April 2, 2025 • 33 mins
Dr. Christina A. Clark stands out due to her diverse career in both academia and leadership. Her expertise in Greek and Roman poetry, combined with her administrative roles at multiple universities, showcases her blend of scholarly depth and strategic vision. Her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion further enhances her appeal, along with her rich background in dance, having studied and performed ballet at prestigious institutions. Additionally, her global perspective from growing up in a military family and her scholarly achievements, such as her publications and awards, make her a multifaceted and inspiring figure.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
And welcome in This is the CEOs You Should Know podcast.
I'm your host, Johnny Heartwell, let's say hello to doctor
Christina Clark of Laroche University. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
So tell us everything we need to know about Laroche.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Laroche University is very distinctive in a couple of ways.
It is an institution that marries the liberal arts, which
teaches the premium core human skills that students need to
be successful now and always, how to communicate effectively, how
to work in teams, how to be creative, how to
(00:39):
be entrepreneurial. But also we marry that with professional education
so that we're meeting the current workforce needs.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
And we do this.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We've had great success serving all types of students, both
traditional and non traditional, through our distinctive culture of care
that we create. And we're able to do that because
we're a small institution. Every student we try to meet
their individual needs and work with them to meet them
where they are and help them to excel. And I
(01:11):
have heard so many different stories from alumni who tell
me that they owe all of their success to their
decision to attend Laroche, to the relationships with faculty and
staff who gave them help when they needed it, but
also challenged them when they saw they needed to be challenged.
For example, one of our alumni just gave us a
(01:34):
million dollars as a bequest, and he told me that
he owed everything, all of his career success, to his
decision to attend Laroche and to the support he got
from faculty and staff. And speaking with him, you know,
he was teering up. I was teering up, and he's
not alone. I hear this over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So we are.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
That distinctive culture of care enables our students to really
thrive in ways they didn't see themselves as thriving in
high school. They were shy, they weren't engaged, and with
this support, they're able to really develop themselves. One of
our alums was telling me how he was so shy
(02:19):
in high school, but he became student body president at
Laroche because of that culture of care, the experiential learning
that we offer that they're able to excel in because
they have that confidence that they developed through those relationships.
So we're very successful at that, and I think we
need to get the word out more that this is
(02:40):
what a Laroche education is like as opposed to students
who want a big school experience where they're going with
tens of thousands of other students. That takes a certain
personality to want that environment and to thrive in that environment,
versus students who want a small, more personalized, more intimate
(03:02):
experience with that kind of personalized support. So we are
creating innovative majors to meet workforce needs in the Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Area and beyond. We have done that.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
In various different ways. First through our healthcare programs. We
have a doctor in Nurse Anesthesia Practice that has enrolled
to classes so far, both full with waiting lists because
that's something that's very much in demand in healthcare. We
have an entry level Master of Science and Nursing program
(03:39):
that has been meeting this big need for students who
get a degree in another major but then decide that
they really want to be a nurse, and so they're
able to do it through this program. And also we
have a Family Nurse Practitioners post graduate certificate for nurses
who want to be family nurse practitioners. So we're trying
(04:01):
to meet that strong need for healthcare professionals. We also
debut a clinical mental health counseling program. There is a
big shortage of mental health practitioners, long waits for people
to get appointments. So that's just finishing its first year.
We're already rolling a great class for next year. So
(04:24):
we're trying to meet those needs. And our founders, the
Sisters of Divine Providence, they have traditionally worked in education
and healthcare, running hospitals, running schools, and we are continuing
that care asm with these majors, but also meeting the
new tech kinds of majors. We started a cybersecurity and
(04:47):
forensics program this fall with incredible faculty. For example, one
of them spent twenty six years as a special FBI
agent working on cybercrime nationally and bringing that wealth of
experience and getting our students trained in these new high
(05:09):
tech software programs that they use to catch international cyber
or criminals. So that is really thriving. And we have
through our criminal justice and cybersecurity programs, we have a
crime scene lab and anyone coming to Laroche needs to
(05:31):
tour those those crime scene labs, and unlike a lot
of programs where they'll have one or two different crimes
that students then go and solve within that lab ours
do as many as four different crime scenes a semester,
so they're getting that great experiential learning.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And then your very own CSI labs.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Very own CSI labs cool and they are constantly changing
and the students just get twice as much or more
of that kind of learning that they can then apply
to their internships and into their jobs. So that is
astonishing the different types of crimes that are featured there
(06:17):
that our faculty actually helped solve.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So that's something we're proud of.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
We have two new undergraduate majors that are meeting real
needs in the Pittsburgh Aarian beyond that are debuting this fall.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
And we're enrolling for them now.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So people should check them out. One is a sports
and Entertainment and management major. And I did not know
this before I came to Pittsburgh, but Pittsburgh has a
really booming sports and entertainment scene with not only the
three major sports teams, but lots of art and music festivals.
In fact, one of our faculty, Reshet Ball, who is
(06:57):
one of our management faculty, he runs a one of
the top music festivals in the United States. I believe
it's four Cord and that they've just announced their lineup
for that, but he runs that our students have internships
experiential learning, working in those.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Types of festivals and.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Meeting this real need that I just had no idea
before I moved to Pittsburgh that Pittsburgh was a leader
in this area. So that is something that our industry
connected faculty are enabling our students to have these great
experiences in helping with these music festivals, with our sports
(07:41):
teams and all of that. So we're excited about that.
And then also an aviation management major with three tracks
that we're doing in collaboration with the Community College of
Beaver County, which has a great aviation programs, but in
order to get certain jobs in the aviation industry, you
(08:02):
need a four year degree, and so that's where we've
partnered with them. And you can choose to be an
air traffic controller, and we know from recent events what
a shortage we have in the United States now for
air traffic controllers, piloting and then advanced piloting, so students
can transfer to us who get an associates from CCBC,
(08:27):
or they can start and.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Do all four years at Laroche.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
In collaboration with CCBC, living on campus, getting that whole
four year experience. So I'm really proud of that collaboration
because there's a huge need for pilots and air traffic
controllers and that effects.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Us, and the collaboration is it's a brilliant idea.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
They're amazing over there.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, you know, I do these interviews each and every week,
and I got to tell you, Christine, no one has
answered that question, my initial question and better than what
you just see, which says to me, you're very proud
of this institution.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I am very proud of it.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
And you know, one of the reasons I was attracted
to Laroche was, of course its mission and its core values,
but the authentic way it lives that mission is.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
I don't want to say.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Unique, but is you don't have to be modest.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
It's sufficiently different than other institutions at which I've worked
which I loved, which had great outcomes, but Laroche is
very different in the way it authentically lives those values
and it puts its money towards those values in terms
of the programs, it creates, the atmosphere, it creates, the
student experience, it creates. So I'm really proud of Larotian.
(09:47):
I really want to get the word out about that
type of education and support and the amazing things are
students and alumni and faculty.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Do you know consistently respected public locations name Laroche as
one of the best colleged university higher education in the
United States. Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I think it's because what I just said, that authentic
way of living our mission. We're very student centered, we're
very community centered, and we want to make sure that
our students can thrive, that they can have lives of
purpose and meaning, but also excel in the workforce and
(10:31):
give back to their community. So it's really important to
us that we build a community of scholars, a community
of individuals that knows that we want them to succeed
in their careers, in their lives, but also to give
back to the communities that have from which they come.
(10:52):
So I think that's really strong. And all universities are,
in essence anchor institutions for their communities.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
How well they really live that.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
You know, Laroche generates over seventy million dollars per year
of economic activity for Pittsburgh, So that is an amazing thing.
All institutions should know and be able to report out
how they contribute economically to their community, because if institutions
(11:25):
go under, that affects the community really greatly. So when,
for example, often institutions go under not just because of
you know, demographic changes, aren't as many eighteen year olds
as there used to be, or they're not creating these
new programs that meet the needs of our times, that
(11:49):
really hurts the community. But also if students lose the
ability to go to college, if they cannot get federal
student loans. For example, Laroche, our graduate students got five
million dollars of graduate plus loans from the federal government
(12:09):
so they could get a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice
or family nurse practitioners and so on. And if the
federal government eliminates that loan program, it'll be much harder
for students to pay for their educations and be able
to work in those careers, which would really hurt the community.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Really would, it really would. And I think people need
to understand, you know, if we want quality medical care
or any kind of professionalism, you know, we need that
kind of financial assistance that that was available in the past.
And you hope that they will continue to see.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That, I hope so because it is fundamental, I mean,
cost of college really hasn't risen over time. There are
lots of studies that show that it has not gotten
more expensive, but people don't really know that there's a
you know, for example, Laroche has the lowest tuition for
(13:10):
independent colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh area for the
next academic year. It is thirty round thirty four thousand.
But we offer every year nine million dollars of merit scholarships,
and then we also on top of that give need
based aid. Then there is state money, the FIA program. There,
(13:36):
then there's federal student loans and federal aid, so that few,
very few students pay anywhere near out of pocket thirty
four thousand. So it's important that students have an idea
of exactly what they will need to pay, what is
left of their tuition to pay after all of those
(13:57):
things are stacked on top and on average, Laroche students
graduate with about twenty five thousand dollars of debt, which,
to put it in context, that's not nothing, that's you know,
that's a hefty amount of debt, but that is half
the price of a new car. To put it into
(14:19):
comparison and students, you don't hesitate to buy a new car,
which just loses value. As my father would always say,
you buy a new car the minute you drive off
the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
It loses half of its value.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Whereas an education and education the ROI for that twenty
five thousand dollars of debt. If you graduate with that
much debt and not all do you earn a million
dollars more across your lifetime than someone with some college
or a high school degree. That's an amazing return on investment.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You know, when it comes to Laroche, it seems to
be it's hard to believe that, you know, Larosha has
been here for almost sixty years, it seems like you've
been here for for a much longer time. And it's
an established institution that consistently gets the respect of the community.
And it sounds like you have a vision for the university.
(15:17):
And looking at your bio, you have a very diverse
background and you're what what you've experienced through your lifetime.
You're presenting as as the president as the person who
is ahead of the university. Am I am I correct
in that in that assumption.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
That I have a vision for the university, sort of
arising from my background. Yeah, yeah, I think we do.
