On a sunny August afternoon, NKU president Cady Short-Thompson sat down with the Northerner’s editorial board to discuss all things NKU in what has now become an annual tradition. The questions posed in this discussion were focused on several topics: her tenure as president, the university’s new strategic plan, the student experience and the changes occurring on NKU’s campus today.
Q: You’ve now been president of NKU for nearly two years. When you look back at that time, how do you evaluate your leadership so far?
A: Well, it’s been the fastest 23 months of my life, and I can say that it’s remarkable what we’ve achieved in that time. When I think about the campus that I found and the campus that exists today, we’re different, we’re better. I think that to say that the balanced budget is a major achievement in a really short period of time, without asking for help from the state, as other institutions do, is pretty noteworthy. And I do think that enrollment management and other strategic imperatives have gone well, and so it does seem like we’re essentially improving ourselves from the inside out. And there are measurable impacts, not just of my work, but of everyone’s work, because I can’t do any of it alone.
Q: Are there any of those measurable impacts that stand out to you?
A: So as I mentioned, a balanced budget. So obviously, not being $24 million in deficit anymore is a big deal. We have seen increases in enrollments in our first year, full-time traditional students, which is important. I think it’s exciting just to see all of our student success metrics improving as well.
We increased our graduation rate five percentage points in a year, which is just a real testament to the faculty and staff’s commitment to student success and completion of degrees faster than we’ve seen in a long time, higher retention and persistence.
Q: What would you say are the key achievements of your tenure
I pinch myself every day that I get to do this work. I’m from here, I started my career here, and for me, it’s this kind of a corny way to describe it, but it feels like it’s personal for me… The institution built me into a professor, a leader in academics, and then I left because, frankly, I couldn’t ascend internally… For me, it’s returning home to build into the institution that built my career and build so many students’ careers and futures.
I have three kids, and I think about you all, not as your mom, but about caring about your futures as much as I care about my own children’s… I want you to be wildly successful. I want you to love your time here. I want you to be happy and well, so that’s just how I’m wired…
This isn’t about building my resume. This is my last position that I ever want to have. I have no interest in going anywhere else… Someone said, What if your alma mater called? I said, I’m not interested. This is where I want to be… A lot of people always are asking, what’s over the fence? Is it greener over there? And this is where I want to be… I’m good. I like what I have, and I just want to make this place as great as it can be before I retire.
That’s a pretty unique position to be in. A lot of people always are asking, what’s over the fence? Is it greener over there? And this is where I want to be. So that feels good, you know. I mean, a lot of people can’t say that they want something different. I’m good. I like what I have, and I just want to make this place as great as it can be before I retire.
Q: You have had a career as an educator, and specifically as a professor in the past. What grade would you give yourself on these first 23 months of your tenure, and why?
A: I would give myself an A minus. I think that we’ve done a lot. I’ve done what I said I would do. And if you look at my performance review itself, for the first time ever, I had metrics for myself. And I don’t mean for the first time for me. I mean, presidents didn’t typically have numbers associated with their performance. So in other words, you know you can achieve words because you know you can work your way into the words, but the numbers are the numbers, right?
And so I think that we got pretty darn close to hitting all those numbers. I think that there are a lot of things that when we look at our day, we can say, This went really well. This went all right, oh, this could have been better. And I’m not a perfectionist, but I like to do as well as I can, and so I’m self, I’m self-aware enough to know that, gosh, that could have been communicated better, or I wish I had explained the context around this decision differently.
But I also like to think about how can I be as effective as I can be? So a typical day for me means reflecting on what went well, what didn’t, and how can I get up the next day and do more of what went well and less of what didn’t.
I often say that leadership is a practice, and some days practice goes really well, and some days it doesn’t, and ultimately, if you learn from it and practice better the next day, that’s pretty good, right? So I think I’ve done pretty well. I think there’s always room to improve.
Q: NKU is visibly growing. The Science Center, for example. While that construction represents progress, students also experience the disruptions, blocked walkways and traffic detours. How do you want to address the negative effects of growth while still pushing forward with expansion?
A: Isn’t it just the truth that progress is messy, right? I don’t know about you, but have you cleaned out your closet lately? I always have to make a real mess before it gets better… In all seriousness, if you’re really going to see it through, it’s going to be messy for a bit…
If you go on any campus that’s fortunate enough to have construction, you’re gonna have some of the headaches that go with it. It will be worth it… I also think that if you look out my window and see two cranes, that’s a sign of progress…
You’ll be like our other alumni who come back and go, I can’t believe how much campus has changed or improved or beautified… Such a prettier place, a greener place… Founders Hall, for example, was awful, dark and gray and sterile, and now it’s quite beautiful because of all the art and the light and the glass…
So, as I said, progress is messy, and we just have to expect it… Once it all comes to life, oh my gosh, it’s gonna be so much better.”
