Leaders on Leadership featuring Dr. Paul Pribbenow, President of Augsburg University

Episode Transcript

Jay Lemons:

Hello, and thank you for listening. I’m Jay Lemons. Welcome to Leaders on Leadership, brought to you by Academic Search and the American Academic Leadership Institute. The purpose of our podcast is to share the stories of the people and the forces that have shaped leaders in higher education and to learn more about their thoughts on leadership in the academy. I’m delighted today to be joined by Dr. Paul Pribbenow. Paul is the 10th president of Augsburg University, a private liberal arts institution really rooted in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located in the heart of Minneapolis.

Since taking office in 2006… Yes, 2006. That’s about four presidential lifetimes ago in terms of the ACE survey, Paul has led Augsburg through a period of remarkable transformation, enhancing its role as a deeply engaged community partner and champion of service learning and experiential education. Under Paul’s leadership, Augsburg transitioned from college to university status, launched several ambitious capital and strategic campaigns, and became the first higher education institution in Minnesota to receive the prestigious Presidential Award for Community Service.

Paul is a respected voice on ethics, philanthropy, and civic life. He serves on national boards, including Campus Compact and the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities, and he chairs several key local partnerships as well in the Twin Cities. His scholarship includes numerous articles and two recent co-edited volumes on reconciling institutional history and shaping the future.

I’m going to tout Paul’s undergraduate institution, Luther College, and let you know that he holds a master’s and a doctorate from University of Chicago in the Divinity School, and he began his career in academic advancement leadership roles at institutions, including the School of Art Institute of Chicago, and as the president of Rockford University. Paul lives in Minneapolis with his wife Abigail, and they have two adult children, Thomas and Maya. Paul, what a great pleasure to welcome you to Leaders on Leadership.

Paul Pribbenow:

Thank you, Jay. It’s really great to be with you. Look forward to our conversation.

Jay Lemons:

I can’t tell you how pleased and grateful I am to have a chance because the water runs deep with you, and I really wanted to shout out your work at the University of Chicago Divinity School in part because I’m mindful that just over two months ago, you were honored as their alumnus of the year, and I appreciated seeing that.

I didn’t get a chance to acknowledge that when we were together here a few weeks ago in the great state of Michigan, but what a thrill it must have been to have been honored among the distinguished alumni of that important school at the University of Chicago. So congratulations.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah. Well, thank you, Jay. It was a deep honor and especially poignant for me because I got word of the honor back earlier in the year, and shortly thereafter, my dissertation advisor and longtime friend and mentor, Martin E. Marty, passed away.

And in many ways, I believed that my career after the Divinity School was shaped very much by what he taught me and by the kind of model and example that he was. I always say that in some ways he was the perfect example who was somebody with humility and kindness, alongside of really a deep, rigorous academic, and a deep commitment to pluralism. And so many ways, that’s been the vision of leadership that I’ve brought to my work now over 24 years as a president. So crazy. Hard to believe.

Jay Lemons:

It is hard to believe you are exactly right. I do recall when Thomas was a baby.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yes.

Jay Lemons:

Hearing those words, I can sense and feel the emotion in your voice at the role that Professor Marty had in your life, and I have known that has been a constant. And so I know that there is a sense of loss, and yet his legacy, boy, has been cast so much more broadly by the efforts of people like you and others of your peers and colleagues.

Rebecca Chopp comes to mind, and Rebecca continues to teach in her own remarkable ways, given life’s unexpected development. So I’m really proud of that honor for you, and we’re all better for the legacy of Martin Marty, who I must say another proud native Nebraskan.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah, there you go. That’s right. Yeah. In fact, he was often proud about the fact that he grew up in the same small town as Warren Buffett. Isn’t that something? I mean, tiny little town in Nebraska. Last time I saw him in the fall when he actually pulled out a, it was like a yearbook from that little town in Nebraska, and wanted to show us all pictures of Warren and himself. And so I thought that was really… those were his roots, no doubt about it.

Jay Lemons:

Those were his roots. I once asked him how he had the capacity to be as prolific as he did, and I’ll never forget his response. “I have been accused of never having had a thought that I did not publish.”

