6 minute read
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 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.
The team worked with the TXWES community to utilize unconventional learning spaces – like in the recently opened Martin Center – that could accommodate social distancing requirements and keep students safe while keeping them on their degree tracks. Quintanilla and the team are still using what they learned last year as they return to a more normal planning cycle, and a new host of virus variants means the school will need to stay prepared.
“Talk about opportunities to learn,” Quintanilla said. He’s made careful study of this time, and he sees the value of offering online, in-person and hybrid models that meet the needs of a diverse student population.
Quintanilla has had an unexpected trajectory for someone who never dreamed of being a college dean or provost. He is the only member of his family to pursue his college education – first with bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of North Texas and then with a doctorate from the University of Texas at Arlington. He also logged time in the corporate world as a CPA before joining the business school faculty in 2006.
He loved the academic energy and was happy as a faculty member when then-provost Allen Henderson tapped him to consider the job of dean. “He saw something in me I didn’t see in myself,” Quintanilla said.
Quintanilla dived right into the deep end. He led accreditation of the business school and established the school’s successful online MBA program. He worked with others to attract faculty members who fit Texas Wesleyan’s mission. He created a business school with a people-first culture.
“His faculty colleagues respected his leadership style and people skills. He had high expectations for himself and set a great example,” Henderson remembers. “It was clear to me Hector possessed the right combination of work habits and social skills to be an exceptional leader.”
More than a decade after he first tapped Quintanilla, Henderson left the provost role – and a large legacy. Many university provosts often hold the role for six to eight years. Henderson held the role for 16 years and helped to shape the Texas Wesleyan we know today.
But even with the success of the last decade-plus, the university will face steep headwinds. The next decade will require new ideas and executions.
Top of the to-do list? Implementing the university’s new strategic plan – Engage 2025.
The university is reviewing its general education curriculum so that students can connect to their career fields quicker through hands-on experiences. Students who infuse their classwork with real experiences will connect the dots in a way where they can immediately contribute to any team they are a part of. Those connections – through the community, the President’s Advisory Board and alumni – are invaluable for student success.
“An overall theme to the plan is to really get students connected more quickly to their careers and also to understand their place in the world,” Quintanilla said.
Vaidya says the business school is already working to that end, continuing to analyze their programs and how they connect with their communities – including new opportunities for certifications, concentrations and programs that get students going faster.
It’s also taking a holistic look at its student profiles to provide more opportunities. A high-performer in biology, for instance, is highly likely to also minor in music and play an instrument. Students’ interests overlap. Creating a learning environment that attracts motivated students and brings out the best in those looking for inspiration isn’t just important for the student or the university, but for the larger community as well.
“The only way for Texas and Fort Worth to grow is to have the talent to do so,” Quintanilla said. “We cannot, as a community, afford to have any talent sitting on the sidelines.”
Quintanilla points to the key role the university’s School of Education plays in that work. Most Texas public high school students are Hispanic, and yet many do not make it to college. The School of Education’s work in the public school system is important to the university and community. The Department of Music is rethinking its offerings to provide even more access for high-performing students.
Likewise, education pathways – fiveyear combined undergraduate-graduate degrees, partnerships with other universities – are critical to keep students moving through their education and into their communities and careers.
But while there’s a lot of focus on the new and modern, Quintanilla looks both forward and backward to better understand his role at Texas Wesleyan – and in the lives of so many students and educators. He admires ideas that work.
He recalls the images of academic and campus life depicted in old yearbooks. “When you look back at those students, they are doing cool things in class and fun things on campus … that’s still a great vision.”
