State of the College

Fall Convocation
State of the College Address
Kansas State University College of Engineering
September 3, 2009

John R. English, Dean

1. Year in a review

Good afternoon. Welcome to the 2009 fall term for the College of Engineering at Kansas State University. It seems like yesterday that Warren Staley was here as our 2009 spring commencement speaker, and we watched one more outstanding class graduate from our college. At each commencement exercise, whether here or somewhere else, I am always reminded that being a part of academics is always a winning situation. We get to be part of a process that enables young people to pursue exciting and promising careers in engineering, computer science, and construction science. We are privileged to touch the “fountain of youth.”

I hope your summer has been productive. I, like perhaps some of you, look back at my summer “to-do list” and wonder what happened. In fact, I have been thinking about adding a new day nestled in between Sunday and Monday. While I think it’s a really good idea, I am concerned with one potential problem— when I start celebrating Thanksgiving, many others will be leaving for the December holidays. That could be a problem.

Anyway, it has been a year full of greatness and challenges!

We have completely recovered from the tornado of 2008. Thanks to the leadership of Prof. Carl Riblett and the support of countless others, we are completely open for business. Assistant Dean Larry Satzler tells me that preliminary data indicates our entering class of 2009 will be as large as last year’s. I believe that with the state of the economy, such indicators are significant in showing our college is alive and well!

With the challenges of the tornado and our now much-improved facilities, we were also faced with budget cuts.

We absorbed a one-time hit of 4.25% for FY 2009 from the appropriated side of our revenue stream. As Senior Associate Dean Gary Clark described to you at one of our spring faculty and staff meetings (which we want to continue), each per cent represents just over a $100K reduction for the college. For FY 2010, we absorbed a 7% permanent reduction. That cut was dramatic and has been realized in the reduction of staff in the dean’s office as well as elimination of about seven other faculty positions. We have been hurt, but we are not down. Even in light of the almost certain additional reductions to come, we have the opportunity to lead and show that the College of Engineering at Kansas State University will excel. But, we must be strategic in our investments and package opportunities in highly leveraged proposals to funding agencies and the central administration at Kansas State University. We must invest in our Communities of Excellence.

Last year, we re-engaged both the College Committee on Planning (CCOP) and the Department Committees on Planning (DCOPs). Even though their charter is to engage in plans for exigency, CCOP in particular, from my perspective, offers a great opportunity to discuss our advances toward realizing our new vision.

We have engaged the College of Engineering Advisory Committee in a new and changing fashion; and at the academic unit level, you are engaging your advisory committees to help guide you through these exciting times. These professionals care deeply about our well-being and are a credit to the college.

This year also brought us three new department heads and one interim head. In fact, if you are in the room, please stand as I state your name so you can be recognized for your willingness to step up and lead. From chemical engineering, we have Prof. Jim Edgar. From mechanical and nuclear engineering, we have Prof. Don Fenton. From computer and information systems, we have Prof. Gurdip Singh, and our interim head is Prof. Joe Harner from biological and agricultural engineering. Please join me in thanking these outstanding professionals.

As you know, we have also restructured the dean’s office to reduce the number of associate deans to two. In this restructuring, Prof. Gary Clark was named in January as senior associate dean. Dr. Clark is responsible for “all things” academic and is the number two person in the college, representing the office of the dean in my absence. Gary is a trusted colleague and is proving to be invaluable. Prof. Clark, will you stand and let us recognize you?

Through excellent leadership of the department heads and development team, we are reporting record-level giving from our alumni and other constituents. Much of the support has been a rallying of our constituents to promote and further advance our scholarship programs for the college and academic units. We have realized significant gifts for equipment and faculty support, and have also implemented a tuition waiver, although limited to $10K per department, for new Ph.D. students coming to the college. Associate Dean Byron Jones will continue to implement this program for a second year in conjunction with the department heads. It is my hope that it will grow and prosper.

Also, this year brought us to the end of an era when President Jon Wefald retired after 23 years of service. President Emeritus Wefald demonstrated fundamental and impacting aspects of leadership. In fact, my favorite speech I delivered during my first two years was based upon the attributes of leadership ascribed to by Dr. Wefald. He is a credit to this great university.

With his departure, we also witnessed the departure of Duane Nellis as he left to become president of the University of Idaho. Provost Nellis and I had become quite close, and I truly valued his guidance and support. Provost Nellis cared deeply for this college and supported us on major initiatives. He, too, will be missed. Furthermore, his departure created new opportunities of leadership for me. As chair of the search committee to find his replacement, I have found great pleasure in working with our colleagues across campus. The committee is outstanding. In fact, I like to say that if one could start a whole new university, this would be the “A” team to start the job. I am very encouraged that this group is committed to find, as charged by President Schultz, “the very best provost for Kansas State University.”

The last change I’ll mention has been the addition of a new president. Trust me on this, we have an exceptional leader at the helm. Our alumni and other constituents are highly pleased with this appointment as well. Here is what I expect to see with President Schulz: strategic initiatives that move aggressively in efficient and effective manners, an externally engaging style, a warm and inviting presence, and openness and frankness.

