Dr. Phil Cavalier and Dr. Stephanie Kolitsch | Photos / Pacer staff and University Relations
The dust has now settled with UT Martin’s recent executive transition, and the university’s two highest-ranking officers are looking toward a bright future.
On March 1, Dr. Philip Cavalier assumed the title of interim chancellor, while Dr. Stephanie Kolitsch became acting provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. Each brings years of administrative experience in higher education, and both are adjusting to their new roles.
“I have absolutely loved it,” Cavalier says of being interim chancellor.
Recently, he has met with many student organizations and visited students in ways that his work as former provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs normally did not allow. While his new job is a bit different from his last, he is enjoying his new role.
“I had forgotten how much I love working with students and being around students,” he says. “I really enjoy getting out in front of alumni, donors, friends of the university as well, and just telling the great story about UT Martin… That’s a very different role, kind of being out there and advocating…”
He says the job of interim chancellor is unique and enjoyable, but he is unsure if he will formally toss his hat into the ring for the permanent chancellor position.
After serving as the director of accreditation for thirteen years, Kolitsch has tacked on the new title of acting provost and senior vice chancellor of academic affairs.
“So far, it has been a lot of meetings and a lot of emails,” she says with a laugh.
Her work in accreditation is mostly focused on the data of the university’s history, as opposed to the more forward-looking nature of her work as provost. Because of this, her new position has required some adjusting.
“It’s sort of like weaving a tapestry. I can see what we’ve woven together in the past, and I can see a whole bunch of threads, and I’ve got to figure out what the pattern is to put them together,” she explains.
Cavalier and Kolitsch have stepped up to lead the university after an uneasy shift on campus. Former Chancellor Keith Carver’s announcement in January regarding his departure from campus was unexpected by the UT Martin community, but Cavalier is optimistic about moving forward.
“The experience that [students], faculty and staff are having is UT Martin, whether he’s here or I’m here or anybody else is here. That’s the way this institution is, and I think it will continue,” he explains.
In the wake of Carver’s departure, Cavalier also praises Carver’s success in leading the school’s transformation after a particularly tough administrative period.
“I think the moment that Chancellor Carver arrived on campus, UT Martin needed someone who could really be a cheerleader and could hold a mirror up to the campus and say, ‘Look at how good you are,’” Cavalier says.
ACCREDITATION HISTORY AND RECENT REVIEW
In January 2017, the university had been embroiled in accreditation struggles for roughly three years. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ accreditation review was unsatisfactory, leaving UT Martin in a precarious position.
“Eight years ago, SACS left and said that we had five significant findings of being noncompliant, and that led us to being put on probation,” Cavalier says.
Kolitsch, the former director of accreditation, says the five significant findings were all related to institutional effectiveness. The university’s general education, program student learning outcomes, administrative outcomes, faculty service and faculty research areas were all flagged as problem areas.
“In those two areas of faculty service and faculty research, we really had not done a lot of record keeping and analyzing in [those areas], so that was our biggest issue,” Kolitsch says. “But in those other three areas, we did not do a good job of documenting that we were using the data, that we were making data-driven decisions.”
As a result, UT Martin was placed on probation for one year. Kolitsch remarked that faculty and staff worked hard to overcome the probation status, which she believes proves that the campus can pull together when needed.
“It has been phenomenal to watch the faculty and staff rise to that challenge and to watch the change take place on our campus,” Kolitsch says. “And one of my favorite things on campus is, now, conversations start with ‘What does the data say?’ instead of ‘Here’s what I think we should do because it sounds good to me.’”
This year, UT Martin completed another regular accreditation review. This time, the results were stellar because of the strategic changes made eight years ago. Cavalier believes that the recent results should reassure the campus community of UT Martin’s capabilities.
“We came away with, essentially, a totally clean bill of health,” Cavalier says. “And to move from where we were in 2015 to where we just finished up, … it should give parents and students a whole lot of confidence that UT Martin is a mature institution and it’s functioning at an extremely high level.”
Looking forward, the university is preparing for three important events: the enrollment cliff, completion of Blue Oval City and a new chancellor.
THE ENROLLMENT CLIFF
In light of the enrollment cliff, UT Martin is adjusting its enrollment strategies to offset some of the effects. Within the past few years, Cavalier says the university created a strategic enrollment plan with the help of an outside consultant.
“As part of that plan, we planned to add three or four new programs and then change the status of another two,” he says. “Of the new degrees we’ve added, there are two that stand out: a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and a bachelor’s degree in construction management.”
The university worked with an outside research company to analyze approximately 2 million job postings in the six-state region surrounding Martin. The findings concluded that the existing degree programs at the time did not provide graduates ready to fill those positions. Specifically, the results found that adding new programs could do two things.
First, expanding coursework would create more graduates with the qualifications needed to fill jobs in the region.
Second, new degree programs could help improve UT Martin’s image and make it more appealing to potential students.
“I think the key here is to ensure that we have programs that are attractive to employers and students. The other thing is I think we have to continue to get better at attracting adult learners who have, in many cases, credits from a college or university but no degree, no credentials,” Cavalier remarked.
In addition to undergraduate expansion, the interim chancellor is hopeful that UT Martin’s three new graduate programs will further help attract adult learners.
“I think if we can be around 7,500 students in five years, we will have successfully navigated that cliff,” Cavalier says.
BLUE OVAL CITY
Blue Oval City is another opportunity that the university is very hopeful for. Ford Motor Company’s newest campus is expected to employ thousands of workers and transform West Tennessee. For UT Martin, Blue Oval City serves as a two-fold opportunity – for the enrollment cliff and for general improvement.
“With Blue Oval City coming in, the workforce needs in West Tennessee are going to change rapidly,” Kolitsch says. “We are going to need workers with skills and sets of knowledge that they don’t have right now, and so what we’re looking at is trying to adjust what we’re doing.”
The changing workforce and impending demand for a high volume of jobs is a great opportunity for UT Martin in multiple ways.
Kolitsch explains Blue Oval City as having a domino effect. Workers will move in and bring their families with them, calling for teachers to teach their children, construction workers to build their homes, city planners to design the infrastructure and more. UT Martin, she says, can help provide those skillsets.
A NEW CHANCELLOR
Locally, many people within the campus community are curious to know about the search for a new chancellor. While Cavalier is unsure of his future plans, he is aware of the opportunities for the next chancellor, whoever they may be.
“I think the next chancellor has the opportunity to do some different things, including working with Ford and the suppliers who are going to be at Blue Oval City,” he says. “UT Martin is going to be very much a part of that, so I think the next chancellor really needs to be someone who is very much involved in that.”
Regarding the timeline, Cavalier says the application is open and the search is on, but things could change slightly depending on one main factor.
“The question is, whoever is picked, when can that person begin?”
The UT Board of Trustees must vote to approve the chosen candidate before he or she can begin. The next board meeting is this upcoming June, so ideally, a candidate will be selected, approved and sitting “in the chair” by Aug. 1, Cavalier says.
Underneath the accreditation reviews, future opportunities and a new chancellor, UT Martin is doing what it has always done: educating students. Kolitsch, however, hopes that students are finding something greater in their experience on campus.
“My hope for every one of our students is that they find their passion, and they celebrate that passion, and they attain that passion,” she says. “My greatest brag about our faculty and staff is that they help our students find that passion.”
Only time will tell the future of UT Martin. For now, the future is bright.