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah. No. I have a full shelf on my bookshelf here full of his books, and he certainly touched on a lot of remarkable topics in addition to his amazing history of American religion.

Jay Lemons:

Yeah. Here, here, here, here. Well, Paul, one of our goals is to ask leaders to reflect just as we have been doing and to consider your own pathways to leadership with the hope that others are going to be inspired.

Paul, I’d love for you to share with our listeners, to have you talk about some of the other people, events, opportunities that really affords the leader that you are, and maybe more fundamentally a person you are becoming as your journey through life and through higher education has unfolded.

Paul Pribbenow:

No, I’d be happy to share that I’m a cradle Lutheran, which is part of my legacy, and my dad is a Lutheran pastor. And I’m the oldest of six kids. And we grew up in small towns in Wisconsin and Iowa. I think I counted, at one point, I went to nine different schools before I graduated from high school. And then I set off to Luther College, as you mentioned in your introduction, which is the family school. I was actually born in Decorah when my dad was a-

Jay Lemons:

Ah.

Paul Pribbenow:

… senior there, and then I’m the oldest of six, and five of us went to Luther. So it really is… has a very special place in my heart. And while I was there, I went as the eldest child of Lutheran pastors, thinking that I would become a pastor because that’s sort of back in the 70s, that’s what you… that was a path. And I’ll never forget, of course, I was a sociology political science major. I was taking some religion courses. Of course, some were required, others just because of interest. And I got about halfway through my time at Luther, and I was speaking with a member of the religion faculty who was one of my faculty mentors.

And I said, “I’m not sure I can live my dad’s life.” And he looked at me and he said, “Well, when I see you, I see you really interested in the questions that we are struggling with in the class on religion. And there are these places called Divinity Schools,” which let me just say I, as a 19 or 20-year-old had never heard of this such a thing, “Where you can go and study.” And he said, “By the way, I went to the University of Chicago.” That was about a five-minute conversation that changed my life. I remember my dad took me to the spring orientations at Hyde Park at the University of Chicago, and he dropped me off.

He said, “You can be here. You’re welcome at home anytime. I’m not coming back.” Because for dad, the big city was sort of… But he didn’t realize his son was about to become an urban kid, somebody who loves the city. And that’s be quite honest, that’s shaped my life. So I had a great experience at Divinity School and actually got a master’s and was ABD, and then had a friend who said to me, “You’ve really studied these ethics questions, social ethics questions. But the truth is, there are lots of nonprofit organizations that need leadership that actually live out those values.”

And so he said, “By the way, there are these jobs at the university here where they help raise money for the university. You might look into that.” And so, six months later, I’m an annual giving officer at the University of Chicago and knew nothing. I mean, I had a amazing boss who… And I always say it might’ve been one of the best jobs I ever had because all my colleagues were fellow graduate students from the university. We were having the time of our life. Somebody was paying us. And so I did that for a while.

And what happened was that I was good at it apparently. And so I kept moving up the ladder at the university, and then I went to the Art Institute of Chicago for a while, and I actually came back to the university and was the associate dean at the Divinity School. And the dean there, when he hired me, he said, “It’s not a good look for my associate dean to be ABD. I’d like you to finish that dissertation.”

Jay Lemons:

Wow.

Paul Pribbenow:

He said, “Just find somebody on the faculty who will help you get through.” And that’s how I was connected with Marty.

Jay Lemons:

Ah.

Paul Pribbenow:

Marty was willing to take me on. I was not in his area of study. I was doing ethics, and he was a historian, but he said, “I would love to work with you.” So, over the course of two years, I worked with Marty and finished the dissertation, and then at that point started to realize that I was probably on the path to be a president, and I started looking for a job in a small town, thinking that I might end up in a small town like Decorah or where lots of other small institutions are. And ended up going to Wabash College down in Indiana, where the president there said to me, “Come and do your job here, and I’ll help you become a president.”

