Chancellor Dennis Rome: Strengthening Community Partnerships and Transforming Education at Indiana University East

Prepare to be enlightened as our guest, Chancellor Dennis Rome, shares his journey from being a professor at Bloomington to his current role as IU East's Chancellor. His insights about the charm of Midwestern hospitality, the profound impact of IU East on the community, and the student-centered Carnegie Mellon program are all on the menu today. So, buckle up for a dynamic and enlightening conversation that will provide you with a deeper look at the initiatives that strengthen community partnerships and the unique role that IU East plays in the community.

Ever wonder how we could make the transition from high school to college less daunting for students? We're diving right into that topic! We're talking about an intriguing concept - a cohort of high school seniors spending their last semesters on IU East's campus. Sounds like a game-changer, right? We're also going to chat about the exciting BOSS program, which aims to nurture early connections between the university and students, emphasizing the importance of relationship building with faculty and staff to boost student retention.

Lastly, we're going to explore the high level of community engagement from IU East's faculty and students. Sharing the spotlight is Professor Scales, who exemplifies this engagement with the community. We'll delve into how community input can shape curricula to meet regional workforce needs and how collective efforts can lead to significant community changes. To top it off, learn about how IU East can attract new businesses and consumers to the region by leveraging the community's unique culture. And before we say goodbye, we'll give you a little sneak peek into the upcoming Installation Week Public Breakfast Event! Join us on this journey, filled with engaging conversations, thought-provoking ideas, and a sprinkle of laughter along the way.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Okay, welcome back to another episode of our community podcast. Got a couple of special guests today. Welcome back Professor Scales, my co-host, and the new chancellor of IUE, Chancellor Dennis Roem, Welcome.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Thank you. Thank you, it's great to be here. I appreciate you being here.

Speaker 3: 0:25

Al, thank you very much for letting me come back and sit in and be a part of this today. It's exciting.

Speaker 1: 0:29

Oh yeah, Glad to have you here and looking forward to this one to be good.

Speaker 3: 0:33

I think it will. Should we just jump right in? Let's do it. Well, I'll tell you. What I'd like to do is start out with asking the chancellor a couple of quick questions. Sure, chancellor, this is our community, and what we'd like to do is talk about our community. We're very proud of it. Al and I both grew up in this area. We have a lot of connections and we like to keep things positive and doing so. I want to talk about when you first looked at this community. You joined us in July, yes. However, I met you, I think, probably in February, around that time when you came to campus late January early February.

Speaker 3: 1:06

Yes, so you knew you were interviewing and you knew that you were looking at Richmond Indiana. So, as any good, responsible individual like yourself would do, you had to research us. You had to start looking at Wayne County, indiana, richmond Indiana. Tell us about that experience. What was that like for you?

Speaker 2: 1:27

Well, you should know Indiana is not new to me. Correct 1993, I started as assistant professor at Indiana University, bloomington. So I was promoted and tenured there. So I was there for 12 years, absolutely still love Bloomington and I was able to travel to different cities in this state. So although I hadn't spent a great deal of time in this specific city, I have been here before and other parts of Indiana, so in a way this is a homecoming of sorts. I can pay back all the things I reaped, all the benefits and things I reaped as a professor at Bloomington. I had some outstanding mentors, colleagues. I doubt seriously if I would be in the role of a chancellor had I not had 12 years there at the Bloomington campus. So I'm very familiar with Indiana culture, although I do not know to this day what a Hoosier is. So maybe you guys can help me with that.

Speaker 3: 2:49

That makes three ups, that's so, true, so, but carrying on to that conversation, I am curious about your first impressions of Richmond. So when you did arrive, here.

Speaker 2: 3:00

So there was this smell which I knew about the pet manufacturing industry, and so I assumed I was smelling some kind of preparation of pet food. Yes, so it was very heavy during that time.

Speaker 3: 3:25

We get it a couple days occasionally. It's not every day and my understanding is we could validate this is that it's one of the manufacturers. It's the day they make the monkey chow.

Speaker 2: 3:37

It's not every day, it's not when they're making the dog foods, the cat foods.

Speaker 3: 3:40

It's the monkey chow.

Speaker 1: 3:41

Well, there's three different ones, though We've got, but there's one that really produces a lot of it.

