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Dr. Austin Lane, chancellor of Southern Illinois Carbondale, sat down with HigherEdJobs Podcast co-hosts Andy Hibel and Kelly Cherwin to discuss his experience in an executive leadership position and what those in the higher ed community might not know about the unique daily duties of a chancellorship.
Finding His Path
Kelly kicked off the conversation by asking Lane what initially drew him into this career path. Ironically, Lane said that higher education was not originally part of his life plan. He admitted that he “fell right into” higher ed after undergrad at Langston University.
His most memorable mentor, the late Dr. Ernest Holloway, had been president at the time Lane studied there and had told him one day he “ought to think about a career in student affairs,” and thus began Lane’s interest in leadership and student affairs roles.
Lane also noted that he did not begin at a four-year institution. He attended Odessa Junior College on a basketball scholarship — but after an injury and realizing the level of competition around him, he shifted his focus toward academics. That experience, he said, helped shape his passion for supporting students who may not follow a traditional path into higher education.
Centering Students
Next, Kelly asked Lane about his tradition of driving students to class in a golf cart on the first day of the semester and gauging their excitement for the year.
Lane joked that sometimes students think that he is the football coach because he is usually in school-sanctioned jerseys and a ball cap.
“I don’t even correct them,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who I am. I just thank them for being here. It is about serving students and their parents. I get to meet all their families. We help them move into the dorms. I feel like sometimes I’m not even working. I wonder why they pay me because I would do this for free.”
His comments about welcoming students and their families also led to a more personal reflection on his own family and how higher education shaped their lives.
Balancing Leadership and Family Life
Lane spoke candidly about how his mother and grandmother, by whom he was raised, did not have the opportunity to attend college. When he graduated, “they had tears in their eyes. They were just so excited about me completing what they did not get a chance to do. So, I really felt like I had a tremendous — not a bad burden, but a real one on my back — to make sure that I continue or start a legacy and then continue that legacy through my children.”
Lane has three children, two of whom have obtained master’s degrees and pursued careers in higher education, with the youngest currently enrolled in undergrad.
When asked about how he approached difficult relocations over the years, Lane said that the question lined up with one of the sections that he teaches in his higher education administration course for aspiring presidents or chancellors.
“It is difficult when we get to these conversations because it looks glamorous to be a chancellor or president, but it’s actually quite depressing sometimes because you’ve got to make decisions that may seem to be very selfish to pursue your career.”
His solution? He went first.
“I would take the job and go there by myself for a couple of months. And then when the coast was clear, I would bring them (my family) along with me.”
Leading Through Challenges
Andy then turned the conversation to the political aspect of leading a state university. He said that “so many of the conversations that are had in leadership roles have to do with governing boards, advising counsels, donors, alumni, and other external stakeholders.”
Lane then began to explain the realities, some of which were positive and some challenging, that people don’t always see or fully understand.
He said that he takes the time to find the “good, the bad, and the ugly” within any institution that he joins: “I do an extensive cultural examination of the environment and the institution. And I do it in the form of listening and learning sessions “with faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members, state representatives, and members of the board of trustees.
By gathering that feedback early, Lane said leaders can take the temperature of their campus and better understand its culture and history before implementing new initiatives. “The landscape of higher education has just changed so much from when I started to where it is today,” he said. “I always say fear is functional. It’s good to be a little paranoid. It keeps you on your toes — keeps you connected.”
When Kelly brought the conversation to how he stays connected on a daily basis with faculty and staff while also staying student-centered, Lane referenced the book “Reframing Organizations” by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal, which outlines four leadership “frames,” or ways leaders can view and manage their organizations. The four frames are structural, human resource, political, and symbolic.
“I’ve used those as my model of operations, and my theoretical foundation. You have to be visible. You have to be connected, and you must be genuine.”
Putting the four frames into practice, Lane said that he meets with faculty members and staff monthly.
“I get a chance to hear from them about what’s going great, what’s not going so great, and what we can do to strategically shift or fix what we need to repair,” he explained. “That’s what I’ve been able to live by. Over the last at least six years at Southern Illinois, we’ve got a great team, great faculty, staff, and students, and we have a really good time.”
Shaping His Legacy
When asked about the legacy he hopes to leave, Lane replied by saying, “You won’t remember your chancellor’s name in 20 years. I don’t remember mine. But you will remember how we treated you here. I always put students first. I want them to feel like that guy listened to me. That guy cared about me he acted when I needed help.”
He said that he hopes that this is true “not only for students from underrepresented populations, but all students, in that when they came to us from rural or urban backgrounds, we did everything that we could to make them successful so they could go out and start their lives.”
This hope plays a large part in alumni relations. “When you’re an alum and you’re maybe thinking about giving a donation to your alma mater., how you feel and how you leave here is going to determine how engaged you are.”
Reflecting on Lane’s answer, Andy said, “To be a catalyst to a life like that has to be very fulfilling and hopefully on those more challenging days inspires you to keep pushing towards that legacy you desire.”
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