We bring to the table, to our leadership, to our vision.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Well, how about telling us about your pas?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Oh, okay, happy to do that. I grew up, I
don't Well, I grew up in a military.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Family, which was demental to shaping who I am as
a person and how I how I approach all the
jobs that I have. My father was in the military police.
He was a colonel, rose to be a full, full
corneral in the course of that, and we grew up
(16:19):
moving every few years, and notably when I was I
don't know, three to three to five. So three years
in Anchorage, Alaska at Fort Richardson amazing experience. My father
was Prova Marshal of that base, and well, you know,
(16:41):
as a kid, you just well, it is funny in Alaska.
It's a very outdoorsy type of place. So in the
summers they're amazing. You know. We were on base, so
all the kids could just run around together in a
gang and ten at night we'd be outside playing and
it was ideal. And we went camping a lot. We
(17:01):
had a Winnebago trailer and just drove around and camped.
My dad had to bring his gun because there are
like bears and things like that. But the ideal but
in the winters, yes, I remember waiting. I was in
kindergarten waiting for the school bus outside my house and
the snow was piled up. I was, you know, five,
(17:22):
so to me it was like up to my head.
And I remember thinking it was so cold and so dark.
I wanted to burrow into the snow bank in my
little l had a little fur parka as one has
when you're a kid in Alaska.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
But you just accept it. It's just it is what
it is.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
It's a dry cold, like you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
A dry cold.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
It is.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah. So after you know, moving to Alaska. Then I
interrupted your little story that you know, continue with your background.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Oh no, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And my father would bring me out in my little
snow shoes to review the troops as he called it.
And so just my parents raised us on the importance
of ethics, on the importance of service.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And my dad, of.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Course, which is a bedlock rock of Laroche integrity. So
my mother was a parochial school teacher, and so I
was I'm a cradle Catholic as they say, and so
those things were just you know, my dad and parents
never told us you have to grow up and be
this or that. But my father would wake my sisters
(18:34):
and I up by whistling Revere every morning and saying
it's another day in which to excel, and then my
mother would go behind him and say, just do your best.
So we knew that that was the expectation and that
we were being held to high standards. So after that
(18:54):
we my father served in Vietnam, and so we were
a year in Rhode Island and then we went to
the Philippines for his next assignment. He was an atche
for the Philippine Constabulary under Marcos. So we met Marcos
and saw the martial law soldiers in the streets.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
That was very scary.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
And then we also saw the POWs coming through the
Philippines on their way back home. So that was an
amazing experience for me in the Philippines because I was
at the right age where you're just practically your own
private pool. Got to be a great swimmer. Philippines is
a very beautiful country. Has a lot of problems coming
(19:38):
out of colonialism and all of that, but wonderful people,
wonderful country, and then we moved back to the States.
So being able to go into different areas, different cultures,
learning how other people live, what other culture's values are,
(19:59):
was a great way for me to learn that the
American way is just one way among many, and you
really do have to learn to listen to other people
as they share their experiences and points of view and
to learn what you can from those before you judge.
(20:19):
And that was really valuable and I experienced being.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
One thing that really influenced me was being bussed to
the International school, which was about an hour ride away
from our compound in Quezon City. The school was in Manila,
and people would throw rocks at our school bus and
they would shout, hey, Joe, go home. And I went
(20:49):
home to my mom and dad and said, why would
they throw rocks at some elementary school kids?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Why do they hate us?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
And so they explained about you know, they didn't use
the word colonialism, but they explained, you know, World War
two and you know the history of colonialism in the area.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And so it.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Helped not decades of colonialism, the centuries.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yes, centuries of it from different countries, yes, And so
that helped me understand that kind of hatred, and it
helped me understand how it felt to feel that people
hating you, who don't know you and hate you just
because you're an American. So that was really formative for me.
(21:38):
And so these are just sort of the experiences that are,
you know. And then hearing about my father's return from
Vietnam where he got spat at in the San Francisco
airport because he was in his uniform and that was
the height of Vietnam protests and just you know, he
(22:04):
understood the protesters and he understood their point of view.
He was career military, so his job was to go
over and serve, but he understood their point of view.
But being spat at was all.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Well, that was a very complex time in our country's.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
History, very complex time.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And working with other countries, and working with the Philippines
who were technically our ally but under the you know,
the you know, the century, the centuries of colonialism and
and being beholden to other countries, and that was a
very tricky transition for the Philippines at that time as well.
(22:42):
And so that that also serves as an experience, a
learning experience, and and how is that. How has that
served Christina? Well?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I think it.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
It gave me a good and seeing my father dealing
with being military attested to the Philippine Constabulary at a
time when martial law was declared, where there was a
lot of poverty. You had the rich oligarchs and the
very poor people. In fact, on our first ride from
the airport to our hotel when we arrived in the Philippines,
(23:15):
I saw a lot of naked children on the side
of the road by tin shacks and I said to
my mom, I, you know, why aren't those kids wearing
any clothes. I'd never seen anything like that, And so
She's like, well, they are so.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Poor and they can't afford it.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
And so learning about that, you know, oligarchy and why
there was so much poverty in such a natural resource
rich and beautiful country like the Philippines. So and then
how do you how didn't my father navigate working with
(23:53):
Ramos and Marcos on behalf of the.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
US principles of the Philippines.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Absolutely, so you've got a forward the United States interests.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
But also they were autocrats.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And they were my father knew of a lot of crimes,
a lot of people murdered. So it was the complexity
of things and watching my father navigate complexity from his
position really taught me that there's rarely black and white.