Q: Your new strategic plan, Forward Together: Led by Purpose, Driven by People, will run through 2028 and emphasizes students, colleagues, and the community. Why did you choose such a strong people-centered focus, and how do you see that shaping NKU’s identity?
I’d argue that if you look at what we need most, it’s healthy people, our students, to continue to build into student success. That’s been working. And let’s just keep at that. There’s still work to be done. And that’s the whole point of existing as a university is that you’re wildly successful, there’s still room to remove barriers and to make things just better in general.
I do think that we were so focused on student success in the last plan that we actually didn’t pay close enough attention to our employees, and the employees, when they are healthy and happy and in good spirits, the student experience is even better. It’s just like the whole oxygen mask thing with the parent and the child on a plane. We need to spend more time nurturing positive relationships and a sense of community on this campus for our employees as well as students.
We’ve changed since COVID. A lot of people went to their corners, and some have come back. Some have not, whether that means they’re teaching online or working more online, and there’s a limited sense of community right now. Trying to woo people back into in-person activities doesn’t mean we won’t do online teaching or meetings, but there’s a need for greater engagement with one another. NKU at its best is highly relational and very high touch, sitting and talking with people, working with people, nurturing ambitions, whether they’re colleagues or students.
The third part is really the community, mostly people in the community, where our expertise is well known and well appreciated. On our best days, we’re teaching and doing research with students in the community, solving real-world problems together. It’s a gratifying way to teach and learn. Students often tell us years later that these experiences matter most.
The biggest way I would summarize is that the university has been through a lot over the last 5–10 years, whether COVID, budget deficits or leadership transitions. Health is really important for the institution; we have to get healthy again. It’s tempting for an incoming president to want all these shiny ideas without a healthy core. Anything I would propose wouldn’t be supported well. Health before growth. Health before change. You can’t build on a foundation that isn’t solid.
I think we’re in good shape right now. I want to get in amazing, fabulous shape in the next three years, in all the ways the plan spells out. Then I really do think we can become distinct, known for core strengths and new directions. It’s exciting.
Q: A significant early move was announcing 3% raises for faculty and staff, as well as bonuses for those earning under $70,000. What impact do you expect that decision to have on morale, retention and the student experience?
I think people have been really patient here. Our employees not having raises for a number of years—it was the third year without a raise, and over the last 12 they had been small and not across the board in all cases. And of course, we also had COVID in the middle, where we furloughed people and that sort of thing. So it’s just a long time to wait for reasonable pay. And I’d argue we were probably starting from being behind to begin with, so I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect people to accept that, and as a result, I think well-qualified folks who are really motivated by money will leave. Right? And so we don’t want people to leave for those reasons.
I do think that by retaining talent, it’s good for everybody, right? It’s good for you, you’ll have the best faculty and staff. It’s good for us in terms of trying to achieve our goals. And morale, really, I think, is complicated, right? Morale can be just how you feel based on a whole host of factors. So it’s not just money, but money matters a lot, and in this environment where inflation has been high and wages have been stagnant, it’s just a tough spot to be in for employees. A number of people could argue that they felt like they were making less money because inflation was high and they hadn’t seen raises.
I think that when people feel fairly remunerated, it’s easier to feel excited about what they’re doing. If you don’t feel that way, it’s frustrating. And so I understood it, and I actually said I committed early, which some would say wasn’t my best idea. But 3% is a pretty basic raise, and I think we have to make commitments to having raises for the foreseeable future to get us caught up. Trust me when I say this: my colleagues across the river and across the state recruit our people all the time, and they always say, ‘You’ve done a great job preparing them.’ But I’d love for them to instead say, ‘You have a great team there, and they were remunerated to stay.’ Does that make sense? In other words, if we just pay folks right, they’ll stay.
Q: For students, the plan lays out goals like simplifying admissions, expanding scholarships, building wraparound supports and preparing graduates for careers. Which of these initiatives do you think students will begin to notice first?
It depends on the student, which things are most important? We’re about to start a fundraising campaign. One of my biggest commitments is raising money for externally funded scholarships to increase the amount of money available to students, not through institutional aid, because that’s hard on our budget.
I’d love to see a lot more support for scholarships in a whole host of ways. I think there’s a lot of room to improve. It’s exciting because you can really recruit better. When you have more scholarship dollars, you can retain students better and make sure they graduate.
