Judy Olian – HQ Press

President Olian reflects on her first year

President Judy Olian. Courtesy: Quinnipiac University

HAMDEN, Conn. — In 2018, Judy Olian moved from her home in California to Hamden, Conn. to accept her leadership role as president of Quinnipiac University. Since the move, she has embraced change and is working to improve the university in many different areas, such as student education and community relations.

“What I’ve come to so appreciate here is the agility and nimbleness around change,” President Olian said. “If you’re an institution that can really turn on a dime, and I’m not saying we can turn on a dime, but it’s a hell of a lot faster than what was possible at the University of California. It’s a tremendous advantage and asset.”

Since beginning her tenure at Quinnipiac, President Olian has developed a strategic plan to better the university. This plan involves four pillars, including preparing students for careers in the 21st century, developing inclusive excellence, improving the wellbeing of the community and fostering lifelong learning and connections.

“I think the community embraced the change and the strategic plan,” Olian said. “Hook, line and sinker really embraced it. There’s an aura of excitement around change.”

In order to develop strategies to improve aspects of a university that was so new to her, President Olian spent her first few months simply listening.

“If you’re able to listen, you’ll learn an awful lot,” she said. “So, I tried to do that. I went around and met with the deans, the staff, the student groups, the government, and tried to see what people loved about Quinnipiac and where they saw opportunities. That formed the basis for our strategic planning process.”

Also included in the plan are new fields of study, such as environmental sciences, and an increase in data analytics across the curriculum to ensure students are data-savvy entering the 21st century workforce.

Although President Olian is focused on student education, her focus on student wellbeing is just as intense. She announced that the university has plans to launch a large wellness center in order to take care of both cognitive and emotional readiness in students, in addition to career readiness.

“The wellbeing center is going to be facilitated by physical fitness facilities, a wellness service center and programming,” Olian said. “Whatever it is that you need as a healthy foundation for life, we want this to be a part of the foundation.”

Another substantial announcement made during her presidency was the reveal of the Rocky Top Pub on the York Hill Campus. She believes the pub will improve social interaction between students and alumni.

*The current interior of the future Rocky Top bar, On the Rocks. Credit: Peter O’ Neill*

“There will be games in the People’s United Center. Having a beer if you’re of age or just grabbing food if you’re not is a part of college,” Olian said. “You learn every time you connect socially. We also want people to have fun at Quinnipiac, and this is a part of having fun.”

The atmosphere of new leadership and change is felt not only by President Olian but by members of the student body. Junior Student Government Vice President Sophia Marshall believes President Olian has made a huge impact on the culture of the campus and the administration.

“She makes it a point to really engage with the student body and in student events,” Marshall said. “I think she’s come in with a really great plan to renovate the school within the next five to 10 years.”

Marshall immersed herself into student government during her first year at Quinnipiac. At that time, former president John Lahey was in charge. However, she says she already sees differences between the two leaders.

*Quinnipiac’s economic contribution. Credit: Samantha Bousquet*

“While President Lahey had a great tenure, he wasn’t as responsive to students towards the end,” Marshall said. “She’s come and created an immense, positive impact on the campus.”

In addition to working on Quinnipiac-focused initiatives, President Olian is determined to build a stronger connection with the surrounding communities of Hamden and North Haven.

“I think we’re crossing that rubicon and people are starting to see the value that Quinnipiac brings,” Olian said. “Obviously, it’s tremendous economic value.”

According to the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Quinnipiac contributed over $3.1 billion to the Connecticut economy in 2017. Students themselves spent nearly $100 million in the surrounding community.

Although the economic contribution is substantial, some Hamden residents do not enjoy the experience of living in a college town, which is something Olian has realized.

“I think that sometimes there’s a little bit of frustration for some residents in some parts of the community that students are not respectful enough of their neighbors,” she said. “Of course, we are chagrined any time we hear of an episode, though they are rare.”

In 2015, Mayor Curt Leng stated that Quinnipiac students, for the majority, are good students. However, there are some issues with students not being compassionate and respectful neighbors in the community. Since then, he says he has seen improvements.

“I am thankful for the improved efforts to address these important neighborhood issues that the university has taken, including the great outreach efforts and commitment shown by Vice President and Chief of Staff Bethany Zemba and others to work on this issue in collaboration with the town,” Mayor Leng said.

President Olian continues to work on improving the university and its relationship with the surrounding communities.