Speaker 2: 3:46

Okay, this is for the zoos, I would imagine.

Speaker 3: 3:50

Wherever there's monkeys Interesting Okay.

Speaker 2: 3:56

Well, I just learned something.

Speaker 3: 3:58

So your first impression was a smell, but beyond that, I think you know, let's hear a little bit about our community.

Speaker 2: 4:03

All jokes aside, I spent five years in the South and the state of Georgia, and you've heard the expression of Southern hospitality. There is a true, distinct Midwestern hospitality that is very genuine, and that was very obvious during the interview and the time I spent earlier this year here. People are very welcoming, people are very warm and people are excited about the future. You know what's next, and so there's a, and it reflects on campus. There's a high level of optimism, folks are very student-centered, which is important, and so it's a win-win. I'm able to come back to a place that helped create the person I am today, and I can give something back.

Speaker 3: 5:07

Good and I'm excited to have you here.

Speaker 3: 5:09

I'm excited to have you in the community as well as at the university. I personally understand that impact that we make in the community from our university. We're fortunate to have Indiana University here, and so the East Campus does remarkable things for this region, and I can say that because Al and I both are alum of IU East. So everywhere we turn in this community we're going to find that, we're going to find leaders and people working in this community that have all attended or done something with Indiana University East.

Speaker 1: 5:42

And he's going to fit right in. He's already jumping in there and establishing connections. Like every time I run into you I'm like hey, what's going on where you headed? And you're like I gotta go meet someone. So I'm like, oh, I just left there, that's great, and you should meet this person. I met with them yesterday, so it's been great to hear that energy.

Speaker 2: 5:56

Yes. So I understand the importance of community, and not just IU East as an institution, but with all the institutions. The origin of IU East is a result of community people coming together, raising money to buy the land, going to Bloomington, asking for a campus here and so, but community is etched in everything we do and one of our initiatives for most latest strategic plan is to strengthen community partnerships by creating a center of community engagement and get this piece. This is where we're gonna differentiate ourselves from other institutions. Have it student-led, so we're looking at the Carnegie Mellon program they have for student engagement in the community. Students are able to receive credit and play a very important role in reaching out to various stakeholders in the community. So the new face of our UEs is not the new chancellor, it's the student, and so true student readiness and student centeredness is something we're promoting.

Speaker 3: 7:24

Wow. Well, I think it's very clear. On campus I'm already seeing a lot of that. So we're seeing the students really engaged, they're excited, they're doing things, and I know that the next phase is the community.

Speaker 2: 7:37

Oh, absolutely so. I was returning from a meeting with a community person yesterday and a group of students approached me and said we want a place open during the weekends for us to study. Okay, and the fact that they feel comfortable enough to, you know, approach the chancellor and ask for things or to just tell me how they're doing, is a good start, and I want every student to feel comfortable enough to approach anyone and ask for whatever they need in order to be successful, and so on.

Speaker 3: 8:18

That's the goal. Well, there's one thing that you've already made the impression on me on, and I know the students know you for it, and I think we could invite the community to do it as well. Stop by your office for a snack, oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 8:31

So actually. So this is true. We have a couple of IUE's labeled boxes with nutritional snacks, I should add, because we had the dean of our nursing program check them out to verify that they were helpful snacks. But this started when I used to, when I was a professor, in order to lure students in for office hours, I would keep treats and it got to the point it got to the place where they would request certain things. So you know, I used to keep fruits and you know trail mix and things like that, and I had a student come in and say, professor Rohn, I would like for you to get some blackberries. I was like blackberries, what are you? Are you going?

Speaker 1: 9:26

to bake pies or something.

Speaker 2: 9:27

But no, he just had this thing. So I went out next time and I bought blackberries. He came by and grabbed them, thanked me and kept going, but it's a way to again make the Chancellor's Suite more welcoming to students.

Speaker 3: 9:44

Sure, Well, let's transition just a little bit and go into our community, and I know Alan and I are very excited. We know this community well. But we don't go in the past. We look at the present.

Speaker 2: 9:54

we look at the future.

Speaker 3: 9:56

And we're interested to know a little bit about what you're excited about doing in the community.

