What inspired you to pursue a career in higher education, and what keeps you in it today as a leader?
People and planning have kept me in higher education. Passion for literature and writing as an undergrad merged with my joy of being in front of people (talking, listening, caring) as an instructor while I was in grad school. I never thought I’d end up as an administrator, but my first full-time community college job was at a small school. You probably know the cliché about wearing a lot of hats that goes with schools with fewer resources. I lived that reality and took on administrative roles to support my department. Eventually, I learned that I enjoyed helping students and colleagues alike, as everyone needs support to fulfill the mission of getting students to meet their educational and life goals. What surprised me was how much I really liked diving into big projects with lots of moving parts. So each step of my career has been a variation of a theme focused on helping people; it has evolved from the joy found in the classroom to the great satisfaction that comes from assisting folks in planning that helps move entire institutions.
Guttman is a relatively young college that entered the higher education landscape at a time of rapid change. What unique challenges and opportunities does this present for you as provost?
Guttman is an amazing place born into the higher education landscape with a unique mission and vision. We were built differently (thankfully so). Many faculty and staff are here because they identified with the approach the College took at the start, and the schools’ identity was their professional identity. However, over time the College has changed some, and many wonder how those shifts have impacted the original vision. My top challenge is to help facilitate the way that Guttman can maintain a unique, singular approach that values our past, supports students well and also accepts that higher education is continually evolving. President Johnson has done a tremendous job of building in strong Strategic Planning into our processes, which creates the ability to talk about our College more holistically. My main opportunity is to use that infrastructure to play a lead role in asking who we want to be as a college, how do we get there, and how best to tell our story to as many people as possible (because I know it is a damn good story to tell).
Since joining the college this summer, what would you say differentiates Guttman from other community colleges?
Guttman intentionally sees itself as different, and that differentiates us. We don’t see ourselves as a smaller version of bigger schools. Something in the DNA of the place demands that you see it as unique, even as something for others to envy in approach. We want to be the school others look at and say “Oh… I wish we could do that for our students.” That brings wonderful possibilities to dream big and to take risks. Of course, it is very important to be open to learning from other institutions, but there is something liberatingly wonderful about being at a school that sees itself as sui generis not just because of location or size but because of its model.
What is the most unconventional or unexpected thing you’ve learned since becoming provost here?
The CUNY System is very different than the SUNY (State University of New York) System, where I spent over 20 years. Maddeningly, they don’t even share acronyms for the same things (ok… please don’t get me started on this). Each system has its own pros and cons. However, one thing that was unexpected to me was the emphasis on research for faculty that is diffused throughout CUNY community colleges. It is directly built into the ecosystem through re-assign time for junior faculty, sabbaticals and support for grant-based research. This emphasis on ensuring that faculty maintain expertise in their fields was unexpected. Please don’t get me wrong: SUNY faculty do research. However, it isn’t as intentionally supported at all the community colleges as it is in CUNY. It has been a pleasure to talk with faculty about the research that brings them joy in their jobs and how they bring that to our students.
What is something you’ve learned from a student that has helped you grow professionally or personally?
My students taught me to see them as people first and students second, and this extended into my professional career as I worked with faculty and staff. Community college students have rich, varied and difficult lives; they are deserving of second chances and opportunities for redemption after struggles or failures. I valued greatly the students who failed at first (on a micro level [assignments, tests] or a macro level [class, college]) and then came back to succeed, pass and graduate. It is too easy to fall into a myopic approach that privileges what you do in the classroom or your office above the lives of those around you. That is a mistake. We can do great work together and be respectful of those around us as humans. Students teach me that over and over again.
Guttman’s campus occupies an enviable spot in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. We’re right in the middle of everything with Bryant Park green space activities, NYPL as a neighbor, Times Square down the street, multinational corporate offices and every kind of restaurant imaginable. What do you most enjoy and what do you view as the advantages of our location for our students?
It is fun to consider Bryant Park our quad, and I absolutely love walking across it to go to meetings or events. I was born in Queens, raised mostly in New Jersey, returned to Queens for graduate school and then moved to Florida and to upstate New York for my teaching and administrative career. But New York City was always tugging at my sleeve saying, “Come on back, Paul!” The city is a major part of why I applied for this job and took it. The opportunities for students and faculty and staff are unparalleled. Sometimes you need to leave a space to appreciate it fully. So, I view part of my role as seeing this amazing place with some fresh eyes and sharing that enthusiasm with colleagues and students as we navigate the seemingly endless possibilities around us.
