"This is my third gig with The Registry, and every appointment has been very different. I’m blessed to have had three very positive experiences. People have been welcoming, and I’ve made several lifelong friends with those I’ve worked with. Since I’m new to the schools, I ask a lot of questions. At my current appointment, I asked why we weren’t doing something, and other cabinet members responded, "I thought we had solved that issue!" It turns out I’m uncovering existing problems that the cabinet thought were resolved but, in reality, had simply been ignored at a lower level.

I’ve also found that every campus has what I call "campus characters." These are employees who are quite unique. Not that we are all not unique, but campus characters stand out. For example, on one campus, we had "Officer Friendly" with Campus Safety. He had been with the university for years, and everybody loved him because he was truly friendly to everyone. The reason I’m mentioning this is that, as an interim, I’ve found you have to establish relationships very quickly with the people you work with. I’ve also learned that a lot of time is spent dealing with personnel issues. Some departments run like well-oiled machines, while others are like a bad soap opera. Some people think the interim will come in and solve all their departmental personnel problems, while others dismiss an interim’s opinion, saying, "We’ve always done it that way."

Lastly, I have to balance what I recommend in terms of resources. I have some departments that are underfunded or nonexistent based on my previous experiences. It’s tough when you know that additional resources could make a significant impact, but unfortunately, there isn’t enough funding or internal support to move forward."