The year has been exciting and fun. I hope you have experienced it in the same way. I believe our future is going to be exceptional if we are willing to step out and lead.

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about leadership and in the process, have absorbed two new books. The first, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, is about life seen through the eyes of an aging golden retriever, Enzo. I know this sounds like a stretch, but it was really good. His owner, Denny, is a semi-professional race car driver, particularly gifted at racing on wet pavement. Enzo provides his perspective of Denny’s life. In some respects, it may seem silly, but as a dog lover, it has gripped my heart with some of the lessons of life and how they relate to leadership.

The second book is the sequel to the Jim Collins’ book that I described at last fall’s convocation, Good to Great, which gave rise to the concept of our college promoting the following Communities of Excellence:

• Sustainable energy: wind, solar, nuclear
• Big 12 Engineering Consortium
• Health care
• Sensors and materials
• Bioenergy

Our Communities of Excellence were likened to Dr. Collins’ concept of hedgehogs—the areas where we are at our very best. In his current work, he and his research staff took case studies from Good to Great and Built to Last (his other popular work), identifying 11 companies that met rigorous rise-and-fall criteria at some point. Then using a qualitative contrast method, each entity was dissected in order to identify common attributes of those who fall from greatness. In this book, Collins states: “Every institution is vulnerable, no matter how great. No matter how much you’ve achieved, no matter how far you’ve gone, no matter how much power you’ve garnered, you are vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. Anyone can fall and most eventually do.”

All companies and organizations have the potential to fall, including the K-State College of Engineering. This got my attention.

2. Qualities of leadership

Through reading these books this summer and my own experiences, I have developed a list of leadership qualities I believe will aid in maintaining our success. I believe that us being on the same page in view of leadership is the single most effective thing we can do. As dean, I don’t sing a solo here; the college, faculty, staff, and students, must lead as well. We must “breathe together” and operate more efficiently. This will be key for turning the corner during these uncertain times. We aren’t going to be able to place scores of new people on staff or faculty. It just isn’t going to happen. We must be strategic, effective, and efficient.

One of the highlights of my spring was the opportunity to meet with Provost Emeritus Jim Coffman. He had the most enlightening perspective of what vision should be. He said the following to me in his campus office at vet med: “Vision is what you wrap yourself around.”

This comes from one of the most decorated provosts in K-State history. It is simple and exactly right. We must wrap ourselves around our vision, which is our primary “flywheel” in Dr. Collin’s vernacular, and lead. So, it is no surprise that the first quality of exceptional leadership is (1) vision.

In Racing in the Rain, Enzo, our aging golden retriever friend, says in the context of automobile racing, “The car goes where the eyes go.” Our vision to be a highly ranked college providing quality education within a research environment that develops engineering leaders to benefit society is where our eyes should go, regardless of whether the dean, a department head, or a senior and famous faculty member is around. We should embed our six themes and drive to see performance excel in our academic units. If you haven’t reflected on these themes lately, take a look in the Rathbone atrium where they’re posted to remind us of our priorities.

As we press on toward our vision, we should (2) remain true to our core values. When I interviewed here in the spring of 2007, I presented my core values as integrity, honesty, vision, completeness, respect, and fun. I haven’t changed these. In fact, as I have interviewed prospective candidates for various positions, I have taken time to discuss my commitment to those values. For K-State College of Engineering, our core values are—

1. Our faculty, staff, alumni, and students are members of a collaborative community.
2. We are inclusive, while respecting the individual.
3. We are ethical and professional.
4. We aspire to the highest levels of scholarship.
5. We serve society and provide leadership for the betterment of humanity.

Friends, vision is critical and we must abide by it and accomplish it through our core values.

Third, (3) delegation is critical. President Emeritus Wefald likes to quote President Nixon when he said, “I refuse to make a decision that others can make.” Jim Collins states, “If you have the right people, who accept the responsibility, you don’t need to have a lot of senseless rules and mindless bureaucracy in the first place.” Does anyone in this room want more rules and bureaucracy? We should understand not where we are going but why and how we are going. Collins says that demise (Stage 1: Hubris born of success) is on its way when we fail to examine why we are succeeding just because we are great. The bottom line is that effective leadership embeds delegation, and you must have the right people on the bus. So faculty, use and develop your graduate students. Department heads, engage your faculty. Staff, use your resources and share the load.

Fourth, (4) time management is key. You must prioritize. As I assessed my performance last year, I noted that I had worked harder and more hours than I thought I could. It was crazy, but I was disappointed in my allocation of time. In concert with Ms. Maureen Lockhart and guidance from our senior development officer, Kelly Sartorious, we are “trying” to better allocate my time to priorities.

(5) Passion must be in the mix of the drive of a leader. As engineers, we don’t like to talk much about passion, but I have found that we are passionate about our profession. We are committed to its well being. With this passion comes many emotions, and at the top of the list is humor. In the midst of passionate “discussion,” humor can be an asset.