“What we want is for everyone to appreciate the value of having students and a university in their backyard,” Olian said.

Quinnipiac hosts an open discussion regarding inclusivity on campus

On Wednesday afternoon, over 175 students and faculty gathered in the Quinnipiac Center for Communications and Engineering auditorium to participate in an open forum regarding the issue of inclusion on campus. This event comes in the wake of multiple negative events occurring in the past few weeks, such as racist language being used in the dorms and a professor tweeting her discontent with Chick-fil-A on campus, which became an outlet for hateful commentary on Twitter.

Pictured (left) Kevin Parker director of health and wellness, (middle) Vice President and Provost Jennifer Brown, (right) Elyssa Wrubel, senior english major.

“I do think it was helpful in the sense of informing students as there were topics discussed today that I know other students didn’t know as well as myself,” said Tyler McNeil a junior public relations major. “Most notably for me was that I was unaware that faculty here did not have ‘clock stop’ with their tenure.”

The “Clock stop” policy that McNeil mentions is when a school allows faculty and staff to stop the clock on their way to achieving tenure. This would be beneficial if professor or staff member fell extremely ill, or had to leave for maternity/paternity leave. Right now Quinnipiac does not have this policy in place so if a professor were to have to leave, their eligibility for tenure would be in jeopardy.

This was the email sent to the entire student body regarding the racist language used in the dorms.

This was the email sent to all students, faculty and staff inviting them to this open forum, discussing the topic of inclusion.

On top of the discussion regarding clock stop, around five students and seven faculty members stood up in front of the room and voiced their concern about different topics of inclusion on campus. These ranged from the LGBTQIA community, racial minorities being underrepresented, religious discrimination, handicap accessibility and more executive support for faculty and staff when it comes to school policy.

Specifically, Austin Calvo, the student government president spoke about the issues when it comes to ADA violations on campus and how the schools SGA has tried in the past to fix inaccessible pathways to buildings and residential halls.

A sociology professor, Jim Buccini, voiced his unhappiness with how unwelcoming this campus feels to students of minority races. He used his son’s experience of touring the campus and how at the end of the tour he absolutely did not want to attend Quinnipiac and was disappointed that his father taught at such an uninviting school.

Another student, Andrew DePass, a junior Biology & Computer Science major also talked about the issues of race on campus and discussed the toxic academic environment many minority students face in class. He said that this feeling is created when professors allow students of the majority to use their freedom of speech to say things that immediately make minorities feel inferior and/or alienated.

This open discussion is a product of Quinnipiac President Judy Olian’s strategic plan, which pushes the importance of diversity and inclusion in a competitive and creative work force, but for the past few weeks, Quinnipiac’s community has not been living up to its ideals.

Over a week ago, an email was sent to the student body from the university’s Office of Residential Life about racist language and actions being used in the dorms. The director of Residential Life, Mark DeVilbiss, stated in his email, “The university is committed to a culture of inclusion, openness and civility and is strongly opposed to discriminatory words and actions.”

Then two weeks before the email was sent, journalism professor Margarita Diaz expressed her discontent on Twitter with the use of Chick-fil-A on campus, due to their non-inclusive beliefs. The tweet blew up and users began attacking her and the community. The school newspaper also published an opinion piece that took her view and twisted it into something very different from the original intent of her comment.

Why does @QuinnipiacU continue to welcome @ChickfilA to campus? This company’s ownership has zealously embraced a homophobic stance. We can do better. @QUChronicle @Q30News @QUJournalism

— Margarita Diaz (@Buena_Tinta) October 28, 2019

This is the packed CCE Auditorium as faculty, staff and students listened intently.

After the constructive conversation concluded, Don Sawyer ended the discussion by promising there will be more open forums throughout the year and that over time, there will be change.

Vice President Don Sawyer addresses the crowd and helps lead the discussion on inclusivity on campus.

“When changing campus culture an hour is not gonna do it, a year might not even do it, but it will happen over time,” said Sawyer.

Making way for Quinnipiac’s new strategic plan

Vice president of admissions and financial aid to leave the university

By Rachael Durand

Judy Olian is putting her strategic plan into action by making room for a new senior cabinet.

Olian announced in a recent email to faculty and staff that three vice presidents will leave Quinnipiac University at the beginning of the 2019-20 academic year.

Greg Eichhorn, who oversees admissions and financial aid, is gone at the end of June.