Speaker 2: 10:01

I'll give you a couple examples of conversations I've shared. I think it's appropriate to share this. So we have IU, east, iv Tech and READ Hospital Same partial, same piece of land. We have to work, we have to increase our relationships and partnerships. What does that look like? Join appointments we can lure great talent in this region by offering a join appointment with READ and IUEs, for example, especially in the health services piece, as well as other aspects. The hospital goes beyond the health area. There's a business area, there's all these other. It will benefit both entities. Our relationship becomes not just a partnership but we're integrated and same with IV Tech Programs, where students seamlessly move from one discipline to the next without jumping to hoops, without having penalties, having to take a certain course and so on. That's the kind of vision I have into making us one entity that's working together to improve the lives not just of the students but their families and the lives of folks in the community.

Speaker 3: 11:36

I love that. I think that's awesome. I know we've experienced. I've had a few students under my mentorship that has done internships with READ. It's been a great experience. But I love the fact we're going to get that deeper, stronger and something that we can be really projecting out there and proud of.

Speaker 1: 11:52

And one of the narratives is to keep local talent here in our community Absolutely, and I think that gives a lot of local businesses the first opportunity to build relationships with these future employees. So it's great.

Speaker 2: 12:04

And we do that by offering meaningful careers, so students need not look outside of this region. And how do we do that? Well, we have to attract cutting-edge businesses, technologies and so on to this region.

Speaker 3: 12:25

Well, it's great to see what each of us can bring to the table, because I know IV Tech has some amazing things that they offer. Those students are well-prepared, as well as ours, as well as READ Health. I mean, all of us are doing outstanding work and a partnership and do it together. It's exciting. Yeah, it is so. I know. Even at READ Now, alan and I were both there on Tuesday. Yeah, he was there for a different reason than I. I was there for coffee.

Speaker 2: 12:52

I was going to ask if you were there for the cafeteria. They have a reputation of having really good food and catering there.

Speaker 3: 12:59

I am there for the food often, but that morning it was the coffee. But yeah, it's so interesting that we all that campus has shared so well.

Speaker 2: 13:07

Yes, and we need to strengthen those types of relationships and so on.

Speaker 3: 13:13

But even beyond that, I mean some of the meetings and all of the things that go on in the community. I mean it's oftentimes we have programs that, whether it be the Boys and Girls Club, whether it be, you know, different councils and such they come to the campus. They meet at READ, they meet at IV Tech, they meet at IU East and we also come to their entities as well.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Absolutely, and we're going to continue that meeting I had Most recent meeting I had with the CEO President of Wayne Bank, mr Mike Gattis. We talked about having a basketball event where his employees come and will provide T-shirts with Wayne Bank, iu East and they'll cheer on the Red Wolves. And we're going to do more of that and have different businesses and organizations and I know you do a lot of work with Boys and Girls Club and I was very impressed with how Professor Skels had students, had the children from Boys and Girls Club work with our students to create these centerpieces for the annual reception and award ceremony. And these sorts of relationships strengthen all of the institutions and so for those of you who will attend that event, take note of the centerpiece which was created with the leadership of this man and students at the club, at the Boys and Girls Club and our students.

Speaker 3: 15:01

Well, and that project's special to me and I mean we get involved in several, but the reason that's such a blessing is it gets our students engaged in the community, absolutely. But it also gets those teens that you spoke of from the Boys and Girls Club engaged with the university. So we all feel like we belong together, exactly, and that's what's important.

Speaker 2: 15:21

And it's you know, given our challenging educational attainment in this state, we have to really start acclimating citizens here in this region to think about education differently. The benefits One of the things the student-athletes understand is that they have a regiment that is going to increase their success. Aggregate levels are student-athletes perform, they have higher GPAs than our non-student-athletes. They also began their careers with higher salaries, and I attribute it to the regiment of having scheduled study tables, practices, class time, review time, all of these things that are germane to creating that successful student. And so how can we have the same model in other areas on the campus, with the engagement piece, as you just mentioned, with the teams at the Boys and Girls Club, how it becomes natural for them to reach out to our students, and so on, and we do have students interning there and volunteering there as well, but more of that to increase those types of activities and partnerships?

Speaker 3: 16:57

Sure, Al, I wanna have a little fun here with you. Yeah, we've learned a lot about the Chancellor. I think it's off to a great start. Absolutely Just yesterday I learned a little new trivia about him. Oh boy.

Speaker 2: 17:08

And.