And he did. I spent six years there, and I got all kinds of experiences, and then went to my first presidency at Rockford, what was then Rockford College, now Rockford University, and was there for almost five years. And now, as you’ve heard, in my 20th year at Augsburg. And so the point of all this for me is to go back and think about what I mentioned a faculty member who told me about a Divinity School, five-minute conversation, a friend who told me about a job in the advancement office at the University of Chicago, a dean who said, “Finish your dissertation.” A president who said, “I’ll help you become a president.”

And whenever I’m talking to students about their own vocational journeys here at Augsburg, I always say, “You never know where the call is going to come from. Whether you believe in the divine or in God or some higher power or whatever you think about it, the truth is that call can come from anywhere, and there are people who have been planted in your life who provide that call to you, and you need to be listening and watching.” So it’s an object lesson for our students that realize that a five-minute conversation can change your life. I’ve had the great blessing of having that happen to me several times. So here I am and two years away from retirement.

Jay Lemons:

Wow. Well, thank you for listening so well too. I do think this is one of the really distinctive qualities of Lutheran higher education is trying to understand the frame of vocation.

Paul Pribbenow:

Right.

Jay Lemons:

And I have leaned heavily into this with just joy and making sense of my own journey, just as you have. But I think one of the most helpful dimensions is just what you outlined. And it’s that kind of the… As I was new at Susquehanna and new to the world of the ELCA, my chaplain, Reverend Dr. Mark William Radecke, said, “There are these two dimensions of trying to understand what our call is. One is internal, and that is what brings me joy. What fuels me?

How can I use my gifts to serve others in the world?” And that’s an important framework, but too many people focus only there. And there’s this external dimension that very often is the light that we have to find our way to. And it’s usually conversations just like you shared. And I hope for our listeners who include people who think about and are aspiring to leadership, that lesson is one that people will take to heart. And thank you for sharing it so beautifully.

Paul Pribbenow:

Following up on that. I mean, sometimes you recognize what happened in retrospect, other times you have to go looking for it. I mean, that’s the other thing I often say to folks that tell me they want to be a president, “Find that champion. Find somebody who will give you the opportunities to learn.”

And I think folks who are interested in leadership, presidency, provost have to build those networks. They have to build those relationships, and that’s an important part of preparation. It’s really… In the best sense of the word, it’s the political work you do in preparation for taking on one of these jobs.

Jay Lemons:

Right. That’s right. Well, speaking of leadership, I feel like I’m sort of on a… There’s a small army, but a crusade in trying to reclaim the word good. And by good, I don’t mean grade B. I want to know what your thoughts are about what makes a good leader. And by that I mean virtuous, effective, successful.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know then because I’m an ethicist, I think a lot about the virtues. I’m a great fan of all the books on the Seven Deadly Sins. So I know one side of the equation. I mean, I think. And we’re all vulnerable to the seven deadly sins in their own fashion, but we also have the opportunity to live out the virtues.

And for me, a great leader at the core, it’s about integrity. It’s about keeping your promises. It’s about aligning yourself with a set of values that, in fact, really guide everything you do. And when that alignment’s not there personally as well as professionally and institutionally, I think we’ve seen so many examples of where leadership fails. So that’s the starting point. And then from there, I have long believed that the most effective leaders are those who have a strong enough ego that they can actually be humble.

That ego strength that allows you to really let yourself into other people’s lives, to take seriously their experience, to believe that it may not always be right to admit that you’re wrong and ask for forgiveness and grace. I think that’s what Mr. Marty taught me about a way of being human, not let alone an academic. And I’ve really more and more as I get toward the end of my career, people reflecting on my leadership, that’s the piece that comes up quite often. You let us be who we are because you weren’t going to impose yourself on us.

And it has both philosophical kind of I think, but it also is a very pragmatic strategy. How do you really enter into a mutuality with others? So that, for me, is one of the other central features. Then the final piece I would say is I’m just more and more convinced, especially given being a leader in these tumultuous last five, six years. Emotional intelligence is perhaps the… Some of that’s linked to ego strength, but it’s also your willingness to take on other people’s anxiety and pain and to maintain your equilibrium and your calm in the midst of it.

