Passing the Baton

As Dr. Laura Casamento steps down as President of Utica University, she hands over the reins to her successor and a familiar face - Dr. Todd Pfannestiel. Over the past five years, the duo have worked incredibly closely as President and Provost, forming a relationship both professional and personal that has informed the steering of the ship that is this institution. The two sat down with Utica Magazine prior to Dr. Pfannestiel’s inauguration to talk about the presidential transition, working together, and the challenges that face higher education.

Utica Magazine: You’ve been working together for about five years now, but let’s go back to the beginning. What were your first impressions of each other?

Todd Pfannestiel: My first impression of Laura when we met was obviously through the search and it was dinner with Laura and her husband, Phil, and three trustees over at Ocean Blue. And I walked away from that first meeting knowing this is a president from whom I can learn. And that was important to me individually and professionally at that point, because I knew I had aspirations to become a president. And I didn’t want to work for a president who I was simply replicating. I wanted to know somebody whom I can learn important skills from. That was my first impression from that dinner and every day since then, I’ve learned from Laura.

Laura Casamento: It was a dinner for finalists in the search. I had been really pleased with how Todd had interviewed through the search process up to that point. It’s really funny because Todd mentioned [my husband] Phil was there. I told Phil, who has never ever attended those types of dinners, this is one of the most important positions and most important hires a president can make. I really need you to come to the dinner and tell me what you think. And Todd was great. You would have never known that he hated seafood, even though we were at Ocean Blue. There was just an ease about him and an ease about our relationship that you could see. In fact, when we walked away, and we still had a couple more dinners to go to, my husband said ‘you need to hire that guy.’ So it was a good match from the beginning.

UM: A moment ago, Todd, you said you realized when you started that you could learn a lot from her. What are the standouts of what you’ve learned from Laura in your time here?

TP: I’d say maybe not so ironically, that it reflects what I think our teaching mission is here at the University. And that is we tell students you’re here to learn knowledge, skills and dispositions or behaviors. It’s the same thing I’ve learned from Laura in different ways - knowledge, skills and dispositions. One of the holes in my portfolio in terms of knowledge was macro level budget management. I’ve managed smaller budgets. I haven’t thought about university-wide budget management. Clearly from her background in everything from finance, banking and advancement, I’ve learned so much from her that I now feel comfortable and not scared, coming into a president’s position and knowing how you work with your financial affairs team to manage a significant budget. So it would be sort of those knowledge pieces. In terms of skill, I think a lot of it has to do with communication skills. I’ve always prided myself on my communication skills, but it’s different when you’re a president and I did not know that until I saw how Laura communicates to different constituent groups, that it’s not just a one size fits all form of communication.

Then there’s disposition. I think with Laura, it reinforced what I had already learned from previous presidents for whom I worked. The second president for whom I worked, President Joseph Grunenwald of Clarion University, told me 20 years ago - ‘Todd never let them see you sweat. Never. No matter what the issue is.’ Laura hasn’t used those exact words but I’ve watched her and I swear she doesn’t perspire. She’s never let them see you sweat. So watching her for five years has reinforced what President Grunenwald told me 20 years ago. There’s knowledge gaps that I now feel comfortable with. The skills I understand are different for a president than anyone else. And the disposition is no matter what it is - a deflated dome, an alleged shooting incident - no matter what the answer is, never let them see you sweat because that’s what the community needs in a president.

UM: Now to flip it around a little bit. Laura, is there anything that you can look back on and see that you’ve learned from Todd in your time together?

LC: Todd has really helped me with the patience that you need for strong academic level decision making. It’s not that I didn’t understand that prior to his arrival, but the way he talks about communication is different in every job. He was able to teach me a lot about the strategic communication processes that are really necessary in order to make and enact good decisions on the economic side. And that has been really, really, really valuable to me.

UM: What do you each feel is the importance of a university president within the community?

LC: I don’t think anyone can quite prepare you for being in the seat as opposed to being close to the seat. It’s an incredibly important position because everyone always looks to you. So, you have to have a terrific team. You have to work under a shared governance framework, which is a terrific framework to work within. But still, at the end of the day when the rubber hits the road and decisions are made, people are either happy with you or not happy with you. Everything kind of stops with you. That does take some getting used to.

The other big surprise for me in the beginning was the true 24/7 nature of this job. Everyone knows it’s 24/7 and you say it’s 24/7 but there is kind of an alertness that’s always there. It never leaves you about what’s happening because you’re responsible for this greater community and that’s a lot of responsibility. It’s wildly rewarding and I am not sure I understood in the beginning how rewarding it was and how rewarding it can be, even in the face of a lot of difficult situations. When you can tell that you’ve made a difference in communication or when you can tell that you were able to ratchet down a situation or you get that nice note from someone that says they feel better about it, it’s amazing. Even if you’re driving away at midnight after a really long day, it makes you say, ‘This is why we do what we do.’ And that is such an incredibly rewarding part of the job. I couldn’t have anticipated that part.

