Inaugural Address by Kent John Chabotar

Good afternoon. Welcome everyone. Your presence honors me. Thank you Joe Bryan, other Trustees, my two predecessors (Bill Rogers and Don McNemar), and Guilford College students, faculty, administrative and support staff, and alumni. Thank you friends of the College from Greensboro and North Carolina and the academic community, and my personal friends and long suffering family.

Thank you former classmates, colleagues, and students from the Red Flash of St. Francis University, Michigan State Spartans, Harvard Crimson and, of course, the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College. Thank you Orangemen of Syracuse University, whose doctoral robes I wear, the 2003 NCAA Basketball Champions. For all you fans of Carolina, Duke, Wake, and NC State, do not give up hope. In a few years, Syracuse may tire of being champs and you might win again. I'm delighted you're all here.

My one regret is that my parents did not live to see today. I remember Blanche and Frank in three dimensions. They were not idealized versions of Ozzie and Harriet or Father Knows Best. They were second generation Americans who met during World War II and parented four children without a crowd of child psychologists or cornucopia of designer drugs. They laughed with us when we were happy and sympathized when we were bummed out or confused. Mom and Dad watched over us as we matured and succeeded as individuals and as a family. Then God called them home.

My brother Glen and two sisters Denise and Marie are here. We are close. We take family vacations. However, their children or spouses almost never join us, especially on cruises. As one in-law said, "I will not spend a week in a closed environment with a bunch of Chabotars." But today is not about Kent, Glen, Denise, or Marie.

Today we inaugurate an eighth president. Today we commemorate a transition more of responsibility than of power. And today we celebrate a college. Guilford College has been around since 1837 and I am happy to be your leader on this part of the journey.

The theme for this inauguration is Pride and Promise. Today I recognize the promise that beckons us to confront formidable challenges. There are questions about how well we teach and research, how large we should be, how much we should cost, and how effectively we govern ourselves. Today I also speak about the righteous pride that this College has accumulated for almost two centuries. It has been earned in sunshine and shadow by a pantheon of heroes from Nathan Hunt and Francis King to Mary Mendenhall Hobbs and Virginia Ragsdale whose former home is now my home. Truly a gathering of eagles.

First, there is pride. Pride is an attitude that separates excellence from mediocrity. Muhammad Ali once proclaimed, "I am the greatest," and it was so partly because he believed it. No one can make you feel second rate unless you let them.

Pride is also about truth. It is about real people, authentic achievements, and often-indisputable courage. As a college founded by the Society of Friends, we take pride in standing up for principles that might have been right but have been frequently unpopular. We are proud to have advocated social justice and emancipation of slaves in our state long before the Civil War let freedom ring in all states. We are proud to have promoted tolerance of other faiths and viewpoints. I intend to put that virtue to the test today. We are proud to use a consensus model for decision-making. We value the views of everyone and not just a simple majority in a society that often values command over collaboration. We are proud to testify for peace and nonviolence not only during Vietnam when it was relatively easy but also during World War II when it was very hard.

As the eighth but first non-Quaker and Catholic president of Guilford College, I support these testimonies. But, to paraphrase John Kennedy, I am not the Catholic president of Guilford College. I am the president of Guilford College who happens to be Catholic. I do not speak for my Church and my Church does not speak for me. I believe in a presidency where religion is neither an obligation nor an obstacle to holding the office. I also believe in a presidency in which my religious views are not imposed on the college in terms of how people behave, what they believe or where they worship.

Pride is also about achievement. It's terrific to become president when many aspects of Guilford College are looking up.

Financially, just a few years ago, this College was cutting employees and programs, spending 20% of endowment in one year and still incurring deficits in excess of $4 million. Next year's budget of $40 million will have a $1 million deficit and 9% spending rate. Next year's budget will also raise student fees less than most competitors and contains $500,000 in overdue salary increases for hard working employees. That all this was accomplished despite a bad economy and dreadful stock market is not due to magic but to relentless work, complex choices, and true sacrifice.

