Leadership Theories Interview

Informational Interview Report

Xavier Williams

University affiliation

Informational Interview Report

Background

I was lucky to interview the Provost of California State University Channel Islands, Geoffrey W. Chase. As a large educational institution, California State University Channel Islands has a broad organization structure and culture which emphasizes on the classification and cooperation of teamwork so as to achieve the strategic goals set for each team, department, or faculty. For example the executive leadership team is made up of the President, Provost, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, Vice President for Student Affairs, Vice President for University Advancement, Chief of Staff, and Senior Director of Community and Government Relations who ensure the all issues affecting the university are efficiently addressed to ensure that the institution achieves and maintains its vision (Channel Island). The position of the Provost is one of the most important executive positions which comes just after the President in the executive leadership team. Mr. Chase has been an active leader in the institution as a senior academic officer who directed the strategic planning and leadership of all the operations associated with the university. Most importantly, I was impressed by the methods used by Mr. Chase in implementing academic policies within the institution which ensured that all the students accessed the necessary academic resources which could benefit their learning.

Rationale

I chose this position since I once got to interact with Mr. Chase on a professional level during research which brought me to the university. It was easier to get to witness Mr. Chase’s leadership skills and approaches first hand since this research required me to make periodic visits to the institution. The reason why I chose to meet Mr. Chase once again is that throughout my employment I have seen a close relationship between the practice teaching and administrative roles whereby each role affects the results of the other. Mr. Chases model of leadership and service to California State University Channel Islands was more of a merger between these two functions whereby he ensured that the same person who addressed the institutional leadership was the same person responding to the faculties’ and students’ query. This would be beneficial to my future career since, as a leader and an educator, I will be able to know when and how to perform these roles effectively without one being weaker than the other.

Interview Questions

1. What is your background as a professional in higher education?

2. What impact has your previous roles had in your present position?

3. What would you say is your most important role/responsibility?

4. How would you advise a professional who wishes to be in your position?

Summary

Mr. Chase has served in different positions in various institutions of higher learning where he was assigned different responsibilities. Nonetheless, his background has been based on one policy; “to improve graduation rates and expand student’s diversity.” He conveyed that his previous responsibilities improved his experience in addressing different issues so as to result to the desired result. According to Mr. Chase, it is the role of every professional in higher education to ensure that students get to graduate in a timely manner and that they are well prepared to handle the challenges that they will face in their careers and in their future lives (Moore, 2017). As such, he advised that every professional should look towards learning from each other’s commitment as an approach to helping solve the challenges experienced in higher education

Reflection

From this interview, I learned that I need to take time to learn and discover the challenges being experienced at my level before being ready to handle other greater challenges in the future. This will equip me with problem-solving skills which is one of the most important skills needed in my profession. Besides this, I have learned that as a professor, I have a greater role in helping students graduate successfully and not just to offer instructional guidance in the classroom.

References

Channel Island website. https://www.csuci.edu/provost/

Jean Cowden Moore, (2017). CSU Channel Islands names provost. Retrieved from https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/education/schoolwatch/2017/03/30/csu-channel-islands-names-provost/99833902/