There's lots of shades of gray. And how do you
(24:34):
as a leader maintain your ethical code while still moving
forward the mission of whatever your organization is. My father
was the United States Military. For me, you know, I
chose to go into higher ed eventually, and you know,
how do I ensure that, You know, Laroche, for example,
(24:57):
lives its mission and core values authentically, but still thrives,
you know, because you want. My job is to make
sure Laroche thrives. And we live in a time when
there's a lot of controversies happening in the United States
(25:17):
and you need a lot of wisdom and experience in
navigating polarization where there's not a lot of agreement around
what is the right path to take.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
And that was a lesson learned at a very early age. Yes, okay,
So what is your vision for the future for Laroche?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I would like Laroche to continue its historical practice of
serving students very well, meeting with them where they are
and moving them forward. We live in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
We live in the digital age, and I'm very concerned
that students have the right education to enable them to
(26:13):
thrive in this time of unimaginably fast technological transformation.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
My own daughter.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Is about to turn twenty four, unimaginably and so she
is someone I mean, she is that generation before me.
Trying to make sure I've heard I think it's the
World Economic Forum put it out there that students today,
unlike me and people you and older people, will work
(26:44):
in fifteen different jobs across five different sectors in the
course of their work life, jobs that don't exist yet.
So our students have to be flexible learners to enable
them to ride those technological developments successfully. So our liberal
arts education, which we need to strengthen, train students in
(27:10):
different modes of thought, the scientific way of thinking, the
humanity's way of thinking, so that they can learn to
think in different ways. It's like cross training your brain
to use an athletic metaphor. Then we have to make
sure that they are all learning how to learn new technologies. So,
(27:32):
for example, this year, one of the things that I
have enacted was charging faculty with ensuring that every student
graduating from now on into the future has a knowledge
of the ethical use of AI and has basic AI skills.
So we've embedded that teaching into our curriculum because you
(27:54):
have to have those to get entry levels across all programs.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Yes, okay, that makes sense. Yeah, because that is the future.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
That it's the present, and it is the future. And
at the rate of change of what say chat, GPT
and it's ILK every three months, there's some new amazing
development in them. I'm going to a conference in San
Diego next week called ASU plus GSV, which is all
(28:23):
about the amazing technological developments in virtual reality, in AI
jen AI, and I'm sure many other things I don't
know about yet, but the Silicon Valley companies are going
to come and show college presidents and other CEOs. So
I'm looking forward to seeing the things that are about
(28:47):
to hit in terms of technology from that. But my
primary concern is that our students have the skills and
the mental framework to be able to ride this technological
wave that's going to be just accelerating through their whole life.
We must serve students well and equipping them to succeed
(29:13):
and thrive in the digital age.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Pittsburgh has a history, a proud history of innovation, and
I think it's important that you look to the future
and look to AI and other technological advancements and incorporate
in your program. So is that something that you are
currently working on or is that something that you're looking
to do in the future.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
We have embedded into every program the teaching of basic
AI skills, and we also have a digital Literacy certificate
that is available to all students and staff and faculty
to get if they want that. I think we have
(29:56):
to keep on top of that. I mean, we're not
Carnegie Mellon, that's not type of institution we are, So
we're not going to develop cutting edge technological majors necessarily,
but we want to ensure that our students have what
they need to thrive in this moment.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
What's your favorite part of your current position. What's the
one thing you really love doing on a day to
day basis?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Will working with everyone? The community is just so special.
The people are wonderful. I mean I truly, no matter
what is going on, no matter what thorny problem we're
trying to solve, I look forward to going to work
today because the people are really special and anytime I
can interact with our faculty and students is a great pleasure.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
I'm looking forward to this month.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
We have a lot of the end of the year,
like student exhibits of student work, ceremony, award ceremonies. I
think leading up to commencement, which is the best day
of the year, the happiest day of the year. Just
seeing what our students are doing, how they've been learning,
what they're able to do. That's why I do this,
(31:16):
That's why I get up every day. I mean, Higher
Ed is a very turbulent time right now for Higher Ed.
There are a lot of challenges, and yet there's nothing
like seeing students take their education and run with it.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
One last question. Laroche has a wonderful legacy and a
continuing legacy. But what is the one thing you want
people to know about Laroche.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
I think that Laroche is a very special place, and
I know this now in a way I didn't know
it when I accepted the job. We have have not
we have been very humble, and we have not advertised
gotten the word out about the amazing things that are
(32:12):
students and alumni do. And I don't know why we
have been so hesitant to put it out there and
so that's one of the things I'm really devoted to doing,
not only making sure, you know, together with my leadership
(32:33):
team and the whole Earroche community, making sure the institution
thrives into the future, but that we get the word
out about the amazing things that our students are doing
and our faculty. We've been too humble, too reticent, and
I'm working hard to change that. So check out my
LinkedIn posts, my Instagram posts, and come to Larrow to
(33:00):
visit our campus, engage with our community. We all have
a lot of energy, we have a great history, and
I think we've got a really bright future.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I love your energy. I really love your energy, and
that is indicative of the future of Laroche. Thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
We're very welcome, enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
This has been the CEOs you Should Know podcast, showcasing
businesses that are driving our regional economy, part of iHeartMedia's
commitment to the communities we serve. I'm Johnny Heartwell, thank
you so much for listening.