How many times you hear about leaders who just, they lash out, they respond inappropriately when in fact what we’re called to do is to bear both the joys and the burdens of the people that we have the privilege to work with. I’ve had the privilege to work in places where I work alongside people who have that intelligence as well, and I hire people based on that emotional intelligence. And so I think, for me, those are the three, integrity, humility, and emotional intelligence that are at the core of really a virtuous leader.

Jay Lemons:

Well, the national study that was released last fall, done by Jorge Burmicky and Kevin McClure on presidential competencies, this bore out that the emotional intelligence and, in many ways, the softer skills.

But your comment about humility also reminds me of one of our dear colleagues who just passed in April, Larry Shinn, who said to me early in my time, he said, “You got to have a thick enough skin to take a lot of pokes, but don’t let it be too thick not to feel the pokes you need to feel to be able to know when and where you need to react and move differently.”

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah, that’s so true. Yeah, that’s so true.

Jay Lemons:

Yeah.

Paul Pribbenow:

Right. And I think it’s the only way you survive both long-term presidency. I mean, which is why I think the tenure was so short, because people… I’m not sure that when people are aspiring to these jobs, they understand just how much they’re have to absorb those pokes and be willing to feel the emotions. I mean, you know very well that the absolute most difficult moment in the college president’s life is when a student passes away.

I mean, it’s just to lose a young life too soon, whether it’s because of illness or suicide or some tragedy, I mean… And then to have to both absorb that for yourself, but also for your community, especially of young people who just, they haven’t had that experience. And the pastoral side of this work that is just we’re called to. And the irony for me is that I didn’t want to live my dad’s life as a pastor. And yet that’s now a kind of central feature of the leadership you have to provide, and you are the pastor-in-chief, whether you like it or not.

Jay Lemons:

I think that is 100% true. I think it holds across the entire spectrum of American higher education, from our wonderful community colleges to the most distinguished of our research universities, there is a need for pastoral gifts in the public role of the president. There’s just no question about it. And we… I don’t know that I’ve ever much seen that be a focus of presidential search committees.

Paul Pribbenow:

Doesn’t get into the profile.

Jay Lemons:

Right. Doesn’t get into the profile. It’s interesting. So, Paul, and you really spoke about this already, perhaps, but when you’re creating that team, are those same three qualities that you’ve already mentioned the ones that you look for? Are there other qualities when you’re building your team?

Paul Pribbenow:

Well, those are certainly the broader qualities that I look for. And then, of course, what people would tell you about the teams that I’ve built is that I hire people who I know are qualified to do the job, and then I let them do their job. And my criteria for their success is their ability to manage themselves. And when they need me, I’m certainly available to them, but I count on them to be able to come in, and I don’t micromanage. I don’t get involved in their business. It’s their agenda when they come to see me. It’s not my agenda. That combined with then the complementarity that I look for in a team.

So different personalities. We know we get to different skill sets that comes with the functional areas of the university, but also looking for folks who really fit with each other in some way. They may not necessarily because they always get along, but because they’re willing to challenge each other and offer… I happen at the moment to have the dream team, and it’s taken a long time to get there, but that’s what I see. I mean, it’s not that people are easy on each other, but at the end of the day, they’re unified in pursuit of our mission.

The other piece that I think maybe isn’t always obvious to folks is that I always challenge every member of my leadership team to be a trustee of the entire organization. In fact, we built that into their position description. You hold this institution in trust. You are here to run an enrollment division, to run the advancement division, to be the provost, whatever, but you also together hold this institution in trust.

And I always introduce the leadership team members who are able to come to our summer orientations with new students, and the point I make to students, “I’m introducing them to you because I want you to know that these people are going to have your back. They hold this place in trust, and they ensure that you can have the experience that we aspire for you to have as a student here.”

And that’s really been fun to watch because that maybe isn’t what people have always expected in other places they’ve been. And when we ask that question, they get to imagine what does that mean for them. “What does that practically mean for me in terms of how I do my work and how I connect to other parts of the university and the like?” So that’s been one that I’ve really enjoyed watching unfold here as we’ve made that a priority for our team members.

Jay Lemons:

Fabulous. Part of the goal of this program is to be of help and service to the emerging generations of leaders. And I’d love to have you share some thoughts and advice for those who aspire to leadership positions.

