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Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Bill, hi there, and welcome to the biz communication Show. I’m your host, Bill Lampton, the biz communication guy, and on this show, we bring you tips and strategies that are sure to boost your business. You’ll learn plenty, as I do when we have the conversation with my highly qualified guest today, it’s an unusual privilege, and that is, I’m a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. My undergraduate degree when I was a student there, if you had ever told me that one day, on something called the internet, I would be interviewing the Millsaps college new president, I would have scratched my head and started walking the other direction. It’s a wonderful privilege today to host Frank Neville, recently appointed the president of Millsaps College in June of 2024 Frank Neville brings 35 years of leadership experience in higher education, government and global public affairs. He has served in senior administrative positions and two leading research universities and three US diplomatic missions across the globe, and amazingly, he continues to be a lifelong learner. He’s still a dedicated learner. He is currently a PhD student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, before joining Millsaps, Frank served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and the Chief of Staff at Georgia Tech. He coordinated the work of Tech’s senior leadership. He also was an adjunct faculty member at the Scheller College of Business. And then, before Georgia Tech, Neville was at George Mason University, where he served as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Communications and Marketing for two years. In addition, Neville was an adjunct professor in the School of Business. Prior to George Mason University, Frank was the Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In addition to all this and higher education, Frank Neville served 15 years as a diplomat with the US State Department, with postings in Taipei, Xingu, Guatemala City, Beijing and Nogales. At the time of his resignation, he was the most decorated Foreign Service officer under the age of 40. So I know that you will join me in welcoming Frank Neville to the biz communication show. Hello, Frank.
Frank Neville
Hello, Bill. How are you?
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I am just absolutely delighted to host you. Brings back such wonderful memories of my college days, and from everything I’ve read about your career, I know my college is in good hands. Now, the big question that probably comes to many minds when they hear of your academic career, and particularly your most recent posts, the question could be put quite simply, you left an institution, Georgia Tech and Atlanta, 47,000 students, And you came to Jackson, Mississippi, to head Millsaps College, which has approximately 700 students. That’s that’s a vast difference in numbers. And so give us, please, what your motivation was and still is for assuming the presidency of Millsaps.
Frank Neville
Yeah. Well, thank you, Bill. And that’s a great question. And you know, for me, it starts with my own undergraduate experience. I’m a graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota, which is an institution that’s very similar to Millsaps, and Carlton was instrumental in in putting me on the path that you just outlined, and preparing me to be successful on that path. And so coming to Millsaps is a little bit like coming home, even if the even if the geography is different, the culture and the values are very much the same. But also I like the fact. Is that at a smaller institution, you can really get to know people, and there’s a really deep sense of community. And that was something that came through very strongly in my initial conversations with people at Millsaps and and that sense has only been reinforced since I’ve actually arrived here.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I can relate to that quite easily, because early in my career, I was a faculty member at University of Georgia, and my first position after that was on the development staff Middlesex college. So I had the same experience leaving a very large institution and coming to a smaller school for much the same reason, because of the the personal contacts and the immediate interactions. This leads us to the next question, and that is all of us know whatever our profession, all of us know the value and the importance of first impressions. So after a few weeks, a couple of three months on the job, I want to ask certainly the communication strategies that we go through right away are a major part of our first impressions. So review for us, please, what steps you have taken to get to know the faculty, the students, the community, the administration that you work with, what what have been your communication strategies to get acquainted very quickly and very positively?
