A DAY IN THE WORK LIFE OF
DR. ELIZABETH J. STROBLE
By Susan Caba
Dr. Elizabeth J. Stroble takes over as the 11th president of Webster University this month, bringing with her an appreciation for the diversity of the global university.
Dr. Stroble, the first female president of Webster since 1970, began her career as a high school teacher. She comes to St. Louis from the University of Akron in Ohio, where she was senior vice president, provost and chief operating officer. She’s credited with transforming the Akron campus, earning it a 2008 “Engaged University” designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
“I admire the diversity and complexity of Webster’s community, ranging from vibrant programs in the liberal arts and robust professional programs to entrepreneurial uses of technology and the worldwide campus sites,” she says.
A particular interest of Dr. Stroble’s is the use of the Internet to create a sense of community among people in far-flung locations. Webster, with its international network of more than 100 campuses and more than 20,000 students, should be ideal for studying that phenomenon. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on one aspect of how e-mail—then relatively new—is used in communication.
Dr. Stroble, 58, earned a bachelor of arts in history and English in 1973 from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. She earned a master of arts in history in 1979, and a master of arts in American and English literature in 1984, both from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Stroble received a doctorate in curriculum and instruction in 1987 from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
What’s the most efficient or productive time of day for you?
I have two. Early morning. I like to get up and have a healthy breakfast, get caught up on the news and start the workday. The second is early evening. After a meal and some exercise, I’m good to go again for several hours. I tried exercising in the morning, but I usually have early morning meetings that take priority. I like the energy boost it gives me for evening.
What is the most creative aspect of
your work?
The opportunity to work with teams of people on things that you know can really make a difference for young people.
Pulling the teams together is really a
creative process, I think. It takes a lot of time getting to know people and what they are passionate about and understanding the needs of the community then figuring out who are the right people to bring together. I really believe in the value of private-public partnerships. It just takes time, trust building and accountability to achieve a goal. And energy.
In Akron in late May, we had a hard-hat tour of a middle school that will emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It will be jointly operated and managed by the University of Akron, Akron public schools, the city and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. UA is going to draw enrollment from all over Akron. At UA they believe it’s important to grow the capacity to understand science, technology, engineering and mathematics in young people of that age. Middle schoolers will be working alongside university faculty and students, as well as with inventors.
What is the least creative or least
satisfying?
Signing papers and forms. If one has a really great staff that vets and reviews the papers that helps.
What motivates or inspires you?
The opportunity to make a difference, to have an impact and to see tangible results from what you do. I enjoy working with people and I enjoy the opportunity to learn something new. That motivates me to look for new places to live, new professional opportunities, new challenges. I love the diversity of this country. There are people fortunate enough to stay in one community. They have the opportunity to develop very deep friendships and relationships. If one moves, that creates opportunities to bring new ideas from one place to another, perhaps a new way of approaching solutions. I am grateful now to return to the region where my career began.
How do you use devices and electronics
—Blackberries, cell phones, iPods—to manage work flow? Are they, on balance, more often a tool or a hindrance?
I very much became hooked on e-mail in the early 1980s. In fact, my doctoral dissertation was on an aspect of the use of e-mail. I am the same as I was when I was a small child. I couldn’t wait for the mail carrier to arrive. With e-mail, I can get mail at any moment.
I do think it helps me to stay connected to the people I need to stay connected to. It’s a time saver. I don’t find electronic communication works very well for substantive, thoughtful communication. But it’s good for staying on top of things. I can send an e-mail to say, “Let me think about this and I’ll call you in a short time.” My network of people is so broadly
dispersed that e-mail really helps me have an immediacy of relationships with people that I couldn’t have face-to-face, or even by telephone because of time differences.
Right now, I am really interested in how new media are effective in creating online communities that help us feel connected with one another. I do think there is no substitute for face-to-face communication. But electronic media are a good supplement.
What is the most distracting element
of your workday/workweek?
How do you manage it?
I don’t perceive anything in my workday or workweek as particularly distracting. I have an ability to stay focused and also the ability to switch topics and pace quite easily.
Do you have particular strategies for maintaining focus?
I think it’s, for me, attitude. Because I do welcome opportunities to learn, I see the topics that come toward me as opportunities to learn and opportunities for feedback. It’s being clear about mission and fundamental values and principles, so that the new learning doesn’t distract in ways that cause you to lose your focus. Staying true to your mission, saying to yourself, how does this fit with my mission and goals. It’s also a matter of staying very centered and being part of a community that keeps you centered. It’s hard to do on your own.
If there is one thing you would like to
do differently in the average workday, what is it? Why don’t you do it?
In the middle of the day it would be great to have 30 minutes or up to an hour to have just some quiet desk time. That doesn’t happen because the face-to-face meetings take priority, so that work usually gets taken care of outside of business hours. But I can see that, on the days that I am actually able to get some desk time, I am more productive. It gives me time to reflect and refocus.
Do you work differently while traveling than in your office?
I anticipate that serving Webster as the president will provide the need and the opportunity to travel more. Webster has 100 campuses around the world. Understanding and planning the itinerary for travel will be complex. My first desire is to learn Webster from the inside out.
I probably get more alone time when I’m on the road. I’m used to being able to maintain focus amidst quite a few people. I do find the pace and the solitude of being alone on a plane or in a hotel room to be a nice change, but I wouldn’t want that to be the norm.
Since you have moved to different parts of the country during your career, have you developed any particular strategies for getting quickly settled and informed in a new place?
The initial step is just to indicate to people that you’re open to partnerships and trying to find ways that you can link your institution to theirs.
My first priority at Webster is learning about Webster people, learning Webster culture, learning how they see their strategic plan guiding their future. I’ve scratched the surface. I need to do much more of what I call story harvesting. What does Webster mean to the community, what does Webster mean to Webster, itself? I’m talking about that collecting of individual stories so that we can start to communicate a larger story about the value of Webster –to the community, to the world, really.
What are some of your rules for success?
• Do your homework.
• Maintain a sense of humor.
• Build trust by being trustworthy.
• Value diversity as a strength.
• Seek to create options and opportunities.