TP: You know, I’ll take a slightly different twist on it. What I didn’t realize and I’m making an assumption here, was how much a president needs wellness care - how much I hope a Laura needs a Todd for those moments when you can’t walk out of the office. And then you’ve gotta be on 24/7 but behind closed doors, Laura can be Laura and Todd can be Todd. And, you know, it’s not a concern, but I need to identify who my ‘Todd’ is going to be. Is it going to be my provost? You know, it’s not always just the provost. In fact, I think we’ve talked to some institutions, that the relationship between the president and provost is very different than the relationship Laura and I have both in and out of the office. We have a personal friendship, as well as a very professional relationship and I think it’s very unusual…extremely unusual. I want that going forward and I need to know who is going to be the person that can play the many roles that I’ve played for Laura as president and as Laura’s friend.

LC: I have to say, and this just popped into my head, I think one of the best things we ever did, which seems so simple now, is move the provost into the suite with the president because when the office is elsewhere, it’s like having to go to another office. I really feel like Todd and I have done a lot of co-leading here. I can walk out and his door’s open or my door’s open and he can come in and shut the door and talk. It’s created a partnership that I think exists with many presidents and provosts, but I think it’s just taking it to another level and it absolutely has made this transition fantastic…just fantastic.

UM: Did the strong working and personal relationship you were able to form surprise you both as time went on?

LC: Well, I can tell you that Todd has one of the best senses of humor of anyone I’ve ever met and in the face of all kinds of nonsense he could just make me laugh at times when you really need to laugh. That’s worth a ton right there. It’s not just the professional stuff, which is hard, and he’s really good at. It’s also the ability to take just the craziest situation on Earth and just to be able to take some breaths and have a reprieve with a good laugh. Then you can breathe and go and face what you have to.

UM: As your working relationship and your friendship grew, what common ground with each other did you find? What kind of differences? And how did they affect the roles you have to play?

TP: For me, obviously, the first common ground is working for a president that is so clear in the absolute passion that Laura has for the success of this institution and its role in this community. I would not have succeeded here, just doing my job as a provost, if I didn’t see that passion. I want that passion in everybody who works here. But if you don’t have a precedent, you can’t really expect it from anyone else. And so it meant everything every day, no matter what the situation, to always see that passion. It becomes your true north no matter what we do here, students and the institution come first and the students are the institution, period. And to remind yourself of that actually makes some of the decisions easier. The actions are difficult to achieve, but the decisions are really easy when you know exactly what your true north is.

People ask, ‘do you sleep well at night with some of the decisions you made as provost?’ I’ve never had a sleepless night as provost because I know the decisions are focused on one key point. And it’s the same key point that a president reinforces over and over again. So that meant everything to me, coming from someone whom I can work with and I can be friends with. And yet it’s not based on friendship. It’s based on the fact that we both have, I think, the exact same vision for what’s important about this institution.

In the end, no matter how he does things or what the end goal is, our dream for the University is the same.

- Laura Casamento on her successor, Todd Pfannestiel

LC: I definitely think that he and I both have a servant leadership attitude and it’s the way we approach the job. I think most presidents have to have it, but we just see it every day in the interactions with students. If someone says we don’t have the funds for that, we try to personally take care of it. Somebody needs to do that thing, let’s just do that thing. We feel good about that. We don’t say that because we need a pat on the back. It’s just that it’s an enormous part of our lives and who we are.

TP: One of the things she just mentioned was servant leadership. I’ve walked to meetings across campus with Laura, where she sees something on the ground and she picks it up and throws it away. That’s a small part of servant leadership, even though we have everybody else around here who polices the grounds and everything else, to have the president who has a billion things on her mind stop and pick up the pen that somebody dropped, or the paper towel or whatever it isthat’s who we are. And this institution represents us. That’s the model that I want to fulfill.

UM: Laura, how involved were you in the search for your successor?

LC: I really wasn’t involved at all. I was asked to answer questions for finalists. When finalists came to the area, I was asked to be available so that I could answer any questions that finalists might have. That was primarily my role.

UM: Todd, what was the interview process like for you?

TP: It’s different for an internal candidate than an external candidate, but we came through that search feeling as though I was an external candidate. It’s meaningful because I want to know that if I am selected for the position that it was against excellent competition and that it reflects upon this University to have a highly qualified pool of people. Also, if I’m not selected, it’s because they found someone even better and that would be a damn good president that I get to work with, so I’m cool with that - something I said many times to the search committee as well. So I appreciate the fact that it was an excellent search from start to finish, that I was treated like every other candidate, and I had to prove myself across the board. There were surprises every step of the way and yet at the end of it I felt really, really good. At the end I feel as though I’ve been validated, that I’m ready for this, that a group said ‘we want you and we did it through a national search, not just because we’ve known you for five years.’