Enrollment is strong. Applications for traditional aged students climbed 30% for the Class of 2007. Continuing education enrollment last fall surged almost 300% over two years ago. Our innovative early college program will enroll over 60 11th and 12th graders next year who take a full load of College courses. We may number a record 2000 students next year across the three programs. Who are and have been some of these students? Let us hear their stories:

Lucas Wolf is a Native American student from Colorado. He worked on a fishing boat in Alaska (just for the experience) before transferring to Guilford. He has studied abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico, and hopes to return next fall. He is an RA, and recently expressed disappointment when his GPA dipped below a 3.6.

Bill Tutterow first attended Guilford College's Adult Degree program in 1955, only 2 years after it began. Work transfers and family responsibilities derailed his education for over 40 years. Bill eventually returned and graduated in 2001 at age 67 with straight A's. He was the last of his original class to graduate but his grade point average was first in his graduation class.

Early College Principal Tony Burks distinctly remembers a student we'll call Rebecca on her first day of school at Early College. She was clad in black from head to toe; a Gothic from all outward appearances. After two days, Rebecca stopped wearing all black. Why'd she change? Rebecca revealed that she didn't need to distinguish herself because she fit in with her peers. Her acceptance at Early College made the difference.

Service is another virtue that propels our imagination and energy. Shirley Chisholm called service "the rent we pay for room on this earth." Guilford students give 50,000 hours per year in community service. They support homeless shelters, food banks, health care, and a variety of social service agencies and needs. Guilford ranks 24th in the nation for the number of alumni who enter the Peace Corps. As of 2001, 68 alumni have served in 42 different countries.

Last night we celebrated another success. With the help of 12,520 friends, the College's "Our Time in History" capital campaign soared past its original $50 million goal by over $6 million. 7,420 alumni donors alone contributed $15.4 million. Fifty-two new endowed funds of $50,000 or more were established.

This is an astonishing story.

Now to the promise that this College so manifestly shows. We stand on the crest of a hill with the glories of future possibilities before us. As the poet Rupert Brooke wrote:

God be thanked who has matched us with His hour,
And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,
With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,
To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping,
Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary.

Promise is about uncertainty. The arrival of a new president is an exciting time but also an unsettling one. Many of the buoys by which we navigate our lives are swept away.

Will the new president understand our mission and culture? Who's IN and who's OUT? Does Kent really eat hot wings with athletes at Big Ed's Chicken Place in High Point? Was he the old dude disco dancing at the Coming Out Ball last fall? Will he know about the Underground, Serendipity Weekend and the Hut? Will he think that the ubiquitous squirrels and geese on campus are our school mascots? How many ties does that man own?

Still, it is fair to ask who I am and what I value. In my Church we pray, Credo in Unum Deum. I believe in one God. What else do I believe?

I believe in being honest and straightforward in my words and actions. Do not look for hidden agendas or Delphic meanings. Do look for an avalanche of communications in a medley of media about how the College is doing, what we intend to do, who has been consulted and, most importantly, why we are doing it. You will not need the psychic network to see what's coming from this president. I believe in respect for everyone regardless of rank or riches. Laborers and clerks deserve the same civility as executives and professors.

I believe that family matters. No job is as important as your spouse, children, or parents. No one ever died wishing that they had spent more time at the office. I believe that achievement demands lofty aspirations and grueling work. A single deed is better than a thousand promises lost in the air like the chimes of a clock tower. I love to celebrate success. I accept mistakes. I cannot accept carelessness or inattention. A litany of complaints is likely to prompt me to ask, in the words of my former boss Robert Edwards, "therefore what?" in search of solutions. I despise lying and blindsiding.

