This latest episode of The Key features a conversation with Donde Plowman, chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Amber Williams, vice president of student success, who share their efforts to ensure their teams—and students—are aware of and confident about their strengths as they navigate their work.
Williams, who joined the institution in 2020, soon before it fell a bit short on its retention goal, has found it helpful to remind colleagues that data is about individuals and showing what can be done to meet their needs. “One of my framings for leadership is that you lead through people, priorities and then projects,” she says. “People is the first thing. If you don’t get the people part right, the rest of it doesn’t work.”
So rather than thinking about falling short by a percentage point, Williams will talk about the need to reach, say, 50 additional struggling students in their efforts.
Listen to the episode here and learn more about The Key here.Â
Read a transcript of the podcast here. Â
On Oct. 28, 29 and 30, student success professionals from across the country will visit UT’s campus to share their challenges and successes in supporting students at their own institutions. Look for coverage of takeaways from the Student Success US conference, brought to you by Inside Higher Ed and Times Higher Education, in the coming weeks.