Who is the easiest person for us to laugh at? ME! Here’s a case in point. As you could guess, we have had many passionate discussions in our department-heads-only meetings over the last two years. As fate would have it, I turned 50 during one of those weeks when we were to meet. My books and notes were packed and I was ready to lead. I went to the meeting and discovered a trap. Our very own, highly decorated Seabee officer, Prof. Dave Fritchen, walked into the meeting and began a roast of the newest 50-year-old in the room. In fact, he gave me this badge: “My name is John English. I am a dean and I just turned 50! If I appear disoriented, please return me to the College of Engineering, 1046 Rathbone Hall.”

What do you think happened in that meeting? We were passionate for the well-being of the college and humor made it fun.

Clearly, we are in serious times of continued budget cuts, but we must implement caring and compassionate plans that are strategic, effective, and efficient.

(6) Communication is critical. We must be clear. Here is an example of what I want to communicate today:

Ineffective communication: “I am focused on Communities of Excellence.”

Now, what does that mean, versus

Effective communication: “You will show me what our Communities of Excellence are when I see what you are promoting in the public arena.”

The latter is much clearer, because action is required.

A tremendous set of department heads and associate deans report to me. Can I depend on them to relay my message? Not completely. It’s like working with children (don’t laugh, I didn’t mean it that way): “Dad, I can’t hear what you are saying because of what you are doing!” I, as dean, must relay our direction with action. That is why I am working and will continue to work on my priorities.

While talking about communication, let me try one more time to build up our vision. It is my interpretation of our vision that the College of Engineering at Kansas State is “wrapping its excellence in undergraduate and graduate programs around its aspiring pods of research excellence.” We will become more prominent, more famous, and higher ranked. I want to see faculty travelling around the country and promoting the outstanding scholarly achievements of this community. I want this to be a clear message and not simply a recitation. I think this is clear communication that will aim the state of the college in the direction we want to go.

We must (7) absorb into our surroundings. Dr. Collins, in How the Mighty Fall, says “Breath. Calm yourself. Think. Focus. Aim. Take one shot at a time.” Life is about balance. Leadership is about balance. We must keep priorities in line.

Enzo (remember our furry friend) says: “A driver must have faith. In his talent, his judgment, the judgment of those around him, physics. A driver must have faith in his crew, his car, his tires, his brakes, himself.”

Leaders—deans, professors, staff members, students—you must have confidence in yourselves, your tools, your staff, and your environment. You must be willing to step out and lead. Believe in yourself, this college, and this university.

This next point often creates a problem for me and some of my professorial colleagues. We must (8) listen. We like to pontificate, talk, and lecture. But listening is the essence of leadership. As the dean of this college, I must listen as faculty members tell me what our Communities of Excellence are.

Enzo says (I love this quote): “Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.”

The bottom line is talk less, listen more!

As we listen and absorb into our environments, we must (9) steer into the slide. Those who grow up driving at an early age on dirt roads learn that when a truck or car is in an out-of-control slide in one direction, human nature says to steer away from the slide. But this only increases the out-of-control condition. Experience dictates that you gently steer into the slide and accelerate. Once the tires begin to break free, the driver has the advantage, even though the turning radius has increased.

Again, Enzo says, “Alas! Our driver is not where he had hoped to be! Yet he is still in control of his car. He is still able to act in a positive manner.”

Sometimes you have to fight intuition. This is closely linked to listening. I didn’t believe my dad at first on controlling a slide, but I did when …. I don’t need to go there.

For our college, we must steer right into our Communities of Excellence. Intuition might tell us to go away from them and return to our traditional fields. I don’t believe this is the future of the college.

We must also (10) grab life by the shirt collar.

Denny, Enzo’s master, is at a very low point in his life, and Enzo states: “Oh, how I wished I could speak. How I wished for thumbs. I could have grabbed his shirt collar. I could have pulled him close to me . . . . You are the one who taught me to never give up. You taught me that new possibilities emerge for those who are prepared, for those who are ready. You have to believe!’ ”

I think that we, the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, would be wise to listen to this wisdom. Don’t let this moment take hold of us in a negative fashion. Let’s seize this opportunity and promote ourselves by investing in the areas where we are the best! Let’s promote this great college and rally around our Communities of Excellence!

3. Summary

Here are some rhetorical questions for our college: Tax revenues and budgets are drying up, and there are increasing tensions and fears. Where are we? Do we dare lead? Do we focus on Communities of Excellence? What are the answers?

Jim Collins says: “Right leaders feel a sense of urgency in good times and bad, whether facing threat or opportunity, no matter what. They’re obsessed, afflicted with a creative compulsion and inner drive for progress – burning hot coals in the stomach – that remain constant whether facing threat or not.”

We will focus on our vision as guided by our themes and core values. We must stay in solid management disciplines. I am staying true to these leadership traits. We have challenges in front of us, and we must press on. Jim Collins quotes Winston Churchill, who in the context of an apparent and necessary surrender to the Germans, said: “We shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

I believe our state is that we must look within, play to our strengths, our Communities of Excellence, and deploy. We will have to rely on those within, and we must look across our academic boundaries as well for support and often times leadership.

Churchill also stated the following at a commencement address at Harrow in 1941: “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

Folks, this is the state of our college. We are healthy; we have opportunities; and we need to deploy and never forget our goals.

Thank you.