An In-Depth Conversation with

by Natalie McKenna

Dr. Peterson is the first female president in University of Jamestown history. She has served the University for 30 years—first as Controller, then a faculty member, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, and as Executive Vice President. She holds a Ph.D. in higher education, institutional analysis and an M.B.A. from Regis University. Dr. Peterson has been named a Top 25 Women in Business by Prairie Business Magazine. We sat down with her to talk about influential moments in her life, women in leadership, and Title IX.

Q: You transferred to UJ your sophomore year to play basketball and run track. How did athletics influence your time at UJ?

A: I love the opportunity that sports provide—to have teammates and something to work towards. But I don’t think we can talk about influence from athletics without talking about the people. For me, one of those people was Coach Clark. As an athlete, I got to observe what passionate and compassionate leadership looks like. What you give when you believe in a mission. Being relentlessly committed. That style of servant leadership that Coach Clark and so many others from my early years at UJ embodied impacted how I lead.

Q: As a new mom, you had just moved from Aberdeen to Jamestown. You planned on working part-time as a public accountant and staying home in the off-season. Instead, you took an opportunity to work full-time at UJ as a Controller. How did that move impact your life?

A: That call I got from Dick Smith [former Dean] asking me to consider working at the University was the most important call in my entire career. I went to a meeting on campus. I can still see it. We were sitting right here [she pointed to table in what is now her office].

I told them this would be my dream job because this University stands for everything I’ve ever wanted. I’d like to spend my life doing that, but I had already accepted a part-time job elsewhere. Dick encouraged me to follow my dreams. He said they would take care of my other work commitment and make everything work with my son. That was the beginning. I knew when I got here and I started my job, it wasn’t a job at all. It was a lifestyle.

Q: You are the first female president in the history of UJ. For young women looking to break the glass ceiling in their industry and move into leadership roles, what advice can you give them?

A: Learn from everyone you can—the good and the bad. Be willing to be a sponge, to put the time in to learn, informally and formally. I knew I had to continue my education. I still do. I read everything I can get my hands on. I continue to go to conferences and take classes.

As women sometimes, there’s this persona that if you are going to be a woman in leadership, you have to manage and lead like men. Women don’t always give themselves room to lead in a style that fits their own personality. But I learned that I could be authentically myself, and there was a lane for me. It makes life easier when you bring yourself with you to work.

Q: When you think about women in leadership roles, what is something you feel passionately about?

A: We have to remember the value of women mentors and the responsibility we have as women in leadership to encourage our young girls and boys. We’re influenced very young by the people we respect. With that in mind, we have to take better care of our teachers. We can’t continue to downplay the teaching profession like we do. Those are some of the most important people for building a stronger society. All of us as women need to actively participate in the responsibility of lifting our teachers up.

Q: Title IX increased athletic opportunities for girls and young women. How do you think these opportunities impact women’s futures?

A: To be honest, I think it was the game changer. It provided what I would call an affordable pathway to college for women. Before Title IX, it wasn’t that women couldn’t go to college. They couldn’t access scholarships and do what they love the way others could. When you look at how many women go to college today, the numbers have surpassed men. I think it’s important to recognize that when we make changes to systems, it should be an “and strategy” not an “or”. When we focus on one area, we sometimes take an eye off another. Title IX wasn’t made at the expensive of men. It should be additive. That’s equality.

Q: At halftime of a men’s basketball game, the University celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Title IX by bringing every women’s team onto the court. In your speech, you commented that as a society we have come a long way, but we still have a way to go. What do you think needs to be improved?

A: I think at the top, there’s still an imbalance in many areas. And there are still certain professions where we as women haven’t broken that glass ceiling. I’m not sure it’s intentional. But at the same time, we need to continue to keep our eye on where there are inequities and answer the question as to why. I believe as the workforce evolves to include diversity of gender, race, age, religion, and so on, society will be better. A diverse body contributes wholistically to a better decision.

Story and Photography

by Michael Savaloja

On Dec. 6, buried within the madness of triumphant hugs, tears and confetti in downtown Sioux City, Iowa, Jon Hegerle’s cell phone was blowing up.

A social media recluse by choice – he won’t even do Facebook – the inbox of the man who had just forever merged athletic greatness with the University of Jamestown was weathering an 80-text barrage of congratulatory love from around the country.

Less than five minutes earlier, Hegerle’s Jimmies had ascended to NAIA women’s volleyball supremacy by defeating Corban University (Ore.) in five sets.

For the first time in school history, University of Jamestown had a national championship-winning sports team, and Hegerle, a God-fearing leader who believes in burning goals and prioritizing individual personal growth over wins and losses, was its engineer.

“I might get a couple of texts a day, so that was a little overwhelming at that point,” Hegerle recalled. “It’s going to sound like a cliché, but it is surreal.”

Make no mistake. As thrilling as that one night inside the Tyson Events Center was for UJ, the big red banner it produced is simply a byproduct of the life-inspiring culture Hegerle spent 14 seasons constructing.

The following is a small glimpse inside its walls of “Perpetual Ascension.”

“I’m not really big on result goals of, ‘We need to have a winning season. We need to be above .500,’” Hegerle explained. “No, no, no. Those are just all dessert.

“Life is about the main meal, not the dessert.”

Ever wonder how an elite college volleyball player keeps her cool in the closing stages of a national championship fifth set?

It might be the fact that match point simply snuck up on her.

“Apparently, I thought the score was 14-14,” laughed UJ’s Kalli Hegerle ’22, the 2022 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year and the coach’s niece. “I blocked it, and I turned around and was like, ‘Let’s go! One more point!’ And then everyone started storming the court.”

Teammate Kadyn Mehring swept the shell-shocked Kalli into her arms and confirmed the good news as the celebration took shape. Kalli had just rejected an outside attack from Corban senior star Avari Ridgway to ignite Jimmie euphoria in a 2521,21-25,25-27,25-22,15-13 win over the Cascade Collegiate Conference Warriors.