A Busy 100 Days

Provost Jonathan Reed found himself standing before faculty, staff and students in a fight to keep his job after 10 months serving as an interim top administrator at the University of La Verne.

He faced tough questions, and tough competition. All eyes – and video cameras – were on him.

“In the end, the process was affirming, but it was difficult, at times,” Reed said.

As the guiding force behind La Verne’s academic vision, Reed is relieved that the focus that was on him in November during the search for a permanent provost has returned to students, faculty and staff. Since he officially became provost in December, he has developed short-, and long-term plans that encompass The La Verne Experience, diversity, staff and faculty development and student success.

“Since his appointment, Provost Reed has accomplished much and continues to intentionally further our 2020 Strategic Vision, affirming that he was an excellent choice for this position,” said University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman. “His skills to meet the needs of the campus and greater community are seen in all that he is pursuing. And I look forward to working alongside Jonathan in continuing to further the University of La Verne as a remarkable educational institution.”

One of his first missions was to launch a national search for candidates to fill three dean positions for the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Organizational Leadership and Regional and Online Campuses. Search firms have begun creating a deep and diverse pool of candidates for La Verne. Reed hopes to have candidates visit the campus by May and all positions filled by the fall.

Reed’s office has also started to build a collaborative relationship between academic and student affairs to coordinate and communicate each other’s activities in support of a clear vision for the university.

Collaboration between the two areas will also play a role in Reed’s long-term priorities, which revolve greatly around The La Verne Experience. Reed sees the The La Verne Experience as something expanding beyond a few signature courses but expanding to students learning inside and outside the classroom. It involves innovative and impactful pedagogy and transformational student learning by faculty and staff.

“If you have a student worker, you’re mentoring with that student and it’s going to have a big impact on their education, even if they’re not getting credit for it,” Reed said. “(The La Verne Experience) is also what happens when students work alongside faculty on a research project.”

Reed wants to engage La Verne’s status as a Hispanic Serving Institution, in part, by stepping up efforts to increase faculty diversity. The University’s Latino traditional undergraduate population is near 50 percent, but only 7 percent of faculty share the same ethnicity. That gap is too large, Reed says.

“We need faculty who students can identify with as role models,” Reed said. “It shows them that they can succeed.”

Part of his plans for faculty and staff development involve guiding them in The La Verne Experience, something that he says will benefit not only La Verne’s Latino students, but also first-generation students and students from underrepresented families. Reed also wants to give faculty time and support in research projects and book publishing to help them remain passionate about their disciplines and remain up-to-date in their fields. It is something that will also grant La Verne national exposure.

Reed hopes to develop a “culture of evidence” at La Verne, gauging how well students are learning and succeeding. This will create an opportunity to seek feedback from faculty on areas of improvement.

“It allows us to benchmark success and helps us strive to do better,” he said.

Gaining the trust of the campus community to remain as provost is something Reed said made him feel honored and he looks forward to continuing the University’s mission of providing broad access to educational opportunities and transformative learning experiences that lead to life and career success.

His only regret is that taking the position has kept him from the classroom for the last year.

But he hopes teach one class in the fall, though he is not certain of the subject at the moment.

“Maybe The La Verne Experience,” he said.