Douglas State University
The Cast
Wilson Smith, Vice President for Academic Affairs – (58 year old white male) Although the
President of Douglas State had been given much credit for the changes at Douglas State, Wilson
Smith was also known as the operational architect of the institution’s movement toward a major
research institution. His leadership in this process had been characterized as very organic and
process oriented, a style that often garnered criticism from business members of Douglas State’s
Board of Regents who believed he should have moved faster with the change process. Smith has
a PhD in Communications from a Big Ten institution known for its research and scholarship
prowess. Having been dean of a college of liberal arts at a well known Midwestern private
institution, he joined Douglas State pleased to be part of a major change endeavor focused on
raising the stature of this public institution. He was instrumental in hiring Jane Smith as
Associate Vice President for Continuing Education.
Tom Ramsey, Vice President for Administration – (52 year old white male) Tom Ramsey is
considered a local wonder. He had graduated with baccalaureate and master’s degrees in
accountancy from Douglas State’s major competitor – a well known private institution in the
state’s largest urban area (the institution that has obtained funding for distance education).
Ramsey is a CPA and had served for several years as director of financial operations and
Comptroller at Douglas State before being appointed to his current position. Faculty and other
administrators characterize him as a very successful leader who apparently has had neither the
patience nor the need to earn a doctorate to advance his career. He has viewed the developments
in continuing education with great interest, given his responsibilities for ensuring the financial
health of the institution. Owing to his focus on administrative issues, he has often found that
much of his support has come from the directors of the other two campuses.
Jane Smith, Associate Vice President for Continuing Education – (38 year old white female) As
noted in the case, Jane has an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from a well-respected institution
in the adjoining state. Rather than continuing in her higher education administrative career after
obtaining her doctorate, she was lured to state government service by the newly elected governor
of the state of Douglas, the first female governor of the state and a governor who placed
education high on her list of policy and funding priorities. As a policy analyst in the area of
higher education, Jane became known among Douglas State University administrators and
faculty leaders as a very thoughtful and competent professional who had a bright future in higher
education leadership. Few were surprised that she had been hired to take Douglas State’s
continuing education function in new directions.
Blanche McGovern, Vice President for Research and Dean, Graduate School – (47 year old
white female) McGovern is a very talented biochemist. She has had a very successful academic
career in which she patented several enzymes that are being used by major agri-businesses to add
nutrient value to the foods they produce. She earned her degree in biochemistry from Stanford
University and before coming to Douglas State spent most of her academic career at a major
northeast land grant university, an institution that is still benefiting financially from the patents
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she obtained while there. She is committed to the highest standards of graduate education and to
helping Douglas State become a major national player in research, especially in the biosciences.
David McGhee, Assistant Dean for Graduate and Continuing Education, College of Education –
(38 year old African American male) McGhee came to Douglas State after completing his PhD
in educational administration at a public institution out west. As a former assistant principal he is
committed to building university-school partnerships and to fostering school reform and the
professional development of teachers and school leaders. After arriving at Douglas State he rose
relatively quickly through the academic ranks. McGhee has a national reputation as a researcher.
He is also well liked by the state’s school leadership community. He was just recently appointed
to his current position. He and his dean have become frustrated by the lack of flexibility offered
by continuing education for program delivery and have grown concerned about continuing
education’s unwillingness to share “profits” generated through the college’s growing portfolio of
continuing education offerings.
Shelia Hernandez, Director of Continuing Education, Douglas State at Urbanville – (32 year old
Latino/a female) Shelia is a second generation United States citizen, having parents who
immigrated to the United States from Peru. She has an Ed.D. in continuing education from a
southeastern land grant institution. Hired after a national search she brought experience working
in an diverse, multicultural urban environment to her position as director of continuing
education. She also has a deep interest in the continuing education of various professions.
Having been on the job for two years, she has been praised both locally and system-wide for
reaching out successfully to diverse groups of adult learners and businesses and organizations in
the greater Urbanville metropolitan area.
Howard Hadley, Director of Continuing Education, Douglas State at Holly Hill – Howard has a
MBA from Douglas State. He has been director of continuing education at Holly Hill since the
campus was developed. Previously he had been a director of personnel and human resource
development at a small industrial plan in the Holly Hill area. He shares some of the frustrations
voiced by Holly Hill faculty members and has often complained about being marginalized in the
larger Douglas State continuing education system. Howard expects to retire sometime in the next
two to five years.
jfd;07/07
© Joe F. Donaldson
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