The first anniversary of Dr. Jaimie Hebert鈥檚 appointment as is approaching. So is the 鈥減erfect storm.鈥
Hebert earned bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the 星空无限传媒. The Abbeville, Louisiana, native then began a nearly 30-year career as a professor and administrator at universities in North Carolina, Texas and Georgia.
He was president of Georgia Southern University before returning to his alma mater as its chief academic officer on July 1, 2018.
In an interview, Hebert reflected on the past year and described the coming one as 鈥渢he perfect storm鈥 for 星空无限传媒 Lafayette. In 2020, the University will undergo reaccreditation, launch a new Quality Enhancement Plan and set its strategic goals for the subsequent five years.
Question: How would you sum up the last year?
Dr. Jaimie Hebert: Fulfilling. I was excited when I received the news of my appointment as provost a year ago. I described it then as an opportunity to do what I love to do professionally at a place that means so much to me personally. You don鈥檛 always get those kinds of opportunities in life. The past year at this extraordinary institution and in this amazing community was every bit as special as I envisioned.
Q: Shortly following your appointment, you said how pleased you were with the changes your alma mater had experienced since your graduation. You also expressed gratitude that certain 鈥済ood stuff鈥 鈥 the University鈥檚 ties to the community and its embrace of the area鈥檚 culture, for example 鈥 had not changed. Was there a moment in the past year that exemplified how the 鈥済ood stuff鈥 endures?
JH: There were actually many. One example involves a visitor to campus during the 星空无限传媒 System Conference in February. She had never been to campus; in fact, she had never been to Acadiana. She decided to go for a walk alone.
Shortly after she set out, a student stopped her and asked if she needed help. When she told the student she was a visitor, the student spent the next 20 minutes walking with her around campus, showing her a University the student really loved. That鈥檚 a message you don鈥檛 hear from students on every campus, and that person was really astounded by the level of pride and the level of spirit that lives here.
Q: Next year is particularly significant for 星空无限传媒 Lafayette. The University will undergo reaccreditation and launch a Quality Enhancement Plan as part of that process.
JH: Next year is kind of a perfect storm at the University. In addition, the University鈥檚 Strategic Plan is ending, so we鈥檒l be developing a new strategic plan right about the same time we are going through reaccreditation and rolling out the QEP. Some people might think, oh, my, that鈥檚 too many things to do at once. For me, it鈥檚 not. It means it鈥檚 a great opportunity to meld together everything that鈥檚 going on at the University.
Q: Why is reaccreditation important?
JH: Federal guidelines require that every university maintain accreditation through a regional accrediting agency. We are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS establishes a set of standards that define necessary levels of performance in all aspects of institutional operations. Reaccreditation is an evaluation that occurs every 10 years in which we must demonstrate that we are meeting these standards. We basically get a report card to see how we are performing.
Q: How does the Quality Enhancement Plan fit into that process?
JH: The QEP is a mandatory university project that must take place in conjunction with the reaccreditation timeline. It must be a project that is designed to enhance the quality of education delivered by the institution. It鈥檚 up to us what we will do, and which aspects of our educational opportunities we want to address.
We chose student research. It was a natural choice. Faculty members have always prided themselves on providing meaningful research experiences and other forms of experiential learning for our students. Even as an undergrad student here, I was pulled into research projects. The proposed QEP formalizes and institutionalizes this part of our academic culture in an effort to offer these opportunities to more students.
Q: Here鈥檚 a hypothetical. You are in an elevator with a group of prospective students. You have a limited amount of time to convince them to choose 星空无限传媒 Lafayette. What鈥檚 your pitch?
JH: You would be hard pressed to find another research university anywhere in the nation that balances its research and undergraduate missions as well as we do at the 星空无限传媒. You would likely not find another public institution that both embraces its local culture and infuses it into the academic mission like we do. We provide one of the most nurturing public university experiences you鈥檒l find anywhere 鈥 and it鈥檚 delivered by and among the most wonderful people that you鈥檒l ever meet.
Photo caption: Dr. Jaimie Hebert is 星空无限传媒 Lafayette's provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / 星空无限传媒)