Speaker 3: 17:08

I enjoyed it and I think it's perfect timing to discuss it, but what sport do you suppose he played? Sport.

Speaker 2: 17:17

A long time ago, long, long, long time ago.

Speaker 1: 17:24

I'll be. I'm gonna say basketball. He's tall, let's say basketball.

Speaker 3: 17:27

You gotta give him a hit.

Speaker 2: 17:31

A hit. Yes, help him Nine players.

Speaker 1: 17:39

Rugby soccer? I don't know, that's not enough. What's?

Speaker 2: 17:42

the problem Baseball, baseball. Okay, I played center field, all right, so he played center field?

Speaker 1: 17:49

Was that in?

Speaker 3: 17:49

college or high school. High school, first year, first year. Okay, so were you good.

Speaker 2: 18:01

Let's say I just started to get a habit of reading of books, so I think that's fun to share and get to know of this.

Speaker 3: 18:09

I didn't know that. Yeah Well, we're all getting to know some new things, so this is fun, so well you know the thing is, I went to high school.

Speaker 2: 18:17

That was actually larger than Richmond High, but I was a little bit older. I was a little bit older, actually larger than Richmond High. We had about my. I think we had about 5,200 during the time I was there. It was this Lane Tech, now Lane College Prep is called, excuse me, northside Chicago, and they provided so many different extracurriculum activities and things until, if you didn't like this particular sport or activity, there was something else for you. And I'm fortunate to have had that experience because I got a chance to try out lots of different things that I ordinarily would not have had. You know the opportunity. So they provided opportunities to the high school students there. So when we graduated we had sampled a large number of different organizations and activities and clubs and we were very well prepared for college.

Speaker 3: 19:22

Good, good. I like to hear that because, I mean, that's kind of what we're going to be doing at the university as well is getting out of the community, working with the youth and making sure they're comfortable with us as well. Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 19:34

Are there any programs you'd like to see related to high school students?

Speaker 2: 19:39

I had a wonderful meeting with the very kind and talented folks over at Northeastern. We had a wonderful discussion about creating seamless transitions from high school students to college. I said what would it take to begin a cohort of having about 20, 25 seniors finish their senior year of high school on at IU East campus? So they will earn credit towards graduating high school as well as credit towards their first semester first year at IU.

Speaker 1: 20:22

East. Now, when I was in school, we can earn credit hours in high school, but you're saying actually take the last couple of semesters on the campus, On the campus.

Speaker 2: 20:34

Wow. So, yes, dual, and there've been dual enrollment programs. But this is taking it to the next level. Yes, it is. The students are engaging with college students, college professors, advisors, counselors during their senior year. Next level what would that do? Because and this isn't I'm not just genius that just came up with this my former high school in Chicago. They have two floors of the high school dedicated to seventh and eighth graders, so the transition is seamless and they're beginning the program at an advantage. So they already have some of the credit finished and they're finishing sooner than four years. Similar here if the seniors come in earlier, what would normally take four years can be done in three or three and a half.

Speaker 1: 21:39

What does it take for a program like that to come together and who all needs to be involved?

Speaker 2: 21:43

Well, that's what we're working out, right now, that's the exact thing we're addressing, because, of course, there's accreditation and licensures and all these things that we have to take into consideration, but the fact that we could try something like this. We have to be able to take the risk in order to see whether or not something like this is viable and whether or not it will yield what it is we would like for it to do.

Speaker 3: 22:15

Well, I can tell you just from the BOSS program, which is my entrepreneurship program, that we've been teaching in the high schools now for 18 years. We've had a lot of students 6,000 plus come through that program and many of them have joined us at the university. It's that comfort point because they feel like they were already there through the program. And I like it because oftentimes we ask seniors in high school where will you be going to college? Wouldn't it be wonderful when they say I'm already there?

Speaker 2: 22:44

Exactly. And back to Al's point regarding retaining our talent, the chances of these students remaining is greater because of the bonds and things they create with the faculty and staff at this institution. So, although they may have thought about moving to a different city, it's those relationships that are so enriching. If you speak to any of our faculty members, any of our students, you'll hear from the student side what great professors we have. You'll hear from the faculty side what great students we have, and it's genuine, it's real, and you can see the high level of engagement. You is one of the epitome of that, professor Scales, where every time I see you on campus there are students nearby. I mean, just on our way to the studio, a couple of students of his students approached us and that's the kind of environment that we're fostering at IU East.

