1月. 23, 2024

Introducing the Tatums: Northwest’s new president and first lady are focused on investing in the future of the University

Dr. 兰斯·塔图姆和他妻子, 吉尔, had finished dinner on a Thursday night last February at their Montgomery, 阿拉巴马州, 我回到家，坐下来看电视. They had visited Maryville the prior week – during Lance’s 58th birthday – as the last of four finalists to interview for the roles as Northwest’s next president and first lady. 他们知道一个决定即将到来，并为他们的选择祈祷.

Lance knows the process of a university presidential search is complex and fragile, 每个决定都有变数. It started earnestly for the Tatums the prior December when Lance was notified that he was being considered to become Northwest’s next president. 今年1月，他通过Zoom与搜索委员会进行了面试. 第二天早上, he received an email inviting him and 吉尔 to visit Maryville and meet campus groups as a finalist for the presidency.

二月的那个星期四晚上, Lance 太k their dog outside and left his phone on a table inside the living room. As he returned, 吉尔 told him he missed a phone call from the firm managing Northwest’s search. 兰斯激动得反胃. 他知道猎头公司不会给那些没有被选中的人打电话.

他花了一分钟来喘口气，然后向卧室走去. 他拨了号码，开始踱步. 电话那头的声音回答说:“你好，先生. 总统.”

为什么西北?

Northwest ushered in its latest era when Lance began his work as the 11th president in the University’s 118-year history on June 1. 一群西北公司的员工, 学生, alumni and community members gathered on the front lawn of the 行政大楼 that morning as the Tatum family – which includes children, 萨德和佐伊受到了欢迎.

Prior to arriving at Northwest Lance had served since 2019 as the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Troy University in 阿拉巴马州. It’s the place where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in foundations of education. It’s also where he served in a variety of roles since joining his alma mater in 1998 as a faculty member in sport and fitness management. 他担任特洛伊大学蒙哥马利分校的副校长, 全球校区副校长, 教育学院院长, and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion as well as a faculty athletics representative.

作为高级副校长, he was responsible for all aspects of Troy’s academic mission and its 32 academic departments, 包括战略规划, 预算, 监督和项目评审.

吉尔, who comes from a family of educators, is accomplished in her own career. 她当了14年的班主任, 从蒙哥马利市区开始, 然后在州教育部门工作了16年, 担任扫盲专家. 她还获得了特洛伊大学的学士和硕士学位.

Reviewing Lance’s accomplishments at Troy and hearing the Tatums talk about their appreciation for that institution begs the question: 为什么西北? 

“我的目标是成为一所大学的校长，”兰斯说. “和记棋牌娱乐总是说，当合适的机会出现时, 如果和记棋牌娱乐有幸得到这份工作, 和记棋牌娱乐已经准备好了. 我没有申请任何我不愿意接受的工作.”

塔图姆家族已经准备好迎接一个增长机会, while Thad and Zoe are exploring their own opportunities as 学生 at Auburn University. 随着塔图姆一家对西北的了解越来越多, they felt a pull to invest in another institution the way Troy University and people in 阿拉巴马州 invested in them.

“当和记棋牌娱乐开始接触与西北航空有关的人时, 和记棋牌娱乐就像, ‘哇, 这里有实质内容. 这里有机会. There’s people here who believe in this place,’兰斯说 of his initial interactions at Northwest.  

The couple laughs now about 吉尔 cautioning Lance early in the process not to become emotionally invested in the idea of becoming Northwest’s president. 但他们没办法. As the process reached its conclusion and the Tatums returned to 阿拉巴马州 to await a decision, 吉尔告诉兰斯，如果他们没有被选中，她会“崩溃”.

“We were so passionate about 和记棋牌娱乐 that we wanted to be a part of the fire,吉尔说。. “和记棋牌娱乐想成为这种文化的一部分. 和记棋牌娱乐想参与其中.”

西北航空公司的下一任总裁

出生于布林克利, 阿肯色州, 一个大约4人的小镇,000人, 兰斯的西北总统之路开始了, 当然, 和他的父母. 

His father, Leo, was employed with the clothing company Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation. He was the first in his family to attend college and completed a bachelor’s degree in industrial management at what is now the University of 阿肯色州 at Monticello. 兰斯的母亲贝蒂·乔从未上过大学. 熟练的篮球运动员, she received an offer to play at an 阿肯色州 college but wanted to go to work instead and met Leo after she was placed at a Van Heusen sewing machine next to his mother.

贝蒂乔, 九个孩子中最小的, 是个斗士, which Lance says factors into his personality as a leader who defends his beliefs and works to find common ground with others.

“她很快就为自己的家庭辩护,他说, 想起了塔图姆家族常说的一个故事, 作为一个男孩, 放学后被叫去和同学打架. 贝蒂乔 Tatum insisted they confront the bully and she accompanied her son to the top of a neighborhood hill, where she used some colorful language and snuffed out the ordeal in about 10 seconds. 这就是她的心态. 她直面一切.”

在Van Heusen担任行政职务的40年里, 利奥·塔图姆全家从布林克利搬到了阿拉巴马州南部, 回到布林克利, 到宾夕法尼亚州，最后回到阿拉巴马州南部. Those moves had a profound effect on Lance and helped him learn to appreciate different communities and cultures.

“到处走动真的帮助我学会了如何认识人, 如何适应社区,兰斯说. “But it also taught me happiness comes from within and from your relationship with God. It’s not necessarily the place; you make the place. 这是和记棋牌娱乐来玛丽维尔的重要原因.”