I believe that leadership takes teamwork and shared responsibility for problem solving. The buck stops with the president; it does not have to start there. I have been asked to change grades on term papers, counsel students about poor grades, get applicants admitted, overturn student judicial cases, mediate a disputed election, and, by far the #1 request, fix parking tickets.

In addition, I believe that leaders must inspire confidence without hubris and take charge without assuming omniscience or omnipotence. This recalls an anecdote about Queen Victoria who was returning from Ireland in rough seas when a huge wave rocked her yacht. She summoned her doctor, and in an unwitting echo of a predecessor, said, "Sir James, please go up and give the Admiral my compliments and tell him that such a thing must never happen again." Just as Dan Quayle was no John Kennedy, Kent Chabotar is no Queen Victoria. Of course, my 7th grade teacher did warn me that, "If conceit were consumption, Kent Chabotar, you'd be dead tomorrow."

I believe in soliciting feedback 24/7/365. Rod Napier taught me about "seduction of the leader." That is an organizational dysfunction in which no one wants to disappoint or anger the boss so vital information is withheld or distorted. That's not the Guilford College I want or president I hope to be. I will ask repeatedly, "What do you think?" "How am I doing?" and I want you to tell me.

Promise also involves the future and the facts. So far, I have asserted Guilford's majestic strengths. The question now is how we become even better while also confronting our challenges that float like mines bristling with spikes of danger. They are daunting but not insuperable, significant but hardly insurmountable.

I am not going to counsel the faculty to teach better or more often or be more engaged with students. Neither am I asking the students to think more aggressively, the staff to work harder and smarter, or the alumni to become more loyal. You already do that. You already are that.

In terms of the future, what about the "vision thing"? Well, I'm not going to do that. Wouldn't be prudent. Three cautions. First, vision can be oversold. IBM's Lou Gerstner warned that "A vision is often what somebody turns to when it gets hard doing what's required-namely good solid blocking and tackling. Remember the Wizard of Oz was a vision." Second, actions toward any wholly new vision may have unanticipated consequences. Henry VIII did not expect that his divorce from Catherine of Aragon would result in the English Reformation. Third, the vision cannot be mine alone. Few faculties or student bodies are willing to be steered by the polar star of a presidential vision. It presumes that I fancy myself as Moses descending from Mt. Sinai with The Ten Commandments, five on each arm.

Nevertheless, we have launched a comprehensive and participative planning process that can lead us to a shared vision of the future. It encompasses the identification of core values-the enduring commitments that make Guilford Guilford. Then come the objectives, actions, assignments, and especially financing. Too many strategic plans crash because planners forget Jerry Maguire's rule to "Show me the money." Planning also contains BHAGS. BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS of long duration that are truly transformational, a little risky, but constitute the collegiate version of summiting Everest or swimming the Channel. Who says we can't aspire to Tier 1 in U.S. News or Rhodes Scholars? Why can't this College claim a Phi Beta Kappa chapter or winning teams in every sport? I'd rather engage in intelligent risk taking than settle for the safe and the status quo. Guilford College is not some fairy's child with hidden wings and pixie dust who flies away whenever the world becomes unbearable. What does Shakespeare tell us about courage? "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once."

To continue the conversation that will ultimately lead to a strategy and perhaps a few BHAG's, I suggest nine propositions to channel our efforts. I originally tried for 10 but then we'd get back into that Moses thing.

1. First, let's start with praise of teaching. That is our core business. The college, unlike the university, centers on conversation between professor and students. Neither teaching assistants nor graduate students get in the way. If Churchill was right when he said that the empires of the future will be empires of the mind, then the academic program must have the pride of place at Guilford College. Unfortunately, our academic reputation no longer matches our self-image or competition. The seven colleges including Earlham and Elon with which we share the most applicants reject students we enroll. We need more full time faculty so that our classes stay small and the student-teacher interactions constant. I'm doing my part by returning to the classroom next year. We need a more multi-faceted approach to teaching evaluation that goes beyond student evaluations to portfolio assessment and peer review.