Speaker 1: 24:00

What do you need from the rest of us in the community?

Speaker 2: 24:04

Well, what I need are the ideas, okay, and sharing the experiences, sharing best practices, things that practices that have been successful that we might want to consider. How are we meeting the regional workforce needs, for example, okay, what is it about our curricula that needs this, that or the other to ensure that our students are showing up ready to work those types of things? So we don't create a curricula in a vacuum, but it's based upon the input of the region in which we serve.

Speaker 3: 24:55

I love that. Well, I think, al, honestly, we want the community to be great. You do, I do, the chancellor does, everybody in the community does. We're willing to change as well. So if there is something from the community you've got to let us know so we can work together to make those changes happen Absolutely. And time changes, everything changes around us, and so he's correct in saying that we've got to work together to make those changes happen Absolutely. And just because we have not done it doesn't mean we can't do it, and so, working together, we can make those changes.

Speaker 2: 25:30

And, in all fairness, a lot of these things are happening. I would just like to somehow encourage all of us to take it up to the next level. I think time is important, time is of the essence, and just to increase our pace, and so on.

Speaker 1: 25:54

What's one thing it's a little fun here. What's one thing that you think about from where you moved from to here. What's one thing that you would like to see here that you haven't found here yet, like restaurant club.

Speaker 2: 26:08

Well, that's because I've spent the majority of my time in meetings and so on. It's kind of difficult. There are some wonderful places here. I like the fact that you have this feel of a college town, with the shops at a very quaint and so on, which is common in terms of college towns and so on. You also have lots of outdoor activities, which is fun as well. So, rather than try to move something from a more urban area and just plop it here, I think we need to accentuate the aspects of this type of community.

Speaker 2: 26:59

I grew up in a large city and I went away to school. I prefer this pace. Right now, at this time in my life, I like less of the hustle, bustle and more of the stopping on my way to a meeting and asking a student how they're doing and what is it they need. And similarly, when I go into a restaurant here or meeting place, folks greet you and they tell you something about them and, before you know it, you're hearing about their sons and daughters and so on, and that culture is kind of enriching to me and that's about social interaction, something you can't emulate. It's kind of born out of this, the community which we're in.

Speaker 2: 27:55

So I'm not thinking about bringing any of that here I am. However, in terms of my business colleague here, I agree that we really should look at attracting some of these businesses, companies that are fleeing some of the urban areas because of the taxes high taxes or because of some of the challenges with crime and so on Because that would help us in terms of our not just a business point of view, but we can continue to create small businesses, but we're competing among the same consumer. We need new consumers in order for all of us to prosper. So I oh wow.

Speaker 1: 28:48

Well, I know you're a busy man and I appreciate you being here. I just felt it was appropriate to get you in. With all the activities the campuses got planned for you and the installation next week, I just felt it was appropriate to try and get you in here for that. So that's.

Speaker 2: 29:01

I appreciate that and, if I may, I would just like to invite the entire community to participate. And we have a large number of installation activities, including the homecoming activities. There's a bonfire next week. There's also the economic forecast Thursday morning of next week and that is the second of November and Tim tell us about that. It's out of the Kelly School of Business.

Speaker 3: 29:37

It is, and basically what you get is some of our top economists across the state and we take a look at everything that's going on around the world to the US and then we bring it into the state of Indiana and bring it into a more local look at Wayne County itself. We look at everything from housing to employment, to workforce and what to expect in the upcoming year and even out to the next five years. And it's just, it's well orchestrated, it doesn't take a lot of time about a one, one and a half hour meeting and you learn a wealth of information from it. And it just gets you to thinking about what our future really looks like from an economic standpoint.

Speaker 2: 30:15

And this is again. This will be part of the installation week and it's open to the entire public. There will be a continental breakfast.

Speaker 3: 30:24

Breakfast yes, it's always a snack, right.

Speaker 2: 30:30

They work. Having the snacks out work.

Speaker 1: 30:32

Well, it's been a pleasure and I'll let you back to your day. I thank you for being here. It's been wonderful. Thank you, we'll pick this up again soon.

Speaker 2: 30:40

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you both, thank you.