Finances are the biggest barrier to college. Students often drop out because life happens: a car breaks down, a child is sick or there’s another problem at home that takes priority.
At one of my previous institutions, I worked to raise money for emergency funds, so when one-off things happened, students could get help. That made all the difference in helping them stay in college.
The hardest outcome I see is when someone comes to college, spends money, takes a loan and then doesn’t graduate. They leave with debt and no degree. That’s the worst possible outcome. I want to make sure people are equipped to stay and complete their degree.
On admissions, we’re a medium-sized school, but in some ways feel large because we’re unnecessarily bureaucratic. Simplifying systems and infrastructure will make it easier for students, families and colleagues.
We had five undergraduate admissions processes; now we’re working to streamline into one. Systematizing and simplifying is key. Many things are unnecessarily cumbersome; software is antiquated. We want students to do everything online without always needing in-person help.
Wraparound services are hugely important. Students come from all walks of life; many don’t have family members who went to college. We need to surround them with patient, helpful people and make sure they know where university supports are for whatever they’re going through.
Q: Many students have spoken out about issues like mental health support, housing and campus safety. How do you prioritize those concerns alongside the University’s big-picture growth?
I think it depends on the day and what the context is, what the factors are. Being ninth in the country, ninth safest campus, I think, is really important for our identity. A lot of prospective students and their families appreciate that we have sort of the best of both worlds. We’re right in a major metropolitan area, but then we’re also in sleepy Highland Heights. I feel pretty darn safe when I walk out to the car, no matter what time of day or night it is.
I’ve thought more about mental health in the last few years than ever before, in large part because we’ve all been with people, whether they’re students or friends or family members, who are struggling in one way or another.
You can’t have student success without having wellness and without being well yourself. So we’ve had a number of cases where we’ve had students have major mental health issues here, and those are painfully felt by all of us. So it’s one of the reasons why I stand in front of the convocation and tell people the counseling phone number so that when and if they need it, they don’t have to look for it. Because often, when you’re really struggling, it’s hard to find your way to that right number.
The world has changed people in terms of what students want in housing, and unfortunately, our housing can’t just keep reimagining itself, because it’s expensive to do that, but we’re trying to make adjustments in what we have available for our students. So, for example, we’ve just invested this summer in kitchens in Northern Terrace.
Not everyone comes here thinking, I want the exact same housing experience. We have a residence hall setup that is maybe at odds with what a common student wants right now. A lot of people want their own bedroom, but then they want some shared common space, and we just aren’t set up that way.
We’re starting to look at reimagining usage of some of the homes that we own on Clearview Drive. And we’re starting to think about this idea called a Norse neighborhood. Students want that sort of full “adulting” experience of having their own standalone place. There’s something to be said about that. You have your own laundry, your own kitchen, you have your own yard. A lot of people would love to have that experience of living with, for example, fraternity brothers or sorority sisters, or pick an organization.
It is fun to live with your friends. It is really fun, and I did that as a college student, and my best friends come from that time of my life when we were all in the same house together, whether it was a sorority house or an apartment. Similarly awesome experiences, but just different than what we offer here on campus. And so I’m just trying to listen and meet students’ interests and what they’re looking for, but I also have to be mindful of the budget, because we have some money that we can make some of those improvements, we just can’t do them all at once, plus people are in them, which makes it tricky to renovate.
Q: When you imagine NKU in five years, at the conclusion of this plan, what do you hope will look and feel different for students?
I hope this place will be bustling with students who are positively engaged with each other and with my colleagues, faculty and staff. I hope we have more businesses and organizations on our campus employing our students, with really convenient work opportunities like we have with Western and Southern on campus, just a really great opportunity for students to tighten the radius of their life, where they can work here, go to school here, and live here. All those things could be really simplified by being in one location.
I think it’ll be a prettier campus in the next few years. There are a number of major projects, $300 million in projects, that will dramatically change the feel of the campus. One of my passions is bringing more community members onto the campus, so whether it’s a basketball game, I want the arena to be full, or the arts, I want the hall to be full; it’s a lot more fun to perform to a sold-out space where people cheer for you. It’s just so much more fun, so just a lot more vibrancy, a lot more energy, a lot more activity.
I hope people in the region will start to see themselves as our natural community, that it is their university. Many other smaller colleges have that feel around their campus. If you go to a small-town private liberal arts college, for example, many people around that town see that school as theirs. I really hope that years from now, that will be the feel it has been before, to a certain extent, but never to the extent that I’d like it to. I want people to know that we want them here and that we’re better when they’re here with us.