2. Second, we must re-focus our curriculum that is unquestionably innovative and student centered. Like the French and Spanish navies at Trafalgar, it may also be too spread out. 40 majors and 51 concentrations are far more than our competition offers or our small faculty can teach. We have whole departments with two or three faculty. Often, faculty must teach a constellation of unrelated courses. Calling a major or concentration merely a cost free accumulation of existing courses misses the mark. What about the extra administrative burden it places on faculty (especially untenured junior faculty)? What about the lack of targeted advising and programming that makes a major or concentration real? My vision for the curriculum involves a reassessment of the best mix of current and even new programs that serve the needs of our students, meet the interests of our faculty, and enhance the College's academic eminence.

We must also assess more strenuously the administrative departments that support our academic mission. Many have added staff and new tasks. All must be customer focused, efficient, and innovative. I champion consortia with colleges and universities and other partners beyond higher education. Such partnerships can preserve and promote programs together that we cannot do on our own. We must be linked like Alpine climbers by the rope of our common interests.

3. Third, research matters. It is not a choice of either research or teaching. Research informs teaching and keeps it current. Teaching influences research by making it relevant. This College has a powerful capacity to contribute data to policy discussions about education, peace and conflict, social justice, and especially the outcomes of higher education starting with our own graduates.

4. Fourth, we should increase enrollment. One question to consider. Why not welcome 3000 students to Guilford College? Colleges with many fewer students cannot readily support curricular and co-curricular options that enrich an undergraduate education. Students can feel trapped and disconnected from enough people with whom they can forge social and educational attachments. Furthermore, very small colleges spread relatively fixed overhead costs over too few students. Yet 3000 is still a small college with the small classes and fantastic student teacher interactions that large state and research universities cannot match. The proportions among traditional, continuing education, and early college students are crucial so any growth must be gradual and intentional.

5. Fifth, diversity is a term of matchless elasticity. Guilford is absolutely committed to diversity in ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexual identity. We have higher percentages of minority faculty and staff than the averages of our competitors, although we ought to distribute them better at all ranks and levels. We also have the same or higher percentages of minority students. When I look out at this gathering, I see a kaleidoscope of white, red, yellow, black, and brown. We have started a remarkable initiative to overcome racism. No one who is not a person of color can really understand what it's like for our brothers and sisters to live and work in this society. It's time we acted to make things right. If not we, who? If not here, where? If not now, when? We must also preserve our indispensable Quaker heritage by vigorously recruiting members of the Society of Friends as students, faculty and staff, and trustees.

Lastly, when we speak of diversity, let us also make Guilford College a safe space for diversity of opinion. Let's be willing to talk about any question or issue no matter how sensitive or controversial. Debating peace and war, economic opportunity, capital punishment, women's rights, and other issues is a fundamental educational activity. We should protect free speech everywhere on this campus from Bryan and Binford to Archdale and Duke. If not everyone is free to speak, then no one is.

6. Sixth, student life warrants our attention. "Residential" means that many students not only attend class, they live here, too. For them, the stresses and opportunities of living together are essential parts of the Guilford experience. We should continue to offer varied residential environments from large dormitories to small apartments and special interest houses. We should fashion closer links between the academic and residence programs by ensuring teaching and office space in any new halls and more educational programming. We must guarantee both choice and quality in food services. Having a good meal at Guilford College must be as reliable as getting a dial tone when you pick up the phone.

Athletics should be a cornerstone of student life because it rallies students, staff, and alumni around the values of sport, competition, and fitness. We should strive to field the best teams among small colleges both academically and competitively. What Vince Lombardi said about athletics is true for almost everything this College attempts. Quote. "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." Yet, athletics is more than intercollegiate sports. Athletics is also club and intramural sports that we need to restore. Athletics is pick-up games of ultimate Frisbee, basketball, baseball, and tennis that I play with more ardor than skill. In other words, this College should pray that I am better at being president than playing tennis.