Paul Pribbenow:

Well, part of what I might’ve mentioned earlier, which is really around seeking out networks, doing the groundwork of building relationships and building networks. And I mean, it’s getting to know folks like you and who are in the business, but it’s also about joining organizations that perhaps equip you to be known to give back, to begin to find ways to be a part of a larger effort. But perhaps the thing that I really focus on the most is, and this really goes back to my experience at Wabash, find a mentor who’s going to allow you to learn the business from lots of different perspectives.

Because very likely any candidate is going to come, especially from within the academy, out of a particular area of expertise, a moment [inaudible 00:22:58] academics. And so, always when somebody’s calling me and thinking about the presidency, have you had a chance to learn about enrollment stuff? Have you had a chance to learn about athletics? I mean, maybe the biggest surprise for a president to have to learn about NCAA and all the athletic stuff. And as I’m helping now folks become leaders themselves, whether it’s through some of your programs or some of the others, I’m always emphasizing that kind of holistic way of mentoring somebody and giving them actually practical opportunities to learn.

When I was at Wabash, I got to chair the committee that led to search for a new CFO, for example. Well, I knew nothing about finance, really. I learned a lot just of that search. I was able to be on committees that were helping work on architectural plans for new buildings, and I got involved in enrollment marketing effort, which would usually have been outside my bailiwick, but the president who gave me the permission to do those things. And I think the more folks can come to these jobs with that more generalist background, knowing that they’ve got a particular expertise, but they have that generalist background.

That is, for me, one of the most critical aspects because we’re expected to know. I mean, we show up, and that board is going to say, “What are you going to do about enrollment?” Well, if you’re coming out of advancement, that’s a big leap. And so find somebody. Even if you can’t do it formally in the context of an organization, find people that you might know through other means who can help to give you some insights into those different aspects of the work. Especially for those of us who are in smaller private, I think, and public institutions. I mean, you’ve got to have that kind of wide, comprehensive view, kind of a liberal arts perspective, if you will, on how universities run.

Jay Lemons:

It’s absolutely true. The presidency is the ultimate generalist role. Finding and landing in places where you can learn about the whole of the enterprise is really critical. Well, I’m going to suggest that we move into what I kind of call lightning round, means shorter questions. Your answers can be whatever length you want. I’d love to hear who’s had the most influence on you.

Paul Pribbenow:

Well, there’s no doubt that Mr. Marty probably had the most direct influence on the path that I’ve ended up taking. So people may not know this, but he was a longtime faculty member at the University of Chicago Divinity School. But then he also was very active in the wider kind of world, and he was actually on the board of St. Olaf College, one of our sister schools, and he was the chair of that board at a point that they had a transition happened, and he actually stepped in as the interim president of St. Olaf for a year.

And so, again, just thinking about that as an interesting parallel to [inaudible 00:25:44]. And so he had to… In some ways, he was doing what I was aspiring to do and was giving me. We had wonderful conversations about that along the way. Other than that, I mean, however, we’re shaped by our parents. My dad, as I said, is a Lutheran pastor at the moment. He actually has two sons who are both university presidents. My brother has come to presidency just last week at Millikin University.

Jay Lemons:

Millikin.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah.

Jay Lemons:

Yeah.

Paul Pribbenow:

He has a-

Jay Lemons:

Yeah. That’s pretty remarkable. 206, huh?

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah. And one other, who is actually the dean of a seminary, and then a sister who works in HR at the University of Wisconsin. So four of us are in higher education.

Jay Lemons:

Wow.

Paul Pribbenow:

And the other two were in insurance, which… But I said to my dad sometime in the last year, “Were you ever disappointed that I didn’t become a pastor?” And his response was, as I might’ve expected, was, “You chose your own form of ministry.”

And I think that… In many ways, for me, that’s the piece that when you have a parent who has supported you all on and proud of you, but also helps you reflect back on some of the dynamics of that choice that you made. So very important to remember that my 93-year-old dad still doing well. So it’s great that he can be proud of both of his presidential sons right now.