Frank Neville
Right? Well, I learned very early that showing up matters and showing up early is particularly important, and so I have worked very, very hard to meet as many people as possible and understand their perspectives on Millsaps, their aspirations for Millsaps. So we have 40 board members. I think I’ve I’ve now met in person with three quarters of them in the in the first two months, I just got back from Houston. I’ve been to Dallas. I’ve traveled around the state. I’ve been to Alabama, so I’ve been deliberately really reaching out there. One of my 100 day goals is to meet 75 of our top 100 donors, and I’m pretty well on track for that as well. I’ve met with just about all of the the faculty in in department by department. I’ve had multiple meetings with with academic leadership. I’ve gone around and met with every single administrative unit here at Millsaps. And again, the size of Millsaps then, you know, makes that a little bit more manageable than than it would be at Georgia Tech. But again, it it, as you alluded to, it’s really important to engage early and give people the opportunity to be heard right away. Now, part of that also, though, is not just listening, it’s shaping the narrative and leading the narrative so that people know what to expect, maybe not necessarily, in terms of all of the details, but certainly in terms of the principles and the priorities and the strategies that you intend to pursue. And so we’ve had some very intensive discussions and workshops this summer around the marketing of the college, the value proposition, our strategic positioning, our competitive analysis. And we’ve we’ve changed our marketing materials as a result of that. I kind of held up the printing of things for a little bit this summer so that we could get that right. We’ve had several senior leadership conversations around goals. So I’ve, you know, taken my goals and I’ve vetted them around campus, so that, you know, people have the chance to provide input. But also it’s, it’s clear as to, you know, what the institutional direction is so I think those two things, one, you know, showing up, showing up early, engaging people quickly, but then also, you know, shaping the narrative as well, rather than having the narrative sort of be shaped by others. Yeah.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
You remind me of someone who was was not an academic. Woody Allen said, half the battle of winning is showing up and visibility, as you say, is, is so important. I was for eight years affiliated with an institution as a staff member, where the CEO of that organization had a private entrance into the building so that he would not confront anybody who might want to have a conversation with him. And in those days Frank we we referred to administration as the suits. Very few people wear suits anymore, as we know. But another practice that the suits would have would be when they went into the cafeteria, and I saw this happen many times, they would not go mingle with the other workers. Individually, no they would go find a table, and they would sit and they would discuss business. In fact, I remember one time there were two who were there alone, and I decided to use my lunch hour to get acquainted, and I sat down and started chit chat, and they said, Excuse us. We’re discussing business. So being able to to establish, I guess we would call it your your persona, but it’s the same time as you said, listening, but it’s also important not only to listen, not only to be there, but to begin to express what your presidency right away will mean for Millsaps colleges and the fact that you’ve already traveled to different cities, you’ve met with board members, you’ve met with faculty members, you’ve met with the administration. I’m sure that your schedule is going to include visits to alumni chapters. I worked at different stages for three college presidents, and I think the busiest person of all was the person keeping their calendar. It’s, it’s not a prop up your feet. Job, is it
Frank Neville
not at all? Yeah, and I, and I told my staff here, I said, you know, if between the hours of, you know, 8am and 8pm I’m sitting at my desk, you’re wasting your money. So they have been, they have been very good at at helping me show up, be present, be engaged, and do so in a strategic fashion. But you know, I will say, I want to come back to your comment about the suits. And as somebody who wears a suit every day, even in 95 degree or 98 degree Mississippi heat, I take no offense, but, but your your points, I think, are really important, and I want to, I want to pause on that for a second. And you know, as a leader, regardless of the institution, you know, certainly at a at a college, where it’s decentralized, where there’s a lot of autonomy, where there’s shared governance, you know the the the dispersal of power is much greater, but even in a corporate environment, as a leader, you only have a direct line of sight to a small fraction of what happens in your organization. And you can have dashboards and you can have metrics, but you can’t sit in the room with your salespeople and micromanage their conversations, and you you can’t sit in people’s offices and and know whether they’re going the extra mile or not. And so the way you optimize performance is by motivating people and aligning their actions around strategic objectives, and the only way you do that is through engagement and communication. And so it is really important for a leader to show to the rest of the organization that that there’s a there’s a vision that you’re pursuing that will make the organization better, That will make their situations better, and that has it’s it’s worth working for, it’s worth struggling for, and that you’re going to lead, you’re not going to give up, and that if, if they follow this vision, that you’ll be successful. So that is. It, it’s critical to to be seen as as part of the team. You know, not inaccessible from the team.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
You’ve demonstrated that quite well from the outset, Frank, we’re going to be back in just a few seconds, and then we’re going to talk about the curriculum, because that, of course, is central to the success of any college or university. We’ll be back shortly.
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Bill Lampton Ph.D.
we’re here with Frank Neville, the president of Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, Frank. One of the items that I’ve come across in keeping up with what’s happening in the news and higher education is a reshaping of curriculum. And the purpose is to reshape the curriculum, in many instances, to match the what’s needed in the job market, and I know and getting Millsaps publications over the last three to four years, there have been changes with That slant, and I’m curious what you see as additional improvements, changes directions in the college’s curriculum? Yeah.