7. Seventh, who speaks for the facilities? I do. We recognize needs for new construction like the fitness center, renovation of Founders Hall, and the reduction of deferred maintenance. Functional and well-maintained buildings are imperative to admissions, athletics, retention, education, and the achievement of excellence. Let's be rid of collapsing columns, leaking roofs, peeling paint, ripped rugs, windows that won't close, and boilers that don't work. If we can just remove the air conditioners from the windows in Milner Hall, I will retire happy.

8. Eighth, governance also matters. I have outlined many areas of strategic decision making where the options are not clear, the outcomes not known, and the community uncertain. Our Quaker tradition prizes consensus where the sense of the meeting rather than the numerical majority rules. Many counseled when I accepted this job that consensus had made Guilford College ungovernable. Not at all. Decision making processes must be transparent. We need open windows and not closed doors. People of good will are more likely to agree when information is accurate, accessible, and abundant.

However, thinking that everyone will agree on everything is, at Guilford College, something like expecting Macbeth without murder. We should acknowledge that for some among us: no process is open or collaborative enough when they do not get the result they want; decisions are never final and chronically open to dispute and renegotiation by dueling e-mails; opponents are demonized, contrary views are condemned, and compromise deemed unthinkable; and facts vanish amidst a firestorm of rumor or in the comforting glow of beloved assumptions.

I treasure collaboration and input from every constituency that is secured by consensus. But outside the classroom and short of the trustees, the final decision is mine. I accept this responsibility. I welcome it.

9. Ninth, and finally, to realize these aspirations, I must speak of finances. There is no truer Chinese proverb with more relevance to colleges that "With money you're a dragon, without it you're a worm." A chief of the German general staff once complained, "Don't bother me with economics. I'm busy fighting a war." Well, college presidents can't say that.

Our current financial situation is precarious. It has improved but we have not achieved financial stability. Financial stability means that we need a strategic plan accompanied by a viable long-range financial plan to pay for it. Financial stability means a balanced budget in three years with a 5% endowment-spending rate. Financial stability means the capacity to finance new construction and renovation with debt and endowment. Our $31 million debt is too high. Our $43 million endowment, eroded by the depredations of a global investment malaise and colossal overspending to pay bills and make payroll, is too small. Somewhat through better investment returns but mostly from new gifts, the endowment must exceed $100 million for this College's promise to begin to be fulfilled.

Financial stability means erecting no more buildings without the funds in hand to pay for them. Financial stability means getting student fees and employee salaries to the median of what our competitors charge and pay. Financial stability means increased alumni support and more capital and planned giving. It probably also means, before the end of this decade, another capital campaign with a goal exceeding $75 million. Financial stability means that the trustees who have given monumentally to Guilford College rise once again to meet their new fund-raising commitment by June 30th. Financial stability means systems and controls to ensure that budgets are contracts and not estimates. Managers at all levels must be accountable for both spending and results.

A daunting agenda for sure. Do not expect light speed solutions to primeval fiscal problems. Given our progress to date, how close are we in our quest for financial stability? Let me quote again from Churchill as I did to the faculty during my first week at Guilford College. "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Yet who is so pessimistic and careworn from the financial crises with which this College has contended to believe that true financial stability is impossible? Not this president. Not now. Not ever. We'll either find a way or make one.

So there you have it. As we end this ceremony and depart from this place, thank you again for your presence and patience. I hope I have avoided any blazing indiscretions that might make this speech more memorable than I intended. I wish for your support and expect your honesty in all the days of my presidency.

My image of Guilford College will be what John Winthrop declared on the flagship Arbella almost four hundred years ago, as the Puritans also started a new government in uncertain times. "We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill-the eyes of all people are upon us." I also pray for God's mercy and protection for our College. We need that too. For, as was written long ago, "Unless the Lord keeps the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."

Thank you.