Provost candidate Diane Nell visited Oklahoma City University on Feb. 3. Nell is the dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and a professor of French at St. Edward’s University. She hosted three sessions, each targeted at different stakeholder populations. Nell said if she were selected as provost, she would make decisions based on community input and be a champion of student success.
Nell is one of three candidates applying for the position of provost. President Kenneth Evans will make the final decision on the selection of the provost candidate.
Nell is a first-generation college student. She says that she is “persistent, resilient, drawn to challenges,” and loves adventure. “One of my favorite things in the world is to talk about the time I spent in France,” said Nell.
Nell credits her character to her study abroad adventures in France. Nell is a former French professor and taught many levels of French.
Nell says she modeled her teaching after Park Palmer, the author of “The Courage to Teach.” She said that in a classroom, everyone is a learner. “The teacher is the master learner; the students are the apprentice learners,” said Nell.
“I have been very interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities.”
Nell said that she likes Oklahoma City University because it has a focus on “transformation learning,” which aligns with her values. “You do not view the liberal arts and traditional as binary opposites; you view them as complementary and that is how I view them as well.”
Nell said that colleges and universities must be ready to change with the rapidly changing world.
Nell said the university needs to expand overall enrollment. “(In) 2008 the with the recession, people started having fewer children. We can’t depend on having the same number of 18-year-olds who will be ready for college,” Nell said.
Nell said the university needs to target populations that had not previously considered going to a private college. She said another solution to fixing the enrollment problem would be to improve retention. “Many times, we try to emphasize the first-year, but we need to emphasize the second-year experience, the third-year experience,” Nell said.
Nell said collaboration and transparency is the key to everything the university does. “We want everyone in the community to feel that they belong and to feel that their concerns are being listened to, heard and addressed,” Nell said.
Nell said that if she were chosen to be the provost at OCU she would spend her first months learning about the community and holding group and one on one sessions. Nell said that she loves to be present at events and would attend events she was invited to.
Nell said she was attracted to OCU because of the broad spectrum of programs. Nell said she would accomplish structural and cultural change. She says making these changes is reflected in her record. She attributes her success to collaboration. Nell says her actions would be targeted towards student success.
Nell says she does not have a top priority for OCU. Nell said that she would leave the decisions to students, faculty, and staff. “It’s not up to me to impose which changes or evolutions take place,” said Nell. “I can bring ways to accomplish change. I can bring in strategies for that.”
Nell says that the university should focus on in-person learning instead of virtual learning. She said she believes students will be looking for face-to-face programs after the pandemic ends. “Face-to-Face class is going to be the best vehicle to learn in community, to learn together, to make those kinds of relationships that make college such a special time for you,” Nell said.
Nell said students should take at least one online class to prepare them for the online environment.
Nell said the university would open more doors for non-traditional students if it cut the cost for a degree significantly and reduced the degree completion timeline to two years. Nell says making these changes would “make a difference in the community and world.”
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