兰斯生命中下一个重要的导师是芭芭拉·希克斯, 奥扎克的一名高中英语老师, 阿拉巴马州, who helped him see his leadership potential beyond being a baseball player. With her encouragement, Lance joined the school newspaper and later became its editor. 具有讽刺意味的是, 这段经历为他赢得了特洛伊大学的奖学金, but he decided instead to continue his baseball career at Wallace Community College as an infielder hoping to get a shot at going pro.

打大学篮球, 然而, “对我的身体系统真的是一个冲击吗?, 无论是身体上还是情感上,兰斯说. Two years at Wallace helped him come to a realization that he needed to prepare himself for a different profession.

在为范·豪森从半挂车上卸下物资一夏天之后, Lance enrolled at Troy and began pursuing coursework in sports and recreation. He also knew he needed employment of some kind and found his way into a part-time job at Troy’s aquatics center. 正是在那里，他的另一位导师. Don 杰弗里, then the director of aquatics at Troy – further altered the course of Lance’s life. 在开始做办公室职员和检查证件的六个月内, 兰斯负责监督救生员并制定时间表. 读完本科学位后，兰斯开始教帆船.

杰弗里, 他后来成为了特洛伊大学健康与公共服务学院的院长, 鼓励兰斯继续深造, 首先是完成硕士学位，然后是博士学位.D. 佛罗里达州立大学体育管理专业. It was 杰弗里 again who helped bring Lance back to Troy as a department chair and then, 而杰弗里是副校长, 推荐兰斯成为特洛伊大学的首席学术官. 

像他父母这样的人的关心和指导, Barbara Hicks and Don 杰弗里 played pivotal roles in Lance’s successful career. 但随着兰斯在特洛伊的行政职位越来越高, 在形形色色的人和项目上留下了他的印记, 当他遇到吉尔时，填补了他生命中的空白. 在去年3月西北航空公司的和记娱乐ios发布会上, Lance called her his “greatest supporter and most constructive sounding board.”

兰斯在抚养萨德和佐伊, 他和前妻生的孩子, as a single father when his sister and a friend of 吉尔’s matched the couple. Lance and 吉尔 had crossed paths as Troy 学生, but their connection then never amounted to more. 如今，他们已经幸福地结婚八年了.

“吉尔 just has this light about her that makes you feel important, connected and loved,兰斯说. “I always thought that was the most remarkable thing – that we could walk into a room, because almost immediately she gets thrown into this environment where we’re having to go to community events or institutional events, 就好像她一生都是这些团体的一员.”

展望西北的未来

塔图姆一家进入了和记棋牌娱乐第一年的下半学期, 兰斯4月19日的就职典礼正在筹备中, 届时新校长将概述他对大学的愿景.

自从来到玛丽维尔, the Tatums have focused on educating themselves about Northwest’s culture, history and traditions – while taking care not to disrupt the University’s momentum.

与校友和朋友在堪萨斯城的秋季聚会, Omaha and Des Moines – dubbed the “Tatum Tour” – gave the couple an opportunity to meet and begin to build relationships with people who are 关闭ly connected with Northwest. 另外, the president has accepted numerous invitations to speak with community groups, and the couple has hosted several student and alumni groups at the Thomas Gaunt House, 西北校区历史悠久的总统官邸.

“密苏里州西北部有着丰富而强大的过去,” Lance told a group of alumni and friends who gathered in October to meet him in Kansas City. “It doesn’t take a lot of time and conversation to see how the University has impacted the lives of its graduates. What speaks to 吉尔 and I when we talk to outside groups, it’s about the student. 在我的面试过程中, I tried to make sure that the committee and everyone unders太d – for me it’s about serving 学生.”

兰斯认为和记棋牌娱乐的基础很牢固, 他认识到大学面临着挑战, 太, 他的首要任务之一就是稳定入学人数. 虽然 西北航空公司今年秋天的总员工人数再创新高l, the number of degree-seeking undergraduate 学生 – the 学生 at the core of the campus culture who occupy classrooms, 住在校园里或校园周围, and participate in student organizations – is short of where the University wants it to be.

Northwest is not an outlier in that area as higher education works to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and braces for the so-called “enrollment cliff” as fewer 学生 enter and graduate high school. 为了抵消预计的入学人数下降， 和记棋牌娱乐最近调整了奖学金模式 and continues to adjust recruitment strategies to remain competitive in the higher ed market.

“I knew coming in that there were no major cracks in how Northwest was conducting business,兰斯说. “Decisions had been made before my arrival that put the University in a really strong position. 现在, the challenges are the challenges of higher ed; the challenges are the challenges of regional universities. 但这对我来说并不意外.”

Among his other priorities during the fall was signing off on an overhaul of Northwest’s antiquated infrastructure. 9月, the Board of Regents gave its approval for the University to embark on a project that will transform and modernize the campus’s central plant. The total cost is estimated to be no more than $105 million and it will take two to three years to complete, 这是该机构历史上最大的资本项目.

新总统愿景的核心是对西北航空公司进行再投资. That means enhancing Northwest as an attractive place that provides 学生 with a memorable college experience and prepares them for gainful employment, and supporting the institution’s employees with resources necessary to ensure the University’s sustainability for the long term.

“What I’ve really been pleased to begin to understand is that people have this great sense of what is next,兰斯说. “People are hungry for what is the next evolutionary step for this University. 我认为这可能是激励我的最大因素.”

塔图姆一家以总统和第一夫人的身份服务西北地区, they will continue to draw inspiration from the people who invested in them and helped them be successful in their careers.

“和记棋牌娱乐所做的一切都将从这个角度出发，”兰斯说. “这与兰斯·塔图姆或吉尔·塔图姆无关. It is about Northwest, and we will do what is in the best interest of Northwest.”