Greetings,

I often attribute SXSW EDU’s growth to the quantity and quality of great learning institutions in and around our home base of Austin, Texas. Just as SXSW Music was propelled to global relevance as a result of Austin’s outstanding live music scene, SXSW EDU has benefited greatly from the concentration of spectacular learning options locally.

One important higher education institution that’s on the rise in Central Texas is Southwestern University in Georgetown, just north of Austin. Laura Trombley, Ph.D., is the 16th President of Southwestern University and the first woman to hold the top leadership position at Texas’s oldest university. Dr. Trombley began her term as president of Southwestern University on July 1, 2020 having previously been president of the University of Bridgeport and president emerita of Pitzer College and The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

I had a chance to visit with her recently about her experience to date and vision for Southwestern University moving forward.

Ron: How was it to start your new role in the middle of a pandemic?

Laura: In a number of key ways, starting a presidency in the middle of a pandemic reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” that I watched many years ago in middle school while I was home with the flu. In March 2020, I was living in Connecticut, and unbeknownst to me my upcoming interview visit to Southwestern University would be the last time that I would be on a plane for over a year. Immediately after my return to Connecticut, the governor shut down the state except for essential services, and like the rest of higher education, the University where I was president shifted to online instruction. My son was a senior and his college also went online and the students were told to leave. He would spend the last few months of his undergraduate education as my roommate. Colleagues I worked with and friends caught COVID and became terribly ill, and some lost family members to the disease.

Moving from Connecticut to Texas was maddeningly complicated: flying was not an option, most hotels were closed, moving companies were scarce, the evening news was alarming, and looming over it all was this invisible, deadly menace. My son and I packed up our possessions, found a local mover, loaded up the Subaru with our three cats and bulldog puppy, and spent five days on the road driving the 1,800 miles to Central Texas. We stayed in empty hotels, scrubbed our hands raw with sanitizer, and hoped that our masks would stave off illness and death. We were, to be frank, terrified. We arrived in Georgetown and were warmly greeted—at a masked distance—by faculty and staff.

On our second night, we walked to the famous Georgetown town square, masks firmly in place, and after turning the corner saw happy families picnicking and lively restaurant and bar patrons crowding the sidewalks. There were no masks to be seen except for those worn by the two of us. My son turned to me and said, “Let’s get out of here,” and all I could think was, It’s coming, and they have no idea. That was how my tenure as president began.

Ron: What’s been the biggest surprise thus far?

Laura: My biggest surprise since becoming the 16th and first woman president of Southwestern University, now in its 181st year, was how quickly and passionately the entire university community came together to ensure our students could continue to receive in-person instruction during a global pandemic. My son and I spent the summer on a largely empty campus. There were no summer programs, no athletic teams training, and no admissions tours, and the offices were largely closed. There were also no known right answers for keeping everyone safe and healthy. We came to know the members of Southwestern’s facilities team well as they were constantly onsite, installing plexiglass barriers, placing directional arrows in hallways, and creating the space to allow for social distancing in classrooms.

While many institutions, including the entire school system in California, opted for online education, 70% of our classes took place in person. People have speculated that perhaps this was because we are a small university. I beg to differ. We were the exception. It is because we were committed. Without a single in-person meeting, my senior staff and I created a plan, protocols, policies, and a communications strategy that included constant messaging and a COVID dashboard. We were remarkably successful, even ending the year with a small surplus. But that could not have been accomplished without the cooperation and individual leadership displayed by every member of our community. I am incredibly blessed to work with such brave and creative problem-solvers.

Ron: What are your thoughts on the go forward for Southwestern University? And what insights do you have for other higher education leaders?

Laura: My lifetime batting average as a president is now going on nineteen years, and I have seen and experienced constant churn both within and outside of the academy. Tenure has eroded nationally, state budgets have tightened, the Great Recession of 2008-2009 ate away at endowments, the number of college-age students is declining, costs keep increasing while affordability keeps decreasing, the list goes on and on. In the past decade, we have seen long-standing institutions disappear or merge. This will accelerate. COVID will result in the loss of programs, faculty, staff, majors and colleges—in fact, it already has.

Excellent governance has become absolutely essential, and trustees must understand their fiduciary responsibilities and liabilities. There is a tremendous need for accountability for the higher education sector and with the unquestionable challenges that we will all be facing in both the near future and the long term, risk, investment, expertise, and experience have never been more important for boards and administrators. There is no margin for error (or for expensive boondoggles). Parents and students are demanding that higher education better explain the return on their investment, and we all must be transparent and honest about what we do, the collegiate experience students can expect, and the support we will provide to ensure that graduates will successfully transition to a career or graduate school post commencement.

Southwestern University is in an extremely strong position thanks to a diverse student population, rapidly growing endowment, ideal location near the capital city of Austin, a valuable amount of developable property, devoted staff and alumni, and an excellent faculty. This has become the era of only right choices.

It’s been great to get to know Dr. Trombley and I look forward to supporting her and Southwestern University’s continued success. I’m proud of the growth of the higher education community at SXSW EDU and their vibrant contributions to our program each year.

We look forward to seeing you soon at SXSW EDU in Austin!

Take care,

Ron