Name: Dr. Susan L. Pugh
Position:
Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance
Institution/Organization: Indiana University - Bloomington
In a nutshell, what is your current role?
As Associate Vice Provost, I work with the senior staff on a policy level to assure enrollment goals are supported and realized. I also provide suggestions and advice regarding how OEM plans and outcomes are communicated in officially written venues. As Financial Aid Director, I work with our staff to be sure our processes and services complement the strategic plans and enrollment goals for OEM.
How and why did you become involved in this (higher education/enrollment management) profession?
It was a very temporary thing—when I moved to Bloomington, I couldn’t find an English teaching job and so I started in a counseling position at IU, since I had also been a psychology major as an undergrad. Then I became (temporarily, in my mind) the Financial Aid Director and, the next thing I knew, Enrollment Management was upon us!
What sustains you professionally?
I have always found the job to be interesting and I have always managed to surround myself with smart, creative people.
What is the most interesting policy initiative or research project with which you have been involved? Why?
Well, the most rewarding policy and research initiative has been the 21st Century Scholar Covenant, modeled more-or-less after the Carolina Covenant, which allows very high need Hoosiers to attend IU debt-free.
The most interesting policy and research initiatives, it’s been my experience, have been the ones that have become the most confusing or frustrating and I don’t seem to be able to forget them—but they have allowed me sufficient experience to be successful in subsequent endeavors.
From an enrollment perspective, what can we improve within our profession?
We need to remain missionaries, always focusing on the greater good. When the “profession” no longer focuses on “an enrollment perspective” (and that will happen at some point), we need to remember the higher purpose of higher education and concentrate on our role in the next new arena, and the next new arena, and the next new arena……
What is the most interesting place you have visited?
Australia—everyone should climb the Sidney Harbor Bridge at least once in their lives!
Where would you still most like to visit that you haven’t already?
I need to see giraffes in the wild. It’s amazing to me that they have survived all of these years in bodies that do not seem to suit. Crocodiles, I understand. Ha!
What is your favorite movie?
“The Saint” with Val Kilmer, but it’s too bad he doesn’t look as good now. I love the stories where good rescues weak and triumphs over evil. It’s the same reason that my favorite TV show of all time is “The A-Team”—I love it when a plan comes together!
What is the last book you read?
Remember, I’m an English major, first and foremost. I read at least two books each week and I read everything that is recent and has been written well. In fact, I always read the beginning, the end, and then shift to the middle, to see if a book is worth reading. I don’t focus on the last book I read, but I know the next book I’m going to read!
You get to meet any historical figure. Who do you choose and why?
Zorro (too bad he was a guy, but that’s the nature of historical literature—ha!). Love the mask and cape; love the two identities, and love the black Andalusian horse! Why do you think I learned to fence and then joined the fencing team in college as one of two females?? Ha!
What song can’t you get out of your head right now?
I wrote an entire series of financial aid “survival guides” for students using Mick Jagger’s “You can’t always get what you want (but if you try sometimes—you get what you need)”
What is the ideal way to spend a Saturday night?
With my three young grandsons, watching the latest DVD for the under-10 set
Coke or Pepsi?
Coke—is there another choice, really?
Do you have a message you would like to share with your colleagues?
Life is what you make it, so make the best of it.