By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
One of the five finalists for the position of provost at Fort Hays State University, Dr. Graham Glynn said he is confident to face what he calls the “disruptive age of higher education” if he lands the job.
Glynn is the vice provost and executive dean of college-wide programs at Mercy College in New York City. His higher education stops include professorships and other educational roles at Farris State, Creighton, Penn State and at his current role at Mercy College.
“One of my main goals at each stop is to make a higher institution ‘hum,’ ” Glynn said. “All of the components should work well together. We should be listening to the faculty and help them develop the skills that they need to grow over time and make sure there are good policies and resources at the institution so that I can help in run well together.”
The native of Ireland said FHSU is one of the leaders in the disruptive age of higher education, which is one of the reasons he was drawn to the job away from the busy life of a big city. Glynn expects significant consolidation over the next generation and said universities around the world need to “change the way they’re doing business” in order to survive increased demands.
“I was looking for an institution that’s interested in change, willing to take risks and willing to be a cutting edge in higher education. When I read about Fort Hays State and what they’re looking for, it resonated with me so much,” he said. “Fort Hays has a third of their students online, a third face-to-face, and a third in China — you can’t get much more innovative than that.”
The longtime educator said his major goals are to simply make students more successful in the classroom by making sure they are prepared for courses before they enter. He noted the traditional approach, which is based on reacting to student failure, is simply not going to work.
“I have some ideas how we can restructure the whole educational process so that it focuses on making sure that we get students into courses where they are much more likely to succeed,” he said.
Glynn recently created a proposal that requires a university to reimburse a student’s tuition if they don’t success. His other goals include helping students create a portfolio based on successes that can be shown off to employers.
He also admitted he’s “ready to move back” to a college town like Hays due to the fact that he’s “not terribly happy” with New York City.
“Everywhere else that I’ve worked, I’ve been friends with and knew my neighbors and it’s not like that (in New York).” Glynn said. “I’m actually looking forward to getting back to a college town.”
On-campus visits continue this week with Dr. John Ronnau, dean of the College of Health Sciences & Human Services at the University of Texas-Pan American; and Dr. Gersham Nelson, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Central Missouri.