Joining him in an administrative exodus — but via retirements after years of service — are Lynn Bushnell, vice president for public affairs, and Don Weinbach, who has been at the helm of the development and alumni affairs office since 1996. Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson announced earlier this semester that he has taken the job of president at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. His last day at Quinnipiac, after a 21-year tenure, is May 31.

Greg Eichhorn

Lynn Bushnell

Don Weinbach

Mark Thompson

Unlike the retirements and Thompson’s departure for a higher position, Eichhorn is leaving under different circumstances — he no longer fits into Olian’s plans.

The strategic plan is designed to develop Quinnipiac into a university of the future. That future did not have room for Eichhorn.

“There is a strategic shift in this position and I accept that,” Eichhorn said. “The conversations I have had with the president and provost are about the future and the strategic plan for it.”

Eichhorn, who was accompanied during the interview by John Morgan, associate vice president for public affairs, denied he was being forced out, saying his departure was a mutual decision.

“After discussions with the president and the provost, we’ve agreed that the position is going in a different direction and this is the best thing for the institution,” Eichhorn said. “And that’s what I care about.”

Eichhorn’s tenure was short. He came to the university only three years ago after serving a 24-year tenure at Albright University in Pennsylvania.

“Candidly, I was in a great place at Albright and loved it,” Eichhorn said. “Quinnipiac recruited me for a while and it finally got to the point where we said as a family, this is a great opportunity and I’ve got to take it, and I did.”

As the vice president for admissions and financial aid, Eichhorn has been in charge of overseeing graduate and undergraduate admissions and all aspects of financial aid.

An e-mail from Olian sent to faculty, staff and students on Jan. 29 regarding the strategic plan.

The strategic plan, which Thompson first introduced to the Faculty Senate in late January, has four main points to be carried out over the next few years.

The purpose of this plan is to build an institution-wide mindset to prepare graduates for citizenship and 21st-century careers; create an inclusive, excellence-driven community; nurture and positively impact internal, local and global communities; and foster lifelong connections and success, according to the first draft of the Quinnipiac Strategic Plan.

Called “A blueprint for the future,” the plan took shape after faculty and staff worked in task forces to create original drafts. Olian then collated these drafts and is weighing feedback from town hall-style meetings.

The fourth of the four prongs addressed in the plan is “to foster lifelong success and communities,” which directly involves the office Eichhorn oversees.

“This position will move a little more from a recruiting (and the) financial aid program to what’s called enrollment management,” Eichhorn said. “So, it will be involved with those aspects as well as some retention aspects with the position, that’s the biggest change — and be more involved with the provost.”

With Eichhorn leaving and the position reshaped, the search for his successor is underway.

Eichhorn said he thinks that the right person can lead the university to greater things.

“A talented person that is supported can help raise the institution to the next level,” Eichhorn said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the person that will come into this seat after me.”

As for Eichhorn, he will seek employment in higher education, but, he hopes, with more responsibilities.

“I want to do something similar to what I am doing now,” Eichhorn said. “Maybe for a smaller institution where I have more than just admissions and financial aid. That’s what I had at Albright — I had athletics, I had camps and conferences, so I am looking potentially for more things under the umbrella.”

Eichhorn says what’s next for him will always be a family decision.

“We are fortunate I have some options,” Eichhorn said. “We are literally weighing those and doing some travel to those locations to see what is right for my wife, my son and I.”

According to a letter to the editor published in the New Haven Register, the strategic plan has the full support of the Quinnipiac board of trustees said chairman William Weldon on behalf of the the board.

The final draft of the strategic plan will be released to faculty on May 3.

Quinnipiac to celebrate inauguration of President Olian next week

By Kirby Paulson

After 31 years, the holder of Quinnipiac University’s executive office changed with the arrival of Judy Olian as the ninth president last July. During the week of April 30, she will be inaugurated with a university-wide celebration.

The events include an inauguration ceremony at the People’s United Center on May 1, faculty talks and “A Taste of the Arts,” among others.

“It is deeply humbling to be entrusted with the leadership of a university as dynamic and well-regarded as Quinnipiac,” President Olian said on a Quinnipiac Now post. “As we build the University of Your Future, we take the first symbolic steps as a Quinnipiac family along with our guests at the People’s United Center on May 1. I am grateful that the inauguration committee has programmed events throughout the celebration days to bring our community together to learn, to serve and to celebrate.”