Frank Neville
Well, there are a number of different dimensions to that, but I think you hit on the most important point, which is, you know, a lot of colleges and universities have been slow to respond to societal needs or changing societal needs. And this is one thing that that I’ve talked a lot about, you know, we talked about shaping the narrative, is, you know, from from day one, what, what I’ve been saying here on campus, and what I’ve been saying in all all of my conversations actually, is that Millsaps has a mission of service to the community, and that we need to meet societal needs. We need to meet students, needs, parents, needs, employers, needs, and those needs evolve, and so we need to evolve as well in order to meet those needs. And so, you know, what I’ve what I’ve talked about is, is the critical importance of continuous improvement in order to do that. So what does that mean at Millsaps in 2024 Well, I think, first of all, I give the team and the board a great amount of credit for making a lot of progress in that regard over the over the past year, in particular, we added six new degrees, and their degrees in areas like data analytics exercise science that are in particular demands and provide students with with skills that will be very marketable. But this also raises the question of, what is the balance between technical skills and the foundational education that’s traditionally been the secret sauce of a liberal arts curriculum, and in my view, is the reason why we have so many tremendously successful Millsaps alumni, and specifically what I what I’m referring to is the integrated curriculum where you, you learn how to apply knowledge through problem solving, analysis, communications, leadership, critical thinking, because we know in the real world, problems don’t show up in disciplinary buckets. You know, there’s not the physics problem and the religious studies problem, right? There are problems. Problems show up as snarled balls of yarn and having. An integrated understanding of the world, because you’ve had a multidisciplinary education is particularly helpful in unsnarling those balls of yarn. So what what we are working on now we’ll be working on over the next year and maybe even into the following year, is thinking through what is that balance between the foundational liberal arts curriculum and then the specialized technical curriculum, and how to stitch those together in a way that is that is particularly valuable for students. And then there are, you know, there are other sub elements of that to, you know, what other programs we might want to add? I’ve asked for, for a list of proposals. We’ve already started building that list. I think there are a couple, a couple promising options for new programs. We’re also looking at how to organize ourselves around the delivery of that integrated education in a more structured fashion. So all of those things are in the mix, and we’ve got, we’ve got faculty committees talking about those things. And, you know, hopefully we’ll be able to put in place some of those things, you know, maybe as early as the spring, but if not, by the fall of 2025, but, but for the most part, though, Bill, I will say that the education that’s delivered here at Millsaps is still creating great value for students and families, and it’s positioning graduates to be successful in a wide range of careers. I’ll give you one example is, you know, over the past, I don’t know, several five ish years over, 10% of the graduates of Millsaps college every year have gone on to medical school. And I could give you lots of other statistics as well, but hopefully that one sort of makes the point of the preparedness of our students, once they once they leave these gates.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I know some people would probably doubt it, but I can still quote some of the Shakespeare I learned and Dr Milton White’s class. That was the last class I took during summer school. And I, and I hope students still get access to that wherever they are, those, those types of true, durable treasures, and I know that will be preserved at Millsaps, Frank Neville. This has been so fascinating. And I, I, as I said at the outset, indications are incredibly strong that Millsaps has a wonderful future under your leadership. Could you, in 30 seconds, sort of pull together? How would you like to conclude what we’ve talked about,
Frank Neville
yeah, I would just echo what you said, Bill, is that Millsaps is a really special place. And more broadly, you know, a liberal arts education is is actually, in my view, more in demand now, more valuable now, than it ever has been, because the world is more complicated. Solutions are are trickier because, you know, we’ve got a much more diverse, polarized society, and so having people who can lead change, who can find solutions, who can be creative, and can do so from a value based perspective, which, which Millsaps has a strong tradition of, I think is, is, is very much in demand. And, you know, it’s a contribution that Millsaps has made for decades and can continue to make to Mississippi and to the country.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Very well. Said, Frank, would you like to give us your contact information? I know that there are alumni, friends of the college, people who might now just be learning about Millsaps, who would like to get in touch with you? Yeah,
Frank Neville
please. It’s, it’s very simple. Just president@millsaps.edu is is a great way to reach me and and any alumni who are planning to visit Jackson or who live in Jackson and want to visit campus, just let us know. We’d love to see you. Seen some of you on campus, but would love to see more so. Welcome,
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
thank you, and thank you again for being with us. And since Frank Neville has given his contact information, I’m happy to give mine, my YouTube channel where this video and now about 500 others appear. My YouTube channel. Bill Lambton, PhD invites you to subscribe there also my website. I mentioned I’m the biz communication guy, so quite logically, my website is biz communicationguide.com and on the website, notice that you can subscribe to my podcast, which I invite you to do. I welcome phone calls to talk about your communication challenges and problems and goals and how I can assist you with them. So please do keep in touch and doctor, soon to be doctor. Frank Neville, thank you so much again. Really appreciate it, and thank you for all that you have done already for my beloved alma mater, Middlesex College.
Frank Neville
Thank you, Bill. It’s been a pleasure.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Thanks to all of you who have been with us today. We welcome your participation weekly in the biz communication show, be with us again next week, when we will provide additional tips and strategies that will boost your business you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
