0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 25

You spent 14 years as the founding
dean of the Walter Cronkite School
of Journalism and Mass Communication
at Arizona State University.
What did you learn there that you
will carry over to this new job?
Innovation is very much needed in
higher education — not that we should
be changing the principles and the
values of what we stand for, but how we
operate. That’s the biggest takeaway …
that spirit of innovation, of entrepreneurship,
in helping to lead (Pacific)
at a time (when) every business sector
is changing, … and higher education
is also changing and changing very
rapidly. In order to succeed, universities
need to adapt and adapt quickly
to these changing (times) without
changing the values and the principles
that we stand for.
What’s an example of your work at
ASU that demonstrates the importance
of innovation?
A lot of what I was able to do at ASU,
specifically at the Cronkite School, was
very much based around the idea of
experiential learning, and experiential
learning is really a big part of Pacific.
It’s been a big part of our DNA for a
long time. … At Cronkite, I was able to
help design a “news teaching hospital”
(drawing an analogy to medical education).
… (Our students) were working
under the guidance and tutelage of
faculty members on creating news.
The school also owns and operates the
main PBS station in Arizona, Arizona
PBS, which is the (seventh-mostwatched)
PBS station in the country.
I served a dual role in overseeing that
operation as CEO. So we were able
Our most successful
graduates will be the ones
who … want to adapt and who
get excited about trying new
things and using their creativity
to solve new problems and new
challenges.
to, in an innovative way, sort of bring
those two institutions together. … Our
students had these fantastic experiences
in creating broadcast and digital
content every day. … At the same time,
we were providing a real service to
viewers and readers across Arizona,
covering the kind of news and information
that is lacking: policy stories
and stories about higher education and
the environment, Latino and Native
American communities, the borderland,
public health issues.
You accepted this job in October 2019.
What attracted you to the position?
Pacific is so special because it has a
series of attributes that, together, very
few universities have. There are a fair
amount of small liberal arts colleges
in California and around the country
that really pride themselves on personalized,
individualized learning, very
small classes, and the ability of faculty
and students to connect. … That’s
one kind of very powerful educational
environment. Then there’s the other,
more along the lines of (UC) Berkeley
or ASU, which are big, comprehensive
universities, and they bring distinct
advantages. The biggest advantage is
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