggess makes it clear that they do not want to hurt students in anyway.

    Although the change is important for the students so that they have more of a choice, Boggess says that they are feeling a push not just from the university. “It is from the state and it is from the federal government. Students need to graduate with less debt and more quickly,” she says.

    Boggess explains that when she was in school, almost everyone finished in four years. Now, however, it’s “extraordinary” to finish in four years because students have to work much more than they used to. “But every year that you’re not working, you’re not making a salary. Every year that you stay in school, you’re adding debt, and you’ve probably read about the trillion dollars in debt that students carry today. Legislators, not in West Virginia, nationally, are worried about this trillion-dollar debt and what is happening at least from an economic standpoint,” Boggess explains.

    When looking at it from an economic standpoint, it could be bad for students when they try and graduate. Boggess explains that students can’t buy a house and they have trouble with buying a car because their debt repayment is equal to what a mortgage could be. So with this push from the federal government and the state to have students leave with less debt, they had to do something about it. “If we change the general studies slightly and you can get out with a minor that fuels your passion more and you’re more excited about, we only changed about nine, maybe ten, hours. You still have to take those hours but you can take them in things that matter to you, and so that was [...] our idea to do that, was to give you that opportunity.”

    These financial issues that we’re dealing with as not only a university, but as a state effect everyone. “If you get a seven and a half percent cut, you’ve got to find a place to cut and find the money. So in three years at Concord and in other schools across the state, we take 17 percent cuts and then we have to come to you with our hat in our hands and go ‘We need more money from you and your family’,” explains Boggess.

    Boggess says that, as a result, we have to find ways to do things differently. “It’s not sustainable the way it is, so we know that, like other schools, we have to find ways to be different. We need to restructure, and restructuring into three colleges, it’s something I think that needed to be done for a long time. We became a university and when we did, we didn’t change anything,” she says.

    Boggess goes on to explain, “We kept the same structure but we probably have opportunities for synergies and programs if we get people talking to one another that didn’t normally work together that’s my dream that would happen that if you put some of the professional studies programs together that they could come up with more ideas of programs to serve students.”

    Although things are tough right now, Boggess wants to assure anyone who is worried or has concerns that things will be okay. “Things are going [to] be okay because we’re a strong institution, we have a great reputation in the state [and] we have great faculty who inspire students, they work hard. As a former faculty member here, I am very, very proud of my colleagues and I know the work they do.”

    Not only does Concord have wonderful professors but also staff members. “Many of you know our cafeteria is named after a staff member, Libby, who knew every kid’s name. Part of the reason some students are able to stick it out is that people love them here. We have faculty and staff who care about kids.”

    All in all, Concord is a wonderful place. We will get through no matter the trials and tribulations that may come our way. “I think that we have a really unique blend of people here because we’re small, we get to know one another and that’s important. There [is] magic here because you actually get to know students.” Boggess says.

    Boggess wants to reassure everyone. “I’m sorry that it came to this because I think there are better ways to solve problems than to just go nuclear. I think that there are ways to sit down and have resolution of issues but everybody doesn’t always get everything that they wish. So, this is a tough time and we just all have to patient and show enough concern and love for one another that we get through.”

    With all the information circulating around, Boggess recommends students sign up for the free “Chronicle of Higher Education” magazine as a way to stay informed. It can be accessed online or be sent in a journalized form. “What it does is give you a sense of what is going on nationally, regionally and some of the decisions we make are not things [that] are happening here on campus…” she states.

    Not only do Boggess and some of the faculty and staff read it, but also the board reads it. Even though many of them live in different areas, they are able to be aware of what is happening around the university. Some of what it entails is, “It’s partly research, they have journals, research articles, opinion pieces, and they also have job listings. Most people who are in higher education initially use it as a ‘I need another job, where do I go?’ They look if I’m a professor of management or [if] I’m a professor of history, these are the schools that have those jobs, this is what they need and I’ve got the credentials for it,” she explains.