July 1, 2024 • 24 mins
ASHLAND, Ohio – Jon Parrish Peede (pronounced PEE-dee), former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been selected as the next president of Ashland University and Ashland Theological Seminary. The AU Board of Trustees unanimously approved Peede’s appointment following a thorough search process conducted by a presidential search committee that included trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and a student representative. Peede will begin his role as president on June 1, 2024.
With more than 25 years in leadership positions in higher education and federal agencies, Peede brings a diverse set of experiences to Ashland. He has been a faculty member, fundraiser, public speaker, fiscally sound manager and strategic communicator. He is a proven consensus builder and thoughtful leader who develops relationships with a variety of stakeholders to achieve common goals.
Peede also maintains a value system that is in alignment with Ashland’s vision. In addition to being a champion for the liberal arts, he clearly grasps the value of the university’s graduate and professional programs. He believes that improved access to education, civil discourse and intellectual diversity of thought on campus, experiential learning opportunities for students and shared governance are all markers of institutional excellence.“
Jon Peede stood out in our presidential search. His past experiences as a leader and unifier will benefit Ashland University as we sharpen our focus on branding and navigate the changes in higher education,” said Jim Hess, chairman of the AU Board of Trustees. “Jon is an innovative and strategic thinker who will build on all the good that is currently in place and move us forward to a brighter tomorrow. Jon aligns well with our AU values and Brethren identity. He shares our passion for shaping graduates who work, serve and lead with integrity. Jon will lead our university community in passionately pursuing excellence in everything we do. Our Board welcomes Jon and Nancy to our Ashland University and Ashland Theological Seminary community.
”Peede’s career has spanned six institutions, and his impressive credentials are headlined by a term as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. He led the agency from July 2017 to January 2021. The NEH chairman position is presidentially nominated and Senate confirmed—Peede was unanimously confirmed within seven weeks of nomination, an example of the bipartisan support he received.
As NEH chairman, Peede had sole authority of awarding approximately 1,000 annual grants and managed a $237 million annual budget and 170-person full-time staff. He awarded $500 million in support of liberal arts education, undergraduate and graduate curriculum innovation, museum and library programming, documentary films and multimedia works, cultural infrastructure projects and humanities scholarship.
“I am honored to serve the Ashland students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and supporters. I admire the university’s steadfast commitment to its Christian heritage, liberal arts core, graduate programs and high teaching standards,” said Peede. “I look forward to building upon the momentum of Dr. Campo’s administration. And, I cannot wait to work with the faculty andstaff who give so much of themselves to mentor students and transform lives. Nancy and I are overjoyed about joining the Ashland community.
”As a high-ranking government official focused on public policy on the liberal arts, Peede spoke at dozens of campuses about the current direction of higher education. He partnered with leading academic bodies and private foundations to create innovative solutions, such as the “Cornerstone: Learning for Living” project with the Teagle Foundation. Inspired by a Purdue University program, Cornerstone reimagines the general education curriculum to develop student
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(00:00):
The CEO you should know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO John Parrish PD,President of Ashland University, and we
are excited this morning as we havethe new President of Ashland University with us
(00:21):
in studio. John Perish, PET, good morning and thank you for coming
in. How you doing today?I'm doing well. Thank you Erin for
having me in. First of all, you had to be excited right to
get this role. Overjoyed, it'shumbling too. Well, let's jump in
and we're going to learn about you, but we're going to learn about the
university as well. Now, AshlandUniversity has been around a long long time,
(00:44):
right, give us some history togive you a since how old Ashland
University is. It was founded ineighteen seventy eight, which means I'm the
thirty first person to be honored aspresident of the university. And it's really
been foundational to the region, intothe state. And when you look at
the achievements of our lums, thenyou're talking literally about international achievement. Yeah,
(01:08):
it's amazing and we're going to gothrough a lot of great information about
AU this morning. You think aboutin the classroom doing great, great work.
You think about athletics, there's beenOlympic champions I mean, you think
about AU. It's pretty cool,right it is. And that's the wonderful
part of Ashland University is how itmixes academic excellence and then the athletic achievement.
(01:33):
This idea that we're a community oflearners, that there's a sense of
fellowship and closeness, but at thesame time we have people that have done
extraordinary things with their lives after theyleft campus. I think it's that nurturing
environment where faculty care about you andstaff care about you, and somehow it
(01:56):
comes together in a way that isn'tbeing replicated on campuses. And I say
that as somebody who has spoken atmore than one hundred campuses in my career.
We are going to learn more aboutthe new President of Ashland University this
morning, John Perrish PD. Heis this week CEO. You should know,
all right, So we just foundout you are the thirty first president
(02:19):
of Ashland University opened as you mentionedback in the eighteen hundreds. Do we
know roughly how many students enroll eachyear at AU? Absolutely, we have
about sixty two hundred students all together, about eighty percent of those are undergraduate
students. And we also have anumber of graduate programs. We have an
(02:39):
MBA program, we have a seminary, we have a nursing school, and
we have other masters and doctoral degreessuch as an education And I think when
I talk about the NBA School,for example, that is really something that's
making a difference in the local businessworld. And we all need better teachers
(03:00):
if we can find them, andwe don't always reward our teachers financially the
way we might hope to. Butwