Spotlight On: James Mullen, Transitional President, St. John’s University

Spotlight On: James Mullen, Transitional President, St. John’s University

2022-07-15T08:19:38-04:00November 30th, 2021|Education, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Spotlight On|

St. John's University James Mullen2 min read November 2021 — In an interview with Invest:, Transitional President James Mullen of Saint John’s University shared the different ways in which the university has grown. He highlighted the innovative co-administrative structure between Saint John’s and the College of Saint Benedict, how they are managing the changing dynamics in enrollment and the ways in which Saint John’s is making higher education more accessible to various communities.

How has Saint John’s University grown in the last year and how do you plan on carrying that momentum forward?

We’ve tried to bring some type of normalcy back to the residential liberal arts experience. In-person interactions between students and faculty are core to who we are. It’s important that we bring back campus life as quickly and as safely as we can. Our major concern lies in the health and safety of our campus community. We have focused on issues related to the health of our students, realizing that we need to maintain the health and wellness of our students over the long term. We’re also starting the process of returning to life in the classroom and in the many co-curricular aspects of the campus. We’ve been pleased to see over 90% of our campus community step forward and be vaccinated. It has allowed us to return to a certain level of normalcy.

How is the co-administrative structure becoming a trend in higher education?

We’re in the midst of building an innovative and, hopefully, national model around governance. We hear a lot in the wider world about mergers, acquisitions and closures. What we don’t hear about are ways for institutions to develop a strong integration without a merger. We at Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s are creating a strong integration model that other institutions may look at. It allows us to retain the special qualities of each institution and serve the best of each school. We’re hoping to receive approval from our accrediting agency to allow us to move to a single president over both institutions. We want to have two boards of common members and, where possible, enhance the student experience with an organizational structure that bridges the two institutions.

How has Saint John’s University managed the changing dynamics in enrollment?

We are a Catholic Benedictine institution grounded in monastic teachings that focus on respect of human dignity, a sense of community and welcome, and a commitment to the intellectual rigor of the Catholic tradition. It situates us positively in the marketplace of higher education. We’re also creating systems that are allowing us to be nimbler. We promise students that we will provide them a strong, rigorous and intellectual experience that will prepare them to succeed in their chosen profession.

 We need to increase our reach in our region but also continue our work in the national and international markets. We need to understand that the future growth of demographics is largely in the Asian American, Latinx and Hispanic populations. We need to ensure that the campus is welcoming and relevant to those populations. 

How is Saint John’s University looking to make the institution of higher education more accessible to communities? 

We have a commitment to making Saint John’s and St. Ben’s inclusive and just communities. We have listened. Students have spoken eloquently, passionately and thoughtfully about the expectations of a college campus, what it means to live in a community and what it means to be diverse. This fall we had a marvelous opening of a new multicultural center that serves both campuses. It’s a space that students helped to create and program. We’re working to increase the organizational commitment in terms of positions focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. Students always give you hope and challenge us to be better. If we’re going to prepare students for the world they’re going to inherit, they need to be prepared as citizens to commit themselves to DEI initiatives. If we’re asking them to do that, we need to do it as well.

What are your key priorities for the near future?

A primary focus will be the pending approval by HLC of our strong integration model. There will then be a presidential search and my responsibility is to ensure that the new president inherits two institutions that have momentum. The momentum should be palpable, shared across communities and provide a smooth onboarding for the incoming president. We should identify key strategic issues and how we’re making progress on them. We should also have the organizational architecture set in place for that new president to succeed. Moreover, we want to ensure that students who are here now are enjoying a rich and meaningful liberal arts experience.

For more information, visit: 

www.csbsju.edu

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