UM: How do you both feel that your working relationship, shared visions, etc. will influence the future of the university?

LC: As of August 1, this is Todd’s University. I will always be there if he has questions or if anyone has a need and Todd thinks that I would be helpful, I’m happy to do that. But as far as strategy, it remains an anchor institution in the Mohawk Valley. I think Todd and I are very aligned on how to get there and, though things may change and strategies may alter, Todd’s going to lead a new strategic plan which is completely appropriate given the presidential transition and given that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education [Utica University’s accrediting body] will be here again in a couple of years. I think we were in lockstep but he’s going to have things thrown at him and situations will change and he’s going to move and pivot and adapt with the board and with the rest of the University community in a way that I know will be successful. In the end, no matter how he does things or what the end goal is, our dream for the University is the same.

TP: And I would say the exact same thing. Moving forward, people from the outside looking in will not see a marked difference. And I think that’s because I and others on the senior leadership team have sat at this table and helped to shape the vision that Laura and the board have. We’ve been working together with others to shape the vision and that’s not going to change because I’m taking on a new role. It’s going to be continuing that vision. Some of the strategies will be different moving forward, no doubt, born out of circumstances as they change.

LC: It’s what I’ve always loved about the university - it doesn’t run away from its challenges. It’s really entrepreneurial and pretty bold how it gets through those times. And Todd’s been integral as has the rest of the team in shaping that strategy.

UM: What do you feel are some of the primary challenges that higher education is facing right now and how do you try to get through?

TP: I think the answer is largely the same for both of us. The biggest challenge facing higher education right now and specifically private higher education, as well as public, is sustainability. If you aren’t thinking about the future then the future is going to happen to you and in some cases you go away. But we’re not going to go away because we know what the challenges are and we know how we need to address it. I think the future will see more partnerships and not the type of partnerships we’ve seen in the past with regard to higher education vendors, but with higher education institutions. Who are the other higher education institutions not only in our region, but outside of our region that can complement what we do and not duplicate what we do? Working together, it’s that old saying that a rising tide raises all ships. So for the sustainability of private higher ed and yes for the sustainability of Utica University moving forward, and this ground campus moving forward, we need to have those discussions in terms of how we work together with other institutions to leverage our strengths.

LC: I think Todd’s right. It’s a sustainability issue, but also the thing that has worried me is just the perception of the value of higher education. There was a recent Gallup poll that said only 36% of the people surveyed in the country thought there was value in higher ed and it was down from like 57% just three years ago. We have to demonstrate to our prospective students and their families if there’s a return on their investment in Utica University. We want them to invest in Utica. We want their children, our students, to be successful. As a student, we want you to be successful. At the end of your journey here, we want to be able to say you are going to be able to go find employment, go to graduate school, whatever, and create a life for yourself that you wouldn’t have had if you didn’t come here. We have to be able to make that case. And right now all of higher education is competing in a time when governments are dropping the requirement for a degree, huge companies like Google are saying you don’t need the degree anymore. So if we’re not making the case that it’s still really valuable, then that’s an issue.

UM: How does it feel, Laura, as you wind things down to know you’re passing the baton on to Todd?

LC: It feels good. When I first announced that I was going to retire, of course, there’s no path. By that I mean, there’s no like easing your way out of that. The year is just full speed ahead until the end and then it really wasn’t until after commencement that I could start to breathe and think about unpacking the office and about all of these transition plans. But since Todd was named president in February, we started the transition the Monday after the board meeting where it was announced, which makes me feel a whole lot better about getting in the car and driving away just knowing that the institution and the board picked the right person to lead the institution for the future.

UM: How do you feel, Todd, knowing that while letting you do your own thing, Laura has offered to be there if you ever need it?

TP: It’s a trite word, but I think the one-word answer to that is “fortunate”. I’m extremely fortunate that the university selected me to be the next leader and feel blessed to have that opportunity. I am fortunate that I have a president who, in the last year of her presidency, could have easily said ‘I’m a lame duck.’ But she didn’t. I’m fortunate to be following a president who made difficult decisions this past year, who cleared the decks where we could clear the decks so that I’m not necessarily coming into the first six months having to make those same difficult decisions. So I’m doubly fortunate that I was selected, fortunate that working with Laura, we were able to address some of the more challenging questions that were in front of us and have been in front of us, and fortunate that I have her cell phone and when I have questions, I can get a hold of her.

I’m extremely fortunate that the university selected me to be the next leader and feel blessed to have that opportunity.

- President Todd Pfannestiel