And welcome in This is the CEOs You Should Know podcast.
I'm your host, Johnny Heartwell, let's say hello to doctor
Christina Clark of Laroche University. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
So tell us everything we need to know about Laroche.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Laroche University is very distinctive in a couple of ways.
It is an institution that marries the liberal arts, which
teaches the premium core human skills that students need to
be successful now and always, how to communicate effectively, how
to work in teams, how to be creative, how to
(00:39):
be entrepreneurial. But also we marry that with professional education
so that we're meeting the current workforce needs.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
And we do this.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We've had great success serving all types of students, both
traditional and non traditional, through our distinctive culture of care
that we create. And we're able to do that because
we're a small institution. Every student we try to meet
their individual needs and work with them to meet them
where they are and help them to excel. And I
(01:11):
have heard so many different stories from alumni who tell
me that they owe all of their success to their
decision to attend Laroche, to the relationships with faculty and
staff who gave them help when they needed it, but
also challenged them when they saw they needed to be challenged.
For example, one of our alumni just gave us a
(01:34):
million dollars as a bequest, and he told me that
he owed everything, all of his career success, to his
decision to attend Laroche and to the support he got
from faculty and staff. And speaking with him, you know,
he was teering up. I was teering up, and he's
not alone. I hear this over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So we are.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
That distinctive culture of care enables our students to really
thrive in ways they didn't see themselves as thriving in
high school. They were shy, they weren't engaged, and with
this support, they're able to really develop themselves. One of
our alums was telling me how he was so shy
(02:19):
in high school, but he became student body president at
Laroche because of that culture of care, the experiential learning
that we offer that they're able to excel in because
they have that confidence that they developed through those relationships.
So we're very successful at that, and I think we
need to get the word out more that this is
(02:40):
what a Laroche education is like as opposed to students
who want a big school experience where they're going with
tens of thousands of other students. That takes a certain
personality to want that environment and to thrive in that environment,
versus students who want a small, more personalized, more intimate
(03:02):
experience with that kind of personalized support. So we are
creating innovative majors to meet workforce needs in the Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Area and beyond. We have done that.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
In various different ways. First through our healthcare programs. We
have a doctor in Nurse Anesthesia Practice that has enrolled
to classes so far, both full with waiting lists because
that's something that's very much in demand in healthcare. We
have an entry level Master of Science and Nursing program
(03:39):
that has been meeting this big need for students who
get a degree in another major but then decide that
they really want to be a nurse, and so they're
able to do it through this program. And also we
have a Family Nurse Practitioners post graduate certificate for nurses
who want to be family nurse practitioners. So we're trying
(04:01):
to meet that strong need for healthcare professionals. We also
debut a clinical mental health counseling program. There is a
big shortage of mental health practitioners, long waits for people
to get appointments. So that's just finishing its first year.
We're already rolling a great class for next year. So
(04:24):
we're trying to meet those needs. And our founders, the
Sisters of Divine Providence, they have traditionally worked in education
and healthcare, running hospitals, running schools, and we are continuing
that care asm with these majors, but also meeting the
new tech kinds of majors. We started a cybersecurity and
(04:47):
forensics program this fall with incredible faculty. For example, one
of them spent twenty six years as a special FBI
agent working on cybercrime nationally and bringing that wealth of
experience and getting our students trained in these new high
(05:09):
tech software programs that they use to catch international cyber
or criminals. So that is really thriving. And we have
through our criminal justice and cybersecurity programs, we have a
crime scene lab and anyone coming to Laroche needs to
(05:31):
tour those those crime scene labs, and unlike a lot
of programs where they'll have one or two different crimes
that students then go and solve within that lab ours
do as many as four different crime scenes a semester,
so they're getting that great experiential learning.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And then your very own CSI labs.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Very own CSI labs cool and they are constantly changing
and the students just get twice as much or more
of that kind of learning that they can then apply
to their internships and into their jobs. So that is
astonishing the different types of crimes that are featured there
(06:17):
that our faculty actually helped solve.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So that's something we're proud of.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
We have two new undergraduate majors that are meeting real
needs in the Pittsburgh Aarian beyond that are debuting this fall.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
And we're enrolling for them now.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So people should check them out. One is a sports
and Entertainment and management major. And I did not know
this before I came to Pittsburgh, but Pittsburgh has a
really booming sports and entertainment scene with not only the
three major sports teams, but lots of art and music festivals.
In fact, one of our faculty, Reshet Ball, who is
(06:57):
one of our management faculty, he runs a one of
the top music festivals in the United States. I believe
it's four Cord and that they've just announced their lineup
for that, but he runs that our students have internships
experiential learning, working in those.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Types of festivals and.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Meeting this real need that I just had no idea
before I moved to Pittsburgh that Pittsburgh was a leader
in this area. So that is something that our industry
connected faculty are enabling our students to have these great
experiences in helping with these music festivals, with our sports
(07:41):
teams and all of that. So we're excited about that.