Jay Lemons:

I did not know you still had your dad with you. What a thrill it must be for him. And I imagine there will be festivities at Millikin, and what a neat day that will be for the Pribbenow family.

Paul Pribbenow:

Definitely. Yep.

Jay Lemons:

Is there a book that’s had perhaps the most influence on you?

Paul Pribbenow:

Well, other than the Bible. For those of us who… And if you were seeing this in person, you would see the shelf full of Bibles right behind me because I’m kind of collector. But I am a student of the settlement house movement. And I wrote a dissertation partly about Jane Addams and the Hull House in Chicago. And in many ways, the settlement house movement has shaped my vision of what an urban university looks like.

I actually would think that Augsburg is a 21st-century version of a settlement house. We’ve settled into one neighborhood. We walk alongside of our neighbors. We don’t try to impose our solutions on them. We accompany them in trying to create a safer and healthier neighborhood. And so 20 years at Hull House is Jane Addams’ alma mater. I mean, her autobiography rather. And I read it, of course, as part of my dissertation. But then, Rockford University is actually Jane Addams’ alma mater. So my first [inaudible 00:28:24]-

Jay Lemons:

Exactly.

Paul Pribbenow:

… was at her alma mater, and I made all of our entering students read Twenty Years at Hull House, much to their chagrin, because maybe wasn’t a book that was going to have the input, but I felt it was important for them to understand that this institution had shaped somebody like Jane Addams, you who won the Nobel Peace Prize and was so remarkable in many ways.

But those are a couple of ways that I would say. I’ve got thousands of books behind me here, and I’m sure there are others that probably were influential, but those two together maybe in some fashion. I’m called as a Lutheran Christian, but I’m also shaped by a particular set of examples in the world.

Jay Lemons:

Beautiful. Looking back to your days at Luther, you have a fondest memory.

Paul Pribbenow:

The highlight of my time at Luther was singing in the choir. Folks may know that in the Lutheran tradition, chorale music is a big deal, and there are choirs in these colleges that are pretty amazing, and Luther had one of them.

Jay Lemons:

Remarkable.

Paul Pribbenow:

And I sang for a man named Weston Noble, who was the legendary director. And that experience both brought together, yes, I was a student. Yes, I was involved in student government. I was actually a… I was a student representative to Luther’s Board of Regents, so maybe that was a precursor of where I’ve ended up now. But the choir was the place where your vocation and your avocation kind of came together. It’s also the place where I learned, again, teamwork. Our choir held hands when we sang, so that there was just a sense of one. And it was also the basis upon which I got outside of the Midwest because I had my first ever airplane ride.

My first ever trip to Europe was with the choir on a tour. We toured the rest of the country a couple of different times. And then, actually, that experience when I got to Chicago, I actually sang professionally for 15 years in Chicago because of the preparation that that choir experience had given me. So, yeah, really interesting to think about that. And it gives me a particular focus now. I always say that if you’re a Big Ten president, you’re probably going to get known by the football coach you hire, but if you’re a Lutheran College president, it’s going to be probably your chorale director.

Jay Lemons:

There’s a lot of truth to that, and there have been a lot of real pillars, but my memory is that Weston Noble served and led for nearly 60 years, wasn’t it?

Paul Pribbenow:

Yep. He started in late 40s. Came to Luther and was both the band and choir director, and then did that until I think the late 60s or something. And he retired. In fact, we were there for his retirement weekend. I think that was 2003, maybe, something like that. So yeah, almost 60 years and then lived for another 12, 13 years after that. So, just a remarkable man.

Jay Lemons:

Wonderful, wonderful. I’m going to put a stipulation on this. If you hadn’t found your way to work in the Ministry of Higher Education, is there something else that you might’ve considered a road not taken?

Paul Pribbenow:

Yeah. The obvious one is I likely would’ve been a pastor. And maybe because of my leaderships, maybe I would’ve been a bishop. Who knows? That’s sort of the way it works, I think, within the church. You kind of work your way up. But I’ve always had interest in… When I was sociology major… The reason I became a social ethicist, because I was a sociology major, and I actually identified, did a lot of research on challenges that people were facing back when I was in college.

