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News Education Measurement matters: Olivarez sees opportunities in metrics-based approach to higher education
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By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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Sam Cummings, left, and Juan Olivarez are excited about what the donation of the Brookby Estate will mean for the college’s visibility. PHOTO: JEFF HAGE |
GRAND RAPIDS — Juan Olivarez comes to the office of president at Aquinas College knowing that there are looming challenges.
Where some see challenges, Olivarez sees opportunities. Since coming to the office of president in July, Olivarez has set out on an ambitious path to drive measurement into every corner of the college’s operations; to drum up support among alumni, donors and community leaders; and to clearly articulate Aquinas’s Catholic traditions steeped in the Dominican religious order’s heritage. Olivarez and his wife, Mary, are both graduates of Aquinas, and both looked forward to the opportunity to be at their alma mater.
“The timing was right. I felt I could make the switch (and) do one more stint in my career,” he said. “We love this school.”
Olivarez comes to Aquinas from a three-year stint as president and CEO of the Kalamazoo County Foundation, where he helped the nonprofit navigate the vagaries of the economic crisis. Prior to joining the KCF, Olivarez served 10 years as president of Grand Rapids Community College, where he also helmed the college’s foundation.
The opportunity to return to the educational sphere and to his alma mater appealed to Olivarez — even in the midst of significant shifts in higher education.
“Education is at the core of everything that I do. Even when I was in Kalamazoo, I was focused on education. Getting back into higher ed was a real drive (to take the job),” he said. “It was something that I wanted to be involved in. There is a lot of change occurring, and this is an exciting time to be part of it.”
Aquinas trustees wanted the search for a new president to be inclusive and transparent, said Donald Burns, vice chairman of the board of trustees. Faculty, staff, students and members of the wider Grand Rapids community all weighed in on what they wanted in a leader.
At the top of the list was someone who could simultaneously lift the college’s visibility and strengthen and promote its distinctly Catholic, Dominican identity.
“When we looked at the challenges and opportunities we saw for the new president, at the top was developing visibility among academic, religious and regional organizations. Dr. Olivarez already had a leg up in this area — he already had a positive working relationship with Grand Rapids and the philanthropic community,” Burns said. “When we looked at a profile that our Aquinas community put together as we went through the process, Dr. Olivarez lined up with every piece of it. … It is not always about finding superman; it is about finding someone who lines up with the mission, values and goals of the organization.”
Prior to Balog announcing his departure, the college’s board of trustees had started a strategic planning and review process — which stalled while the college searched for his replacement.
Burns said Olivarez’s familiarity with Aquinas allowed for a smooth transition, and Olivarez restarted the process — with a considerably broader scope.
“A lot of work has been done, but the board and I agreed to take a fresh look at what is being crafted, as it was in-process but it was not instituted yet,” Olivarez said. “We would back up and start with redefining, revalidating our mission and vision statements. We agreed to take a more holistic view of the college and really think about it in a more disciplined way — with more involvement of the faculty, staff and community — (about) where it is Aquinas needs to be.”
Olivarez wants to take the same evidence-based, measured approach he brought to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s operations and apply it to Aquinas. Whether about students, professors in the classroom or his performance, Olivarez wants clear, transparent metrics to measure success or failure around campus.
Key to the success of this initiative will be including stakeholders from on and off campus in the development of these metrics.
“My sense of buy-in is around involvement. It is better to have people own it and have some part in trying to build it, rather than buy in where you are trying to convince them to come on board,” Olivarez said. “It is probably not as long-lasting unless people have some part in creating it. There will be metrics throughout the organization, from the unit to individuals to their contributions to the success of the college and student success. All of these will be posted and transparent.”
Colleges and universities around the country are readying for a looming drop in the population of high school students preparing for college, as the 75 million millenials work their way through college. The coming drop in traditional-age students has Olivarez and the college looking at new opportunities, such as new health-related degrees and new graduate degree programs. He also wants to identify ways to bring innovation to areas where the college already has a strong reputation, such as teacher education.
“Yes, the pool of high school graduates is shrinking, and we have known that for a while. The competition is definitely stiffer — it is more challenging, but it is good for all of us; it makes us look at what we’re doing more intensely,” Olivarez said. “We need to be competitive, we need to understand our mission and what is distinct about us, and others.”
One of the charges the board placed on the new president was increasing the visibility of Aquinas both nationally and in its backyard. From donors to program evaluators, the focus on continuous improvement will increase its visibility among many constituencies.
“What do we want to be best-in-class in, as a small Catholic liberal arts school? We have to be addressing our systems and processes (in order) to be relevant at all times,” he said.
Connecting with the community and business leaders will help ensure the college’s programs are worthwhile, and evaluation will ensure the college stays on course.
“We will have systematic processes in place that evaluate everything you do at all times, so you don’t become stale or do things just because you always did it,” he said.
Aquinas has a recent run of significant gifts from local philanthropists, notably Sam and Janene Cummings’s announcement of the donation of their Brookby Estate to Aquinas College and the $2 million donation toward scholarships from the family of Peter Secchia.
Brookby, which is located at the southeast corner of Plymouth Avenue and Robinson Road in Grand Rapids, was donated to the college for administrative and fundraising activities by the college, said donor Sam Cummings, principal of CWD Real Estate Investment.
The real estate developer said his family hoped that the donation will put Aquinas on the minds of other area philanthropists.
“For us, it is a perfect solution for everybody, if you will. We have recognized that the house is not where we want to raise our very small family. We realize the house and grounds are an important part of our history and that of Aquinas,” Cummings said. “We asked who would be the best steward of the house and grounds … (and) that began our talks with Aquinas years ago.
“Aquinas is a great institution that has not had, in my opinion, its deserved amount of visibility. We are looking forward to how Brookby will elevate Aquinas to a higher level of visibility to the community.”
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