And then also an aviation management major with three tracks
that we're doing in collaboration with the Community College of
Beaver County, which has a great aviation programs, but in
order to get certain jobs in the aviation industry, you
(08:02):
need a four year degree, and so that's where we've
partnered with them. And you can choose to be an
air traffic controller, and we know from recent events what
a shortage we have in the United States now for
air traffic controllers, piloting and then advanced piloting, so students
can transfer to us who get an associates from CCBC,
(08:27):
or they can start and.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Do all four years at Laroche.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
In collaboration with CCBC, living on campus, getting that whole
four year experience. So I'm really proud of that collaboration
because there's a huge need for pilots and air traffic
controllers and that effects.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Us, and the collaboration is it's a brilliant idea.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
They're amazing over there.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, you know, I do these interviews each and every week,
and I got to tell you, Christine, no one has
answered that question, my initial question and better than what
you just see, which says to me, you're very proud
of this institution.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I am very proud of it.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
And you know, one of the reasons I was attracted
to Laroche was, of course its mission and its core values,
but the authentic way it lives that mission is.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
I don't want to say.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Unique, but is you don't have to be modest.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
It's sufficiently different than other institutions at which I've worked
which I loved, which had great outcomes, but Laroche is
very different in the way it authentically lives those values
and it puts its money towards those values in terms
of the programs, it creates, the atmosphere, it creates, the
student experience, it creates. So I'm really proud of Larotian.
(09:47):
I really want to get the word out about that
type of education and support and the amazing things are
students and alumni and faculty.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Do you know consistently respected public locations name Laroche as
one of the best colleged university higher education in the
United States. Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I think it's because what I just said, that authentic
way of living our mission. We're very student centered, we're
very community centered, and we want to make sure that
our students can thrive, that they can have lives of
purpose and meaning, but also excel in the workforce and
(10:31):
give back to their community. So it's really important to
us that we build a community of scholars, a community
of individuals that knows that we want them to succeed
in their careers, in their lives, but also to give
back to the communities that have from which they come.
(10:52):
So I think that's really strong. And all universities are,
in essence anchor institutions for their communities.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
How well they really live that.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
You know, Laroche generates over seventy million dollars per year
of economic activity for Pittsburgh, So that is an amazing thing.
All institutions should know and be able to report out
how they contribute economically to their community, because if institutions
(11:25):
go under, that affects the community really greatly. So when,
for example, often institutions go under not just because of
you know, demographic changes, aren't as many eighteen year olds
as there used to be, or they're not creating these
new programs that meet the needs of our times, that
(11:49):
really hurts the community. But also if students lose the
ability to go to college, if they cannot get federal
student loans. For example, Laroche, our graduate students got five
million dollars of graduate plus loans from the federal government
(12:09):
so they could get a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice
or family nurse practitioners and so on. And if the
federal government eliminates that loan program, it'll be much harder
for students to pay for their educations and be able
to work in those careers, which would really hurt the community.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Really would, it really would. And I think people need
to understand, you know, if we want quality medical care
or any kind of professionalism, you know, we need that
kind of financial assistance that that was available in the past.
And you hope that they will continue to see.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That, I hope so because it is fundamental, I mean,
cost of college really hasn't risen over time. There are
lots of studies that show that it has not gotten
more expensive, but people don't really know that there's a
you know, for example, Laroche has the lowest tuition for
(13:10):
independent colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh area for the
next academic year. It is thirty round thirty four thousand.
But we offer every year nine million dollars of merit scholarships,
and then we also on top of that give need
based aid. Then there is state money, the FIA program. There,
(13:36):
then there's federal student loans and federal aid, so that few,
very few students pay anywhere near out of pocket thirty
four thousand. So it's important that students have an idea
of exactly what they will need to pay, what is
left of their tuition to pay after all of those
(13:57):
things are stacked on top and on average, Laroche students
graduate with about twenty five thousand dollars of debt, which,
to put it in context, that's not nothing, that's you know,
that's a hefty amount of debt, but that is half
the price of a new car. To put it into
(14:19):
comparison and students, you don't hesitate to buy a new car,
which just loses value. As my father would always say,
you buy a new car the minute you drive off
the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
It loses half of its value.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Whereas an education and education the ROI for that twenty
five thousand dollars of debt. If you graduate with that
much debt and not all do you earn a million
dollars more across your lifetime than someone with some college
or a high school degree. That's an amazing return on investment.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You know, when it comes to Laroche, it seems to
be it's hard to believe that, you know, Larosha has
been here for almost sixty years, it seems like you've
been here for for a much longer time. And it's
an established institution that consistently gets the respect of the community.
And it sounds like you have a vision for the university.
(15:17):
And looking at your bio, you have a very diverse
background and you're what what you've experienced through your lifetime.
You're presenting as as the president as the person who
is ahead of the university. Am I am I correct
in that in that assumption.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
That I have a vision for the university, sort of
arising from my background. Yeah, yeah, I think we do.
We bring to the table, to our leadership, to our vision.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Well, how about telling us about your pas?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Oh, okay, happy to do that. I grew up, I
don't Well, I grew up in a military.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Family, which was demental to shaping who I am as
a person and how I how I approach all the
jobs that I have. My father was in the military police.
He was a colonel, rose to be a full, full
corneral in the course of that, and we grew up
(16:19):
moving every few years, and notably when I was I
don't know, three to three to five. So three years
in Anchorage, Alaska at Fort Richardson amazing experience. My father
was Prova Marshal of that base, and well, you know,
(16:41):
as a kid, you just well, it is funny in Alaska.
It's a very outdoorsy type of place. So in the
summers they're amazing. You know. We were on base, so
all the kids could just run around together in a
gang and ten at night we'd be outside playing and
it was ideal. And we went camping a lot. We
(17:01):
had a Winnebago trailer and just drove around and camped.
My dad had to bring his gun because there are
like bears and things like that. But the ideal but
in the winters, yes, I remember waiting. I was in
kindergarten waiting for the school bus outside my house and
the snow was piled up. I was, you know, five,
(17:22):
so to me it was like up to my head.
And I remember thinking it was so cold and so dark.
I wanted to burrow into the snow bank in my
little l had a little fur parka as one has
when you're a kid in Alaska.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
But you just accept it. It's just it is what
it is.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
It's a dry cold, like you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
A dry cold.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
It is.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah. So after you know, moving to Alaska. Then I
interrupted your little story that you know, continue with your background.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Oh no, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And my father would bring me out in my little
snow shoes to review the troops as he called it.
And so just my parents raised us on the importance
of ethics, on the importance of service.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And my dad, of.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Course, which is a bedlock rock of Laroche integrity. So
my mother was a parochial school teacher, and so I
was I'm a cradle Catholic as they say, and so
those things were just you know, my dad and parents
never told us you have to grow up and be
this or that. But my father would wake my sisters
(18:34):
and I up by whistling Revere every morning and saying
it's another day in which to excel, and then my
mother would go behind him and say, just do your best.
So we knew that that was the expectation and that
we were being held to high standards. So after that
(18:54):
we my father served in Vietnam, and so we were
a year in Rhode Island and then we went to
the Philippines for his next assignment. He was an atche
for the Philippine Constabulary under Marcos. So we met Marcos
and saw the martial law soldiers in the streets.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
That was very scary.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
And then we also saw the POWs coming through the
Philippines on their way back home. So that was an
amazing experience for me in the Philippines because I was
at the right age where you're just practically your own
private pool. Got to be a great swimmer. Philippines is
a very beautiful country. Has a lot of problems coming
(19:38):
out of colonialism and all of that, but wonderful people,
wonderful country, and then we moved back to the States.
So being able to go into different areas, different cultures,
learning how other people live, what other culture's values are,
(19:59):
was a great way for me to learn that the
American way is just one way among many, and you
really do have to learn to listen to other people
as they share their experiences and points of view and
to learn what you can from those before you judge.
(20:19):
And that was really valuable and I experienced being.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
One thing that really influenced me was being bussed to
the International school, which was about an hour ride away
from our compound in Quezon City. The school was in Manila,
and people would throw rocks at our school bus and
they would shout, hey, Joe, go home. And I went
(20:49):
home to my mom and dad and said, why would
they throw rocks at some elementary school kids?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Why do they hate us?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
And so they explained about you know, they didn't use
the word colonialism, but they explained, you know, World War
two and you know the history of colonialism in the area.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And so it.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Helped not decades of colonialism, the centuries.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yes, centuries of it from different countries, yes, And so
that helped me understand that kind of hatred, and it
helped me understand how it felt to feel that people
hating you, who don't know you and hate you just
because you're an American. So that was really formative for me.
(21:38):
And so these are just sort of the experiences that are,
you know. And then hearing about my father's return from
Vietnam where he got spat at in the San Francisco
airport because he was in his uniform and that was
the height of Vietnam protests and just you know, he
(22:04):
understood the protesters and he understood their point of view.
He was career military, so his job was to go
over and serve, but he understood their point of view.
But being spat at was all.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Well, that was a very complex time in our country's.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
History, very complex time.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And working with other countries, and working with the Philippines
who were technically our ally but under the you know,
the you know, the century, the centuries of colonialism and
and being beholden to other countries, and that was a
very tricky transition for the Philippines at that time as well.
(22:42):
And so that that also serves as an experience, a
learning experience, and and how is that. How has that
served Christina? Well?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I think it.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
It gave me a good and seeing my father dealing
with being military attested to the Philippine Constabulary at a
time when martial law was declared, where there was a
lot of poverty. You had the rich oligarchs and the
very poor people. In fact, on our first ride from
the airport to our hotel when we arrived in the Philippines,
(23:15):
I saw a lot of naked children on the side
of the road by tin shacks and I said to
my mom, I, you know, why aren't those kids wearing
any clothes. I'd never seen anything like that, And so
She's like, well, they are so.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Poor and they can't afford it.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
And so learning about that, you know, oligarchy and why
there was so much poverty in such a natural resource
rich and beautiful country like the Philippines. So and then
how do you how didn't my father navigate working with
(23:53):
Ramos and Marcos on behalf of the.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
US principles of the Philippines.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Absolutely, so you've got a forward the United States interests.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
But also they were autocrats.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And they were my father knew of a lot of crimes,
a lot of people murdered. So it was the complexity
of things and watching my father navigate complexity from his
position really taught me that there's rarely black and white.
There's lots of shades of gray. And how do you
(24:34):
as a leader maintain your ethical code while still moving
forward the mission of whatever your organization is. My father
was the United States Military. For me, you know, I
chose to go into higher ed eventually, and you know,
how do I ensure that, You know, Laroche, for example,
(24:57):
lives its mission and core values authentically, but still thrives,
you know, because you want. My job is to make
sure Laroche thrives. And we live in a time when
there's a lot of controversies happening in the United States
(25:17):
and you need a lot of wisdom and experience in
navigating polarization where there's not a lot of agreement around
what is the right path to take.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
And that was a lesson learned at a very early age. Yes, okay,
So what is your vision for the future for Laroche?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I would like Laroche to continue its historical practice of
serving students very well, meeting with them where they are
and moving them forward. We live in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
We live in the digital age, and I'm very concerned
that students have the right education to enable them to
(26:13):
thrive in this time of unimaginably fast technological transformation.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
My own daughter.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Is about to turn twenty four, unimaginably and so she
is someone I mean, she is that generation before me.
Trying to make sure I've heard I think it's the
World Economic Forum put it out there that students today,
unlike me and people you and older people, will work
(26:44):
in fifteen different jobs across five different sectors in the
course of their work life, jobs that don't exist yet.
So our students have to be flexible learners to enable
them to ride those technological developments successfully. So our liberal
arts education, which we need to strengthen, train students in
(27:10):
different modes of thought, the scientific way of thinking, the
humanity's way of thinking, so that they can learn to
think in different ways. It's like cross training your brain
to use an athletic metaphor. Then we have to make
sure that they are all learning how to learn new technologies. So,
(27:32):
for example, this year, one of the things that I
have enacted was charging faculty with ensuring that every student
graduating from now on into the future has a knowledge
of the ethical use of AI and has basic AI skills.
So we've embedded that teaching into our curriculum because you
(27:54):
have to have those to get entry levels across all programs.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Yes, okay, that makes sense. Yeah, because that is the future.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
That it's the present, and it is the future. And
at the rate of change of what say chat, GPT
and it's ILK every three months, there's some new amazing
development in them. I'm going to a conference in San
Diego next week called ASU plus GSV, which is all
(28:23):
about the amazing technological developments in virtual reality, in AI
jen AI, and I'm sure many other things I don't
know about yet, but the Silicon Valley companies are going
to come and show college presidents and other CEOs. So
I'm looking forward to seeing the things that are about
(28:47):
to hit in terms of technology from that. But my
primary concern is that our students have the skills and
the mental framework to be able to ride this technological
wave that's going to be just accelerating through their whole life.
We must serve students well and equipping them to succeed
(29:13):
and thrive in the digital age.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Pittsburgh has a history, a proud history of innovation, and
I think it's important that you look to the future
and look to AI and other technological advancements and incorporate
in your program. So is that something that you are
currently working on or is that something that you're looking
to do in the future.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
We have embedded into every program the teaching of basic
AI skills, and we also have a digital Literacy certificate
that is available to all students and staff and faculty
to get if they want that. I think we have
(29:56):
to keep on top of that. I mean, we're not
Carnegie Mellon, that's not type of institution we are, So
we're not going to develop cutting edge technological majors necessarily,
but we want to ensure that our students have what
they need to thrive in this moment.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
What's your favorite part of your current position. What's the
one thing you really love doing on a day to
day basis?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Will working with everyone? The community is just so special.
The people are wonderful. I mean I truly, no matter
what is going on, no matter what thorny problem we're
trying to solve, I look forward to going to work
today because the people are really special and anytime I
can interact with our faculty and students is a great pleasure.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
I'm looking forward to this month.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
We have a lot of the end of the year,
like student exhibits of student work, ceremony, award ceremonies. I
think leading up to commencement, which is the best day
of the year, the happiest day of the year. Just
seeing what our students are doing, how they've been learning,
what they're able to do. That's why I do this,
(31:16):
That's why I get up every day. I mean, Higher
Ed is a very turbulent time right now for Higher Ed.
There are a lot of challenges, and yet there's nothing
like seeing students take their education and run with it.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
One last question. Laroche has a wonderful legacy and a
continuing legacy. But what is the one thing you want
people to know about Laroche.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
I think that Laroche is a very special place, and
I know this now in a way I didn't know
it when I accepted the job. We have have not
we have been very humble, and we have not advertised
gotten the word out about the amazing things that are
(32:12):
students and alumni do. And I don't know why we
have been so hesitant to put it out there and
so that's one of the things I'm really devoted to doing,
not only making sure, you know, together with my leadership
(32:33):
team and the whole Earroche community, making sure the institution
thrives into the future, but that we get the word
out about the amazing things that our students are doing
and our faculty. We've been too humble, too reticent, and
I'm working hard to change that. So check out my
LinkedIn posts, my Instagram posts, and come to Larrow to
(33:00):
visit our campus, engage with our community. We all have
a lot of energy, we have a great history, and
I think we've got a really bright future.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I love your energy. I really love your energy, and
that is indicative of the future of Laroche. Thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
We're very welcome, enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
This has been the CEOs you Should Know podcast, showcasing
businesses that are driving our regional economy, part of iHeartMedia's
commitment to the communities we serve. I'm Johnny Heartwell, thank
you so much for listening.
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