THE ’BIRD THE VIDETTE PRESENTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016 Vol. 129 / No. 18
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Meet Mrs. Dietz The woman behind the presidency: Marlene Dietz shares her story MORGAN KUNIEJ Features Editor
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alking into the home of a university president may seem intimidating to some. At Illinois State University, entering the University Residence means being greeted by the warm and welcoming smile that belongs to Marlene Dietz, the wife of President Larry Dietz. Initially earning a degree in elementary education, Marlene began her career as a teacher and later moved on to working in health insurance, where she stayed for about 10 years. As a single mother, Marlene waited for both of her children, Shelby and Ryan, to go to college before stepping into the leadership-development training world at a female-owned training firm in Colorado. Through this career, Marlene got her first experiences in civic involvement. After five years working for the firm, she moved to Kansas City, where she was part of a leadership development program through the chamber of commerce. After completing the program, Marlene and Larry Dietz ended up on the same board, where they raised money to keep the fountains in the city working. Although Marlene says Larry claims they met earlier, she said they met in January at the first board meeting. That summer, when she graduated with her MBA, Marlene said Larry told her he wanted to take her on a date because he admired intelligent people. Six months later, they went on their first date to a symphony, which sparked an 8-year relationship. “I didn’t understand why my life had kind of gone the way it had relative to marriage,” Marlene said. “I had said all I ever wanted was the picket fence. And to me the picket fence said security; it just meant living happily ever after, that’s how I interpreted the picket fence.” Six years after their relationship began, Larry accepted a position as the vice president at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Two years of long distance dating, and the couple only missed two weekends of traveling to see each other. A trip to the Dietz family farm on Easter resulted in Marlene receiving a shoebox with a white, spray-painted picket fence inside. “So bless his heart, he had [eaten] a whole box of popsicles and made me a picket fence,” Marlene said. “He said, ‘I don’t know how to pick out a ring, I just want to give you the picket fence,’ and he’s given me a lot more than a picket fence since then.” Shortly after marriage, Larry encouraged Marlene to start her own company. After seeing the need for team building, communication and facilitation in nonprofit companies, in 2002 she started a business called Dynamic Leadership Development. This allowed her to continue working with government agencies on a contract basis, while also allowing her to do nonprofit work. A few years later, Larry was unexpectedly offered the position as president of ISU. After 20 years of travel, Marlene’s career was slowing down. “Larry said to me, ‘I’d really love it if you would quit traveling and stay here with me and do this full-time.’ I had about nine months of work on my calendar, so I finished that out,” Marlene said. “I only do pro-bono work here locally now.” see MARLENE page 3
TWINS AT ISU: A FAMILY AFFAIR FEATURES 6
Photograph by JENNA KADZIULIS Vidette Photo Editor Related photo gallery at videtteonline.com
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