A list of events that are included in the Inauguration Ceremony. (Courtesy: Quinnipiac University ) — A list of events that are included in the Inauguration Ceremony. (Courtesy: Quinnipiac University)

One gathering of particular interest during the week is a TedX event, the second of its kind for the community with the first one held in 2014. A TedX event includes speakers who present powerful ideas and speeches. The theme of the event is “Your Future.”

Quinnipiac senior and TedX host Joel Vanner also spoke of this idea and how it relates to the president’s strategic plan.

“What we’re really looking for this year is people to really come out and talk about the topic of your future,” he said. “I know it’s something that President Olian really touched upon in her strategic plan is that this is positioning Quinnipiac to to be the university of your future.”

Olian has shown her commitment to students in the form of different improvements coming down the line including the affiliation of club sports, the installment of air conditioning in residence halls in coming years and the increase of the Student Government Association budget.

“I think President Olian is really committed to listening to the students, finding out what we need and want, and working her hardest to see it become a reality,” SGA President Austin Calvo said. “I didn’t have the best start to my relationship with President Olian, but she has proven herself time and time again as the leader Quinnipiac needs.”

Calvo believes that the events will be an accurate representation of the future.

“I think they’re going to be really cool,” Calvo said. “We rarely get to see a presidential inauguration, and the events planned seem like they’re really going to represent the future of Quinnipiac, with President Olian at the helm.”

The community can find additional information about the scheduled celebration on the university’s official inauguration web page.

President Olian announces new improvements to Quinnipiac facilities

President Judy Olian in a recent video explaining what to look forward to in the coming months and years at Quinnipiac. Screenshot via Quinnipiac University.

Students have complained about Quinnipiac’s tuition and where their money goes throughout most of their years at the university. However, on April 16, President Judy Olian posted a video to her personal Instagram and Twitter detailing new changes to residence halls and student center facilities.

“(In) Mid-May, we’ll begin updating our residence halls on Mount Carmel starting with Perlroth, Larson and Troupe and we will be adding air conditioning,” Olian said in the video. “We plan to upgrade the remaining halls in the next few years.”

Justin Ellis, a 20-year-old English major from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, thinks this is some of the best news he has heard since coming to Quinnipiac two years ago.

“The lack of air conditioning in buildings has been one of the larger complaints of the student body and to see President Olian make strides to change that I’m sure is just a part of what she has in store for us in the coming years,” Ellis said.

Other changes include refurbishing the Rocky Top Student Center with new furniture, a pool table, television and a full functioning bar with food services. The Student Government Association has worked on the Rocky Top pub initiative for about a year with senior class president Allison Kuhn and senior representative Joe Iasso drafting the proposal that received Olian’s thumbs up.

“I’m thrilled that university administration took such quick action to add something students wanted on campus,” Iasso said. “I am so excited to come back as an alumnus and visit the campus pub, I think it will be a great place for us to draw connections to each other and our alma mater.”

Although these future plans have most of the student body excited for the future of Quinnipiac, Matthew Forcino, a 20-year-old finance major from Cranston, Rhode Island, noted one important detail in Olian’s announcement.

“President Olian did add in the caveat that these plans are subject to trustee approval, indicating that they are not set in stone,” Forcino said. “I hope that this is just a cautious statement rather than an indication that these plans might not come to fruition.”

With the timeline for the improvements set to begin at the end of the semester and into the summer, students are hoping to see their large tuition bill going toward significant changes at Quinnipiac.

“The residence hall updates are not so much a necessity as it is an expectation of a school where tuition is over $65,000,” Forcino said. “I’m glad to see that administration has listened to what the student body wants.”

Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell to retire

Three members of Quinnipiac’s senior management team will be leaving the university, according to an email from President Judy Olian to faculty and staff Wednesday, April 17.

Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell, Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs Don Weinbach and Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Greg Eichhorn announced their intentions to depart from the university following Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson’s decision to leave to become President of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

Bushnell is retiring June 2019 after 25 years with the university.

Weinbach is retiring June 2020 after 24 years at the university.

Eichhorn is leaving June 2019 as well, but with intentions to continue admission efforts for the entering class of 2019/20.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will have many opportunities to express our gratitude to Mark, Don, Lynn and Greg for their dedicated service and impact at Quinnipiac,” the email read. “They have meant so much to our institution, and to our students, staff and faculty. We wish them the very best in the next chapters of their lives.”

President Olian came into her position in July 2018. Since then four total members of the senior leadership team have announced their leave from the university, but Bushnell said this is not surprising.

“I don’t know that it’s a total coincidence,” Bushnell said. “I think that people always expect a lot of turnover when a new president comes in. You know he or she always wants their own people in place. My good fortune is that it coincided with my own plan or that my own plan coincided with her arrival.”

While some of the other departures may have come as a surprise to Quinnipiac community members, retirement has always been in the plans for Bushnell.

“My plan has always been to retire this June,” Bushnell said. “My husband and I, when we first learned when John Lahey was intending to retire, I made the decision that I would see him out and see the new person in for a year and assist in that transition and then I would ‘vamos.’”

In her 25 years with the school, Bushnell has been accredited with advancing the university’s national visibility and overseeing the growth of key units of the school including the Quinnipiac Poll, amongst many other things. Reflecting on her time here, it felt only fitting to see out longtime President Lahey and welcome in President Judy Olian to Quinnipiac and her position.

“I think I’ve done a good job with that [the transition] and get President Olian inaugurated and get through all of the final commencements cause it’s such a crazy season,” Bushnell said. “Then I’ll go off into the sunset at the end of June.”

Before she can go off on her fairytale ending, Bushnell must see through one of her last major tasks – President Olian’s inauguration. Former President Lahey held the position for 31 years so for many, if not all of the administrators, this is the first inauguration they had to plan.

“I’ll feel better when we’re on the other side of the inauguration,” Bushnell said. “That’s a big deal and none of us have done one before cause John was here for so long.”

While Bushnell has spent a quarter of a century on campus, her Bobcat roots run deeper than administration.

“I love this place. I have three children, all three of them have attended at least part of their educational career here,” Bushnell said. “I have very fond memories, not just as an employee, but as a parent.”

With three weeks left of the semester, Bushnell is nostalgic wrapping up her time at Quinnipiac, but looking forward to retirement.

“I would like to travel a lot and I think I’ll probably move to Boston for a year,” Bushnell said. “I posted on Facebook today a memory that I had posted six years ago that ‘I will always be a bobcat.’ So, I will be.”

A history of Quinnipiac’s presidents

By Matt Grahn

With Judy Olian set to be Quinnipiac’s ninth and first female president, it may be worth looking back to see what the other presidents were like over the almost 90 years of Quinnipiac history. (Unless otherwise specified, all information and photos are from the archives of the Quinnipiac Chronicle)

Five things you may not know about QU’s first female president

By Sam Prevot

In July, Judy Olian takes over as Quinnipiac University president as John Lahey retires after 31 years.

Olian, the dean at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, becomes the ninth president of the university and the first woman to hold the post.

Since becoming UCLA’s dean in 2006, the school has ranked among the top business schools in the world.

“She is a tireless and effective fundraiser,” UCLA distinguished professor Steven Lippman said.

Olian spearheaded a fundraising windfall that saw $400 million come into the school.

Lippman added, “Dean Olian has shown herself to be incredibly energetic and hard working with unsurpassed attention to detail. Her entrepreneurial bent is ideally suited to help Quinnipiac University excel in general and ascend the rankings in particular.”

According to University of California’s compensation page, Olian earned $533,942.00 in 2016.

Before Olian officially becomes president on July 1, here are some facts you may not know about her and her journey to Quinnipiac.

1. She had a unique upbringing

Olian’s parents escaped the Holocaust — a disaster that separated the couple for seven years before they were reunited. They moved to Australia, where Olian was born. She “ping-ponged” between Australia and Israel during her childhood, and also spent time as an au pair in Switzerland, according to a website run by UCLA assistant dean Dylan Stafford.

2. She’s a cancer survivor

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That same website revealed that Olian had cancer in her 20s and left her unable to have children. She said her experience is part of the reason why she loves working with young people and being involved in their education.

3. Her education has an international flair

Olian earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After traveling to the United States with her first husband without a work visa, she entered grad school. She earned her master’s and doctorate in industrial relations from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

4. She teaches an extremely popular class at UCLA

Olian teaches “Critical Milestones in Preparing for Life in Leadership” with Peter Guber. Guber is CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and owns the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

5. She is more than just a professor and dean

Olian is also the author of a weekly syndicated newspaper column and host of a monthly television show on current topics in business. She is a much sought-after speaker and consultant for major corporations. In addition she serves on the board of advisors for Catalyst, a nonprofit organization with a mission of creating better workplaces for women.