One went to college on the GI Bill. The other had a scholarship to play softball.
Now they are newcomers and key figures in the USF St. Petersburg administration.
Although Dr. Martin Tadlock has been at the campus for four weeks, and Dr. Patricia Helton has been in St. Petersburg for only six, the administrators have their eyes on academic affairs, student life and expansion.
Dr. Helton is replacing Dr. Gardiner Tucker, the interim associate vice chancellor following the resignation of Dr. Julie Wong.
Dr. Tadlock is taking the place of Dr. V. Mark Durand, who served as the interim regional vice chancellor of academic affairs last spring.
While they haven’t had a ton of time to establish their presence, they are both excited to begin the semester and meet students.
Their offices, located on the second floor of the Bayboro Building, sure to be a big difference from their prior homes in northern Minnesota and Denver. The two administrators also said that sustainability is important to them.
The Crow’s Nest talked to both about their first impressions of the university and their plans for the year.
Dr. Martin Tadlock
Regional Vice chancellor of academic affairs
Education: Bachelor’s and master’s from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. from Miami University of Ohio.
Last position: Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College in Northern Minnesota.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m from North Carolina and grew up on a small farm, dirt poor. I didn’t have much encouragement to go to college, so after high school I joined the air force and served for four years.
I took a writing course while stationed in Turkey and passed. After that, I thought about what I would do after the military. I had the GI Bill, I was married, two kids with another on the way and I decided to go back to college.
I enrolled and decided to teach middle school. While teaching middle school I finished my master’s and doctorate, and I wanted to go into teacher education and help prepare future educators.
I’ve been a professor of middle school education for quite awhile. I’ve been a chair and a program team leader. I was asked to serve as an assistant dean while they searched for a new assistant dean. After that I was asked by a friend to apply to be a dean. I moved from there to a president, and then served as a provost to two other institutions. I’ve been in education since 1981.
What brought you into administration?
I love seeing people grow and I love to see people learn. I really believe that public education has a responsibility to serve the people and the community. We have an ethical obligation to provide opportunities for people to grow, develop and change their lives. As a public institution, we are the university for the people.
What are your responsibilities as vice chancellor of academic affairs?
I work with a lot of people and our primary responsibility is the curriculum. I have 17 individual leaders in a variety of roles to support the students and their academics. We work closely with Patricia Helton, the vice chancellor of student affairs, because student life and academics are very closely related. We will be integrating our efforts to provide the best for our students.
What have you enjoyed about this campus?
I came here because I found that a lot of the individuals I was interviewed by seemed to be genuinely committed to the students of this campus. There are a lot of talented professors and staff here. Also, the students coming here very much reflect what I believe in. We are a university of the people, we serve the community and residents, and my role in that excites me. That’s why I’m in higher education.
There’s opportunity on this campus. We are still growing. I came from an institution that was 100 years old. We’ve only been accredited for 10 years. We are still evolving, so there’s still potential here.
What do you feel you can provide to USFSP that no one else could?
I have built numbers everywhere that I’ve been. Through outreach, through taking programing and moving it out to provide more access to people, who are working adults and can’t come live at the school.
I have international partnerships that I’ve worked with for a long time. I plan to add those connections here and bolster our international student population. It will happen over time, it normally takes three to four years to build that. We want to provide opportunities to our students here to go abroad and will be more affordable.
What will you be most excited to work on this year?
I’m excited to be creating a master academic plan that sets a direction for the university over the next five years. We will be using the fall semester to create a draft of a plan that will help determine what new programs we will develop and how we will change current programs
A master academic plan is not just creating the programmatic direction, it is actually creating a philosophy of how you’re going to address the teaching and learning environment at the university. It is something that will involve the whole campus instead of a few people just sitting around and creating a plan.
What would you like to say to the students of the university?
I would love to see students highly engaged in the teaching and learning process, they could set a direction for their own learning. You have to create that kind of culture. In K-12 the teachers dictate the learning, but when you’re in college it is a partnership between the student and professor. There should be a conversation between the two and I don’t think we do that enough in college.
Dr. Patricia Helton
Regional Vice Chancellor of student affairs
Education: Bachelor’s from Oklahoma City University, doctorate in Education from the University of Virginia and master’s from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacodgoches, Texas.
Last position: Associate provost, University of Denver
So can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew up in Oklahoma. I got into Oklahoma City University by playing softball. I went on an athletic scholarship. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I went for my master’s in Texas. I was in Virginia for 17 years [where she earned her doctorate]. I worked as associate provost for the University of Denver.
What brought you to USF St. Petersburg?
I love the size of the campus, the location and the relationship of the school with the city. I’m excited about the strategic plan the chancellor put forth. It is a growing place and I think it’s exciting to be in a growing place. There is a positive vibe here. In my interview I could tell the faculty was excited.
I like St Pete. There are so many things happening here, but the traffic isn’t that bad. It seems like a small-big town. I’ve only been here six weeks but I love it. That has surprised me a lot. Now, Denver feels so large. I think it’s lost some of its small town feel and St. Pete still has that.
What do you think of the USFSP campus?
I’ve gotten a crash course in the last six weeks. I haven’t had a day yet that I haven’t learned something new. There is still so much to learn. I tell people it’s kind of like taking a drink out of a fire hydrant. You get a drink but it’s easy to take too much.
At the moment, I’m trying to meet with each member of my team individually. I think it’s important to get to know your team. I’ve also been exploring the campus. Just the other day I walked into the journalism and media studies building. I’ve walked past it, but walking in really brought the area to life. Something about walking into the physical place really imprints how special it really is.
What do you bring to the university?
I build teams well. The staff here is talented, but I think as I get to know people I’ll be able to help put together teams who will really grow effectively. It will take time.
I also think USFSP is growing and as it grows, our department [Student Affairs] will grow. If we are adding students, we will be adding services. People have asked me what my vision is. I don’t have one, I don’t know the people yet. People will define the vision. People have ideas and you need those ideas to bring it all together. I’m a big pictures and systems thinker.
How do you plan on partnering with the community to benefit students?
The chancellor (Sophia Wisniewska) was involved with the “Innovation District,” (the city’s label for USFSP and nearby hospitals) an area in downtown St Pete that wants to create a space for the medical, higher education and business communities to come together on different projects. I think students could easily get involved with that. One of the things I’ve picked up on campus is the importance of sustainability to students, and I can see a place for them to interact with the innovation district on projects centered around that.
What are you most excited to take on this semester?
I would say in the next few weeks I cannot wait to get to know students. In some ways I’m like a transfer student. I will be meeting a lot of new people. I can’t wait to get to know the culture of this campus. I have learned a lot about the institution, but not the culture. I believe students create this culture, they are really the heart of the school.
Is there anything you’d like the students to know about you?
I want students to know I have the best job on campus. I am open to hearing from them, especially if there are big issues that need to be addressed – even if there are small issues. We want to be a campus that is responsive to what students need. I tell people that students are in class maybe six hours a day and the rest of that day is student life, and we have a huge part of that student life. We want them to have a uniquely USFSP student experience.
