Maverick Moves: A Conversation with President Inch

Maverick Moves:

A Conversation with President Inch

College of Business Dean Brenda Flannery sits down with new University President Dr. Edward Inch to discuss innovations in teaching, the future of higher education and what it means to be a Maverick.

The President’s Bookshelf

Recommended reading from President Edward Inch:

• The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe

• Subtract by Leidy Klotz

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Brenda Flannery:

Every year we choose a different theme for the magazine, and this year we’re choosing the theme of “Being a Maverick.” It’s really exciting to be talking with you about that concept as a brand-new president of our University.

Edward Inch:

When I took the job, I studied what it means to be a Maverick. And I think Mavericks are different depending on what discipline you are in and what you choose to do with your life. I came out of speech communication and rhetorical studies. For us, the Maverick concept was one of showing your personal spirit, your drive, your ambition. Most of my career, I taught in a small Lutheran private institution. There, the notion of being a Maverick was finding your vocation and your place in the world. Here, I think it is about your creativity, your entrepreneurship, your inventiveness and how it is we try to make our world a better place using the unique gifts and skills that we have that we hone here at our University.

BF: We have a 153-year history as an institution of higher education. What are some of the topics that you foresee in the next chapter of our history?

EI: I think our next chapter is going to be marked by changing the way we approach students. One of the things when you begin to look at education as aligning students, gifts, talents, resources and what we bring. So, if you imagine the student is the circle, what we bring is a circle. What emerges out of that. You know, where that overlap is, where there’s some unique opportunities to address the world. I think you’ll see education moving toward less time-based instructional output. … We’re seeing it now on this campus and we’re ahead of the curve in a lot of ways with the work that we are doing because this campus has already seen this coming beforehand. It’s work that you’re doing in the College [of Business].

BF: It’s exciting and I do think it’s very Maverick.

EI: I think it is too.

BF: Individuals who are high in maverickism are innovative, independentminded, goal-focused and successful. What do you think that we’re going to have to do as a University to encourage more maverickism?

EI: The way I think you help move that change is show people it is possible. So, I always begin with the partners in departments on the campus that see the vision, embrace the idea and are willing to try it out. Even if they fail. We learn, we develop good practices … and we invite others to join us. It sounds really daunting but it is certainly less daunting than if we sit back and do nothing.

BF: We’ve really prided ourselves in the College of Business on pushing the envelope and creating new programs and new opportunities for students. Is there anything in particular that you’ve discovered about us as a business school that you would encourage us to keep pursuing?

EI: There are pockets of strength across the University, but there are commonalities among all of them. One is that the learning experience is experiential, and project based. That’s a feature I see that you do that is important and I think is going to be a hallmark of what the future of higher ed looks like.

This interview has been edited for space and clarity.