Three Tips to Succeed as an Interim VP for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Dr. Beth Hellwig
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
San Francisco State University (San Francisco, California)

I was eager to begin my interim role as the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at San Francisco State University. I eagerly anticipated experiencing a new university culture, state, new president, and student body. My goal from the start was to fully immerse myself into the life of the campus and the surrounding community to hit the ground running.

Nearly seven months into my assignment, our lives changed dramatically with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, a combination of other crises occurred impacting our campus: Our RAs went on strike over working conditions; the killing of George Floyd and other people of color prompted outcries across our campus; our Palestinian students proposed divestment in Israel; and wildfires raged close to our community, impacting thousands.

As interim leaders, we are often called into situations that require seasoned change management skills. In this article, I wish to share with my Registry colleagues just a few of the lessons that I have taken away from my placement to be a more effective interim.

Reach out to build relationships with colleagues in the Cabinet, direct reports, faculty, and student leaders quickly. At San Francisco State, I reached out to the newly hired President and asked for her priorities outlining which group of stakeholders and individuals she thought would be most appropriate for me to meet in the first 30 days. In addition, I also sought advice from my direct reports, as I met with them individually within my first week.

Become aware of the political environment of your new campus. I found it most helpful to schedule an onboarding meeting with the previous VP for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management to seek her wisdom. I went to social media to explore the environment and discovered great advice on You Tube, especially from students, regarding the climate on campus. I sought out articles from the student newspaper and learned a great deal about some of the key campus issues.

Finally, do not fear asking questions and be willing to walk towards criticism. I designed a questionnaire for the Cabinet after my first semester, specifically asking for feedback as to my performance. I asked for ways that I could improve and for specifics addressing what had been going well. I was able to act on recommendations given to me and I am confident that this exercise facilitated my success as an interim.

I can honestly say, I have loved my overall experience as an interim administrator. I think many of us seek a life of meaning and rich relationships and I have found that at SFSU. I have been challenged more than I thought possible and grown personally and professionally. I am sincerely grateful I could be of help to the university.