Indiana Wesleyan University: On a Mission
Education
Written by Liz Jones   
Monday, 01 October 2007
rp Indian Wesleyan University: On a Mission - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Dr. Henry Smith explains how this Midwestern Christian university is keeping up with consistent double-digit growth.
As Dr. James Barnes, former president of Indiana Wesleyan University, once observed, institutes of higher education often take a different approach to leadership transitions than other businesses. Specifically, they tend to recruit individuals from outside the institution rather than seeking and grooming talent from within. But after spending the last 19 years transforming Indiana Wesleyan University, based in Marion, Ind., Barnes did not want to take that approach. Instead, he and his board chose to create a succession plan that would ensure IWU continued on its path to success.

In 2003, IWU created and began advertising for an executive vice president position. Whoever filled that position would work alongside the current president with the expectation that s/he might one day emerge as the university’s next president. “The challenge was finding someone willing to take that chance,” said Dr. Henry Smith, who was that person.

Indian Wesleyan University: On a Mission - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Dr. Henry Smith
For Smith, a former provost at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio, accepting the executive vice president position at IWU was like coming home. “I grew up 50 miles from here, and my father is a Wesleyan pastor. The chair of the board of trustees is a childhood friend of mine,” he laughed.

After Smith served one year as executive vice president, Barnes announced he would be stepping down from the presidency to become chancellor, and Smith was invited to apply for the position. “The plan was that if I was not named as president, IWU would begin a national search,” he said. To his pleasure, Smith was unanimously voted president elect.

“To sit next to a successful president was a great opportunity for me to learn about the presidency and understand IWU’s culture in greater depth than I had before,” said Smith. “As executive vice president, I felt that I was interviewing for the presidency every day, and then I spent a year on a test run as president-elect. I don’t think most institutions of higher education follow this model, but from what I hear, it is not uncommon in the business world.”

Setting goals
When applying for the presidency, Smith answered the questions included in the application, but he didn’t feel it was enough. On the Saturday morning before his interview, he sat down with a pen and a piece of paper and made a list of 10 items he believed IWU needed to focus on in the future. “I had a year to think about what I might do if I became president,” he said. He attached his list to the application and later heard that it resonated with the search committee as they reviewed all the applications.

One of the key items on the list was guarding IWU’s mission and spiritual heritage. “I didn’t want to see the university shift from its historic moorings as it grew,” Smith said, adding that between 1995 and 2007, IWU’s full-time employee count grew from 325 to 876, and undergraduate enrollment grew from 5,000 to nearly 14,000 during the same period.

Smith also wanted to see IWU balance frugality with generosity. “So many resources had been directed into brick and mortar, but we needed to make sure we continued to take care of our people,” he said. After finding out that, when compared to other large Christian universities, IWU’s faculty salary ranked in the 60th percentile, he set out on a two-year mission to raise it to the 85th percentile—a $1.6 million investment.

Putting academic excellence above all else was another priority for Smith. “Before taking on the presidency, I felt that our reputation had not caught up with our reality. Ten to 15 years ago, we were a relatively small college of just a few thousand students, and for a number of years, US News and World Report listed us as a tier two or tier three school. In 2007, for the first time, we were listed as one of the best master’s universities in the Midwest at number 62, and for 2008, we were ranked 31st.”

Smith also set a goal for IWU to become a great place to work. He is proud to say that IWU is well on its way to achieving that: the university participated in a survey administered by The Best Christian Workplaces Institute and was named one of the Best Christian Workplaces in the large university category in 2007. “They gave us a list of things to improve, and we are working on them diligently.”

Knowing that five of the eight vice presidents at the university were either retiring or taking the next steps in their careers, Smith put building a strong, empowered administrative team on the list as well. He also intends to reexamine IWU’s organizational and governance structures to keep up with growth.

Cost control
As he sat in the president’s chair for the first time in 2006, Smith was committed to aggressive enrollment growth without making growth the end goal. “We have seen steep growth, but we have to make sure we can support it,” he said.

And supporting growth means keeping a keen eye on finances. IWU is the largest member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, a consortium of 105 faith-based schools across the country, yet its costs are within the 55th percentile. Smith noted that the board is passionate about not raising tuition, so IWU has worked tirelessly to increase student scholarships. Over the past 10 years, IWU has also increased its endowment from $10 million to more than $60 million. “We keep our unfunded discount rate at about 27%, and we’d like to see it under 25% in the near future. To do that, we must continue to increase our endowment for student scholarships.”

Smith noted that those who have walked before him were exceptional financial managers who were careful where they invested the university’s money. The previous administration, for example, got involved in assisted living opportunities in the region. The revenue over expenses from two facilities is deposited into IWU’s scholarship funds.

Smith added that IWU’s growing graduate programs also contribute to the university’s overall growth. The College of Adult and Professional Studies was established in 1987, and at first, it consisted of four satellite locations across Indiana. Recently, it has grown to 14 locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

“It’s hard to put our finger on one thing, but I honestly believe it is God’s blessing because we have stayed true to our mission. We are a Christ-centered community looking to change the world by developing students in scholarship, leadership, and character,” Smith concluded.
 
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