- PNC is proud to support "Business Forward," where community leaders discuss the issues confronting business in Central Illinois.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues ) - Welcome to "Business Forward."

I am your host, Matt George.

Joining me tonight, Dr. Laurie Shanderson.

Dr. Shanderson is the Chancellor at Methodist College.

Welcome.

- Thank you for having me.

- Well, I'm excited to have you on because we're gonna get into it, but a lot of people just think of the college as nursing.

And so we'll get into the programs in a second.

But you've been here now a little over a year, is that correct?

- That's correct, one year and one month.

- One year and one month.

So you're not originally from Middle Illinois, are you?

- I'm not, I'm originally from New York City.

- New York City.

Okay, that's a great area.

So talk about what you did coming out of college and what you did previously before coming and being the chancellor here.

- Okay, well, immediately before coming to Methodist College, I was a founding dean for the School of Health Sciences at North Central University.

And North Central is in San Diego, California, a lot of online distance programs.

So a great opportunity to just continue with that trajectory of health related programs, to here at Methodist College.

- You know, when you were hired, right before you were hired, and I was talking to Dr. Keith Knepp and he said, "Oh, you're gonna be excited, I've got a great person that's coming to our area."

And you know, it's just fun seeing people come to Central Illinois and coming from other places.

'Cause when you think of San Diego, I'm pretty sure you've heard before, why would you go from that place to here?

But at the same time, I've seen you so many different places out and about and you're part of the community now.

- Yeah, in a short period of time, I've made Peoria my home.

And Peoria is unique in that it's the only place I've ever lived where I've seen so many people be so invested in the community and the improvement of the community, the betterment of the community, invested in the children in the community.

I've never seen that come from so many different constituency groups.

- I mean, that's fun to hear.

and as somebody that I moved here about years ago and I was originally from Illinois but had moved around.

And there's just so many people, Brian Ray from PNC, they move from other cities and they come here and then they love Peoria, they love Bloomington, or Gillsburg or wherever they move.

And so it's just refreshing to hear that.

So, well, welcome, even though you've been here a year and one month.

- Yes, thank you.

- So your career, you focus on higher ED, but Methodist College is very, very unique.

And so when you were thinking about the opportunity that could lie ahead, if you were chosen to be the chancellor here, what was intriguing that brought you here?

- It was really the opportunity for growth for the college, growth in terms of programs, the footprint on the community, just leveraging the relationship with UnityPoint, and making sure that whatever we were gonna do at the college supported the community.

And again, with the community support here and just with leadership, Dr. Knepp, and just with the support of the board, I just saw that as a great opportunity for the citizens.

So we talk about improving health outcomes of the community, but we only can do that when we have educated providers in the community.

And Methodist College focusing on nursing for so long, but then going into different areas that support healthcare in other ways.

So there's the provider side, then there's the administrative side, and all the other ancillary areas and just bringing that together from a background of growing from nothing.

'Cause you asked the question about what was attractive to me about the opportunity And it was my experience in starting things from nothing.

So in more than one instance, I started a graduate program, I started a whole school of health sciences, and all of the programs and applied for all of the accreditations and everything.

And just seeing that there was already something positive here that we could leverage, and have a greater impact in the community was one thing that I was keenly attracted to.

But then knowing that I would be able to do that with the support, like I said, of the board and of UnityPoint, I knew that it was just gonna be a good thing for me.

- Yeah.

I mean, you come across every time I've seen you, I've seen you speak, and I've read some things and you come across as you have that entrepreneurial mindset that building the business.

So it doesn't matter what is thrown at you, you can take a program, and project management or program management and take it to that next step.

- I'd like to think that's a strong skillset of mine.

- [Matt] Well, I think I nailed it.

- Yes.

- So, hearing a lot of great things, a lot of great things about the college.

One of the things before we talk programs that I wanted just to clarify, because you're still part of the system, the hospital system, correct?

- Right.

- So UnityPoint Health is that system.

Dr. Keith Knepp is the regional CEO.

- Yes.

- And so he and the board, I guess he would hire you and the board would approve it.

Is that how it goes?

Or do you even know?

- I'd say in conjunction with the board, he definitely had a say.

- [Matt] So who do you report to?

- I would say the board and Dr. Knepp.

- Okay, all right.

I always just try to, you know, there's so many different moving parts when you're part of the system.

And I always think when I think of Dr. Knepp and UnityPoint, I think about how diverse and how strong his team is, and so you're part of that team.

I mean, you've got a lot of great people on there that have a lot of experience.

- Absolutely, I love the executive team at UnityPoint.

I work with great individuals.

I've never worked with such a strong team of individuals that I also really like.

- I mean, you take somebody like Janine Spain, she's been in the business.

I mean, that institutional knowledge you'll never get again.

I mean, she knows what she's talking about.

- She absolutely knows what she's talking about.

And you brought up Janine, who's spoken at the college to the nursing students several times.

We are going to award her with an honorary degree in December.

- Oh wow.

- Yeah.

And a few other surprises that I don't wanna mention right now.

- [Matt] Okay, well that's- - Hopefully she'll love it.

She has been a staple.

She's been a great role model and a great example of bedside nursing to administration, and really sharing her love for bedside nursing and just really demonstrating to the future nurses just what resilience and tenacity and professionalism, what they mean and how to leverage that in a successful career.

- It's interesting you use the word resilience, Dr. Weinzimer from Bradley was recently on, his word of the year right now is resilience, because right now we're going through some financial world issues and you've got wars and you got coming out of COVID and you're doing all this.

And so I really don't wanna talk too much about COVID, but you really are coming into a situation, coming off of a pandemic.

What's your mindset going into it?

Like how do you stay positive with your team to say, these are our initiatives moving forward, and here's how we're gonna do it?

- What I'd say is more so than any other setting, we have got to demonstrate resilience.

And we have to be flexible and know that this is a dynamic situation that we're in, as it relates to COVID.

And we have to demonstrate what that looks like to the students and we also have to be part of the arm of the health system in making sure that we support whatever we have to do to stay protected and to keep patients protected and the community protected.

So we co-sign anything that that has to happen.

And we believe in demonstrating and just modeling practices and behaviors that support a healthy community.

- And so when you're looking at strategic initiatives, do you sit down with both the board and the CEO or do you stand with your team?

Like how do you lay out your strategic plan, so to speak?

Is it part of the systems and the hospitals or is it separate or both?

- So I'd say part of the school's strategic plan does touch upon the systems plan, but in a very different way.

It's not very direct, it's a little indirect.

But the college of course, supports the mission of the hospital system.

Essentially by coupling with the educational institution, you intend to grow your own, you intend to create those that you would like to see work at the hospital and in the hospital system.

So we stay close in terms of the rigor and the content and what individuals need to be exposed to, to be successful in their professional careers and in this environment.

In terms of the strategic plan for the college, that encompasses programming and other initiatives that would support an academic setting.

- [Matt] And community, you mentioned community.

- And community, absolutely.

And that is done at the college level.

It's a very inclusive and iterative process that I've started when I first came last year.

And we are now in the second phase of our strategic plan that we hope to launch early next year, but it is a long process just to get everyone's voice and to provide the opportunity for everyone to participate is something that I've been very mindful of.

- So I hear a lot of things on the street, I talk to a lot of people, and the one thing that I hear in a very positive way about your leadership style is that you communicate well.

And I think if you did an employee survey, I think 99 out of 100 businesses, they'll say better communication, I think that's just a given, right?

So when you hear something like that, does that mean you're out and about throughout the college, you're always going from office to office?

'Cause I picture you with your energy, always not sitting behind a computer all day, I picture you being kind of hands on, is that right?

- You know, yes and no.

I mean, I'd like to be out and about more than I am, but we are going through an accreditation process right now.

- [Matt] That's different.

- We had one not too long ago, and I'll tell you just yesterday we had a food bank come, I work with Glow, which is Girls Lead Our Way, and they brought food out to the campus.

We have some students that are experiencing food insecurity and we were able to have like a food bank on campus.

And some of the students had never met me before and we are small, so that didn't make me feel good, but they were really ex happy and excited to meet me.

So there are definitely ways that I'd like to be more visible.

We just have a lot on our plates right now.

But I do circulate when I can and I try to feed them when necessary and pop in and do different things.

- You know what, I was just thinking off that comment, there's more females than males at the school.

- Yes.

- Like a lot more, right?

- Yes.

- So you being out and about, like you just said, in that situation, you're a role model because when people look at you and students look at you, they've gotta look and say, you know what?

I can do that.

Or I want to be a nurse, I wanna stay here.

And the reason why I give so much credit to nursing is my mom was a nurse.

And so I always think, man, my mom did more than the doctors did.

And she was just always that pediatric nurse that just had that love for the profession, and we just need more nurses.

- We do.

And you know, you said your mom was a nurse, my mom was a nurse as well.

And I used to always wanna be a nurse and I was a candy striper when I was about 13 years old.

And I had the pink pinafore with the pin stripes.

And she died after a short stay in the hospital.

And after that I said, I don't think I can do this, it was really difficult, but I did wanna stay in healthcare, which I did.

But to be a nurse requires you to be just a really different and special individual.

And so at the college, we do our best to nurture that skillset, the resilience, the ability to adapt to change, the need to maintain your composure, to behave in a responsible and professional way.

Those things are critical skills, the leadership, the interpersonal relationships that you have to have with individuals and understanding that they're at their most critical times and most vulnerable times when they show up.

We definitely wanna build upon those things.

And it's important to recognize that those are the skills and abilities we wanna grow and develop in our students.

I think nurses are wonderful people and I think that they do things that maybe a lot of us could not do.

- I totally agree.

I love the word composure, because if you think about it, think about all of the tough situations.

And I can relate to being in non-profit my whole life and seeing the front line, just sitting there and just, those are the heroes.

And I love the word composure.

So let's talk about programs for a second.

So the obvious is you have nursing.

- Yes.

- But there's a whole lot more.

But let's talk about this for a minute.

So just to clarify the differences.

So my mom was an RN and she was a pediatric nurse, but then there's a nurse educator, what does that mean?

- So the nurse educators, they focus more on educating and perpetuating the science and the understanding of nurses and nurse leadership.

So you could work at a college or you could also work at a hospital system and be responsible for the educational- - [Matt] Training.

- Absolutely.

- Okay.

- So we have different tracks and it really depends on where someone would wanna take their career because there are so many opportunities for nursing.

We offer a few degrees, but there are so many more that exist.

- How do you, I'm just strained because I have so many questions for you.

But like, how do you as a college take a student, and let's say there's 50 different tracks you could go down from the nursing.

How do you sit there and kind of pinpoint to them and help them find their path?

Counselors?

- We have counselors and we intently listen to the students and what they need.

For the most part, they really know what they wanna do before they get to us.

And then they develop that interest a bit more by exposure to their clinical settings.

They have the opportunity to serve in different areas and really say, I might like working with babies more than I like working in another setting.

And so we really try to help them identify their own interests and their skill sets so they can leverage that professionally.

- Do you feel sometimes that a lot of people get into the business because they saw something in their past, maybe like their mother or father or something, or saw an illness and said, you know what, I can help make change.

- You know, I'm not certain, but I do know just based on the pinning ceremonies that when the students are invited to have someone close to them pin them who is a nurse, or was a nurse, they're mostly family connections or instructor connections.

- [Matt] That's pretty cool.

- So there's someone that has imparted this desire for them to be into the profession and they recognize that at those times.

So I always see it might be an aunt, a sister, a mother, a father or an instructor that they had that really made them feel like this is what I wanna do.

- That's pretty cool stuff.

So you can also get a bachelor's science in health sciences.

- [Laurie] Yes, you can.

- So what's that?

- So if you have maybe an associate's degree in something like respiratory therapy or x-ray tech.

- [Matt] Yeah, any of the technicians, yes.

- And you need the four year credential, the bachelor of science in health science, it helps you earn that bachelor's credential.

'Cause the first two years are focused on your training in those areas.

And then of course you need more theory to be rounded out from a more liberal arts perspective, and then earn the four year credential.

- That's what I was wondering.

And then here's my favorite, bachelors of social work.

So, I tell you, it's like I've given speeches in the past on there's just not enough people getting into this business and people really don't understand, you get to see it at different angles.

You get to see it from the community angle, and from the enrollment angle.

But there's just not enough people that are getting into this business.

And it's disheartening in a way.

- Social work, behavioral health, critical needs for our community.

And you're right, recruiting individuals and having them take on these positions has been a challenge.

But I think once we just really get in front of demonstrating to high school students and even beyond, even earlier, that these are very rewarding careers that can lead into just greater opportunities for them to feel valuable and to help their community.

I think that will help.

There's not been a lot, people don't grow up and say, oh, I wanna be a social worker, I wanna go into behavioral health.

So it's an education for us to the community and to younger people to let them know that their skills and abilities can be used in this way.

- Yeah, I mean, for 30 years I was in non-profit and I would tell people, I don't care what position you're in, I don't care if you're a cook or frontline or me, your job's to change lives and save lives, and that's what we do.

And that's in a sense what you do too every day.

- Absolutely.

- That's cool, yeah.