So there were a lot of issues with displaced workers at factories and things, and I did research on that. And I always say that the reason I became a social ethicist is because I was so mad about those situations. I wanted to be able to say something normative about it, which sociologists you’re not supposed to make any conclusions, but as a social ethicist, I could take a stand.

And so that might’ve gotten me involved in some kind of social action group that would’ve made sense given my commitments. I did some of that work while I was in graduate school. I worked for an organization called Shalom Education, which taught high school kids about hunger alleviation. I slept in a lot of church basements, leading retreats for kids and things. So there’s a part of me that is really tied to that on-the-ground work that really is living out of my values and commitments.

Jay Lemons:

Wonderful. Absolutely. Well, it’s hard for me to imagine another path than the one that you have followed, but there’s a relatedness to what you just shared. One of the things that I think is so vital is the place of tradition and ritual in American higher education.

It’s a part of what Ernest Boyer outlined as a defining characteristic of these communities that have endured as institutions as long as almost anything known in humankind or modern humankind, I should say. But I’d love to hear you reflect on a favorite campus tradition at a place that you’ve either attended or served.

Paul Pribbenow:

I can name two quickly. One is actually it has to do with informal life. There’s this wonderful book by Ray Oldenburg called Great Good Places. I think that’s the name of it. It’s really his argument for what he calls a third place between work and home.

For him, it was places like bars and community centers and things. And when I was at Divinity School, we had a very well-known coffee shop in the basement of the Divinity School building. And along the way, I managed that coffee shop.

Jay Lemons:

Ah.

Paul Pribbenow:

And so I always say that, and the Divinity School people love this. I always say, “This is why I became a college president. This was my first experience with cash flow, hiring, and firing.” But what I love about that, and its slogan. You’ll love this. It was, “Where God goes to drink coffee.” So it kind of [inaudible 00:34:29]. And I think about spaces like that that are perhaps on all of our campuses where people gather informally and build community.

And I think that that’s played that role there, not just for the Divinity School, but actually people from across the university who would come to that place in the basement down to the walls of the Divinity School building, and really a powerful part of their life. They’re actually celebrating it this year. I’ve just signed up to do a little video testimonial about the role of it, the coffee shop, which, when I was there, was called the Swift Kick. That’s the name of the hall. It’s Swift Hall.

It was called the Swift Kick, and now it’s called The Grounds of Being. And for those on your podcast who know Paul Tillich, that’s a play on Tillich’s notion of the Ground of Being, which was his theological complaint. And so here at Augsburg, one last one that’s really fun for me. We have a show at the beginning of a student’s experience here and one at their end where the faculty form a tunnel into opening convocation and then into commencement where the students come through the tunnel and the faculty gathers to clap for them.

And you can see the look on their eyes when they’re first arriving, which is a look of a little bit of a like, “What’s going on?” But then, to see four years later when they walk through the tunnel at commencement, and for them to remember that experience. And so those are the simple things you can do that just I think are so meaningful. And when my own son came here, I remember that experience with him. So, in particular, how meaningful it was for both of us to have that experience together.

Jay Lemons:

Love it. I really, really appreciate that. One of our traditions here on Leaders on Leadership is we like to close by asking our guests to share with listeners the distinctive qualities, or if you will, special sauce or organizational DNA that make their institution. In this case, of course, Augsburg University, a very, very special place to you and to those you serve. And it has held a claim on your head and your heart and your being for 20 years. Give it to us.

Paul Pribbenow:

Yep. Well, I can certainly. We know we can do the elevator speech, and it does come from the heart. And that is during my 20 years here, Augsburg has become one of the most diverse private colleges in the country. And what that’s meant, it’s not just the fact of diversity that we were just smart to get in out in front on the demographic. Our entering classes in the last couple three years have been almost 80% students of color.

And so we’ve been transformed at the undergraduate level. And what that has meant, and this is the key for me, what’s grounded in this place is this deep commitment to meeting students where they are, surrounding them with what we can do for them, and helping them to be successful. And of course, that’s what the Norwegian immigrants who founded this university in 1869 were doing for their communities.

And we’re doing the same thing now. And we do it with this deep commitment to equity and to social justice and to being a place that serves our neighbors. Not just the campus community, but those who live in our neighborhood. And day in and day out, that takes all kinds of forms. So what I would say is that is actually over these 20 years, I’ve watched the way we teach. The way we do business has been transformed by the students who have come to us because they come with life experiences that don’t match mine.

And if I attempted to mold them into what I am, that’s not going to work. They challenge us to think differently about what happens in the classroom, what happens in the residence halls. And then, at the same time, it brings Augsburg’s deep and longstanding commitments to experiential education to bear, because that means that we can actually connect what’s happening in that changed classroom to their lives in the world in ways that take [inaudible 00:38:23] all kinds of forms. And so we’ve always been a leader in that field, really for 60 years.

And now we’re seeing the forms it takes in response to a very different profile of the student body. And that I always say, we may be on the front edge of what higher education looks like in the 21st century because of who our students are. And I would also argue that we’re on the right side of history because that diverse student body, they’re going to be the future leaders in businesses and civic life and neighborhoods, and it’s our job just like it’s always been to equip them to go out and provide that kind of leadership and to be those sorts of folks. So very special place.

And many folks here who listen to this maybe know about the program that CIC has run for many years that brought together presidents and their partners together to talk about how personal vocation intersects with institutional mission. And when those two things are aligned, the point of course is that it’s a healthy thing both for the institution and for the president and his or her spouse/partner. We found that here. I was in that program, the inaugural group of that program, on presidential vocation institutional mission. And amazingly enough, it works.

Jay Lemons:

Well, it works. And what you and Abigail, your partner, have done across these two decades and a half in presidential leadership is just extraordinary. Paul, I really just want to say thank you for taking time to pull yourself away and to share in these reflections and offering thoughtful advice and counsel.

It’s enriching to me. And I love the casting of this notion of how this new and emergent group of students, and it’s waves of new students at Augsburg, in your story, have profoundly impacted how you teach and how the institution runs itself, rather than homogenizing and expecting them to come to an old way of being and knowing. And yet, you also made this beautiful connection that our lighthouse has not moved.

Paul Pribbenow:

Right.

Jay Lemons:

We are about trying to use the gifts of education to help transform lives and create better opportunities for students to, as I think I recall hearing your say, to make a living, build a life, and build community. What a noble mission that has been. So I just really want to thank you and give you a final opportunity for any parting words for our listeners.

Paul Pribbenow:

[inaudible 00:41:04], Jay, I’m grateful for the opportunity, and one of the things I think a lot about as I reach toward the end of my many years as a president is how can I give back. I do believe that that’s one of the things that just so happens. Coincidentally, as we’re recording this, I’ve just had several new presidents together for a seminar here on campus, and I look at them and I think about the challenges they’re going to face in their institutions in the kind of wider political climate.

And I believe that one of things we can do is to have their backs, to be there, to support them, to find ways to give back, because the presidency, apart from the president, the presidency is critical to the well-being of our institutions. And those of us who have had the privilege to be in such roles now need to think about how we help to support that wherever it’s needed. So this podcast is a good start in that regard. And certainly, all the ways that we can continue to provide that kind of support for our colleagues is critical.

Jay Lemons:

Indeed, it is. And I know that you will continue to seek discernment on how and in what ways your gifts may be of use to others as the days unfold. And no doubt you’ll continue to be a good listener. And thank you again. What a pleasure, a real treat to have Paul Pribbenow as our featured guests in our show today. Listeners, we welcome your suggestions and thoughts for leaders we should feature in upcoming segments. You can send those suggestions to leadershippodcast@academicsearch.org.

You can find our podcasts wherever you find your podcasts. It’s also available in the Academic Search website. Leaders on Leadership is brought to you by Academic Search and the American Academic Leadership Institute. Together, our mission is to support colleges and universities during times of transition and through leadership development activities that serve current and future generations of leaders in the academy. Thank you, Paul, for joining us and for all that you do and have done across these decades of leadership.

Paul Pribbenow:

Thanks so much, Jay. Great to be with you.