F E AT U R E
On the Job Provost Hector Quintanilla discusses how the university’s new strategic plan connects students and mentors – something he knows from on-thejob experience.
Talk to Hector Quintanilla, Texas Wesleyan’s new (officially) provost and vice president for academic affairs, and you’re struck by how naturally he connects the dots between the big picture – like world events or growth in the local economy – to real-world action, updating curricula and connecting students with mentors. “He stays even-keeled – he doesn’t get too stressed or too relaxed,” Sameer Vaidya, interim dean of the School of Business Administration and longtime colleague, said. “So that helps a lot.”
Few have seen his demeanor ruffled. He smiles, laughs and listens – all while keeping track of the details. It’s a fitting reputation for the accountant-turned-academic – a detailoriented listener and doer. “He has a good way of working with faculty and getting them on board,” Vaidya said. “He’s always believed in shared governance in the school.”
Vaidya knows a thing or two about leadership styles – he is a professor of management with expertise in the subject. He’s also worked closely with Quintanilla in the business school and has seen him in action. Faculty members are highly skilled, intelligent experts. They don’t want to be told
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what to do – they want to be included in the bigger picture in a meaningful way, and Quintanilla excels at just that, Vaidya says.
Quintanilla galvanizes his collaborative approach with a commitment to action. He developed programs as dean of the School of Business Administration and Professional Programs that connected students to opportunity – a forensic accounting program for undergraduates, a master’s degree in management, and a successful online MBA program. He led the AACSB accreditation at the School of Business. He’s even had plenty of on-the-job training – he started as interim provost in August 2019. His feathers? Mostly unruffled.
But to say 2020 was like nothing Quintanilla – or any living educator – had seen before is an understatement. The provost’s offices are often busy in normal times – with professors resolving scheduling conflicts and student workers prepping packets. But the office itself was eerily quiet as Quintanilla and staff quarantined at home, all while networking a small city’s worth of meetings, classes and compliance needs for the university.