So let's talk enrollment.

Total enrollment, and this is just coming off your website, I don't know if it's right, but you're looking at 450 plus students.

- Yeah, we are, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

- When you look at that, do you sit here and say, from a financial mind, do you sit here and say, we need 50 more, do we need 75 more?

Or do you sit here and say, that's a pretty good sweet spot because we can have more impact with that number.

Like how do you look at it from a administrative lens?

- Well, I mean, that's a good question.

I think responsible growth is how I would answer that question.

We definitely have the capacity to take on more students.

We just do, hands down, and we should, just because of the needs in the community.

But we have to grow and be responsible and make sure that we could educate the students properly, we have enough clinical experiences, which we do, we have strong faculty, we have good assessments and outcome testing, rigorous programs.

I think being able to have these things in place that support a strong educational experience for the students comes first.

We would love to have more students.

I think the pandemic, and there have been a lot of things that have impacted enrollments, the demographic cliff, we just don't have the bodies walking the earth anymore that would substantiate large enrollments.

And that's a national problem.

- [Matt] That's everywhere.

- At the same time though, we are uniquely poised to have greater enrollments just because of the programs that we do offer.

So unlike some traditional colleges or schools, healthcare is one of those needs that hits the top of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics in terms of needs now, and for quite some time.

And also the investment has a strong ROI for anyone who decides to explore a healthcare career.

So I think in terms of my leadership being new and understanding the community and how we can engage the community more to make them aware of the programs that we have and the offerings I think will help our enrollments.

Because I would like to see us grow some more.

But I also would like to see us grow with more individuals from this community.

Because people in the community need to treat people in the community that look like them, that understand their interpretations of health, that can speak to their needs, and really from a cultural perspective, be able to improve health outcomes.

- That is about as well said as anybody's ever said anything on this show.

You took one of my questions, which I'm just gonna kind of take what you say and put it a different way too.

Obviously the goal is for you to graduate, you want 'em to stay here?

- Yes.

- And you know, I think that's hard.

I think that's just that constant struggle.

Even when you graduate from ICC or Bradley or Eureka or wherever, Illinois State, you want the students to stay in Middle Illinois, and to grow.

And I think I have a volunteer job for myself coming up, I think I need to start speaking again on the value of getting into social work and getting into these health services.

And we need our young people and they don't have to be young, but we need to start early.

So we need to get into these middle schools and say, you can dream this, you can be part of this solution.

And we have to get back to that.

I think we've fallen off as a United States and a community in a sense, we need to do a better job of getting that into the kids' heads.

- I agree, but I think when I grew up in the '80s and everyone wanting to get corporate jobs and move all over the place, I think this generation is a little different.

I think they care, they're sensitive to community needs, they wanna help and they wanna help their communities.

So I think we just have to make it attractive for them to wanna stay in our communities by showing them that this is a robust, caring community where they can earn a good wage, feel supported, and just enjoy their lives.

And I think we're gonna really see shifts in the amount of movement that the younger people are making with their careers, 'cause they're not gonna have to go someplace to have a better experience professionally.

- Well said again.

So kind of cool to be at a place that's been around 120 years.

So that stability shows right there that you're doing great things and you continue to do great things.

So have you had mentors throughout your career?

- Yeah, I have, I have definitely had wonderful mentors.

And I have to say it, because I came to this community not knowing anyone here, and I've been embraced by so many people that have served as mentors for me.

And I have to say that Dr. Knepp, Dr. Keith Knepp is one of 'em.

And my peers, those of us on the executive board with whom I have a close relationship, we say the same thing about him.

His leadership is just uncomparable and how he delivers messages, and how he maintains his composure, and how he redirects and just gives you the opportunity to show up and learn and grow from his interactions.

I can't say enough about him because I try to model my leadership style after his.

- I've been in a lot of meetings with him over the years and I've thought the same thing in terms of your word earlier, composure.

Because he would be the ultimate poker player.

- He would be.

- I mean, he sits there and it's stoic in a way.

He just has this look and he's thinking and he has a solution every time something...

He's very strategic in what he says.

- That's the word I think for Dr. Knepp, it's strategic.

And he's intentional with his actions and with his words.

- Yeah, well, I just want to tell you, thank you for coming on.

I'm gonna have to have you back on because I didn't even get through half my questions.

So Dr. Laurie Shanderson, thank you for coming on the show.

We're proud to have you in this awesome community.

I'm Matt George, and this is another episode of "Business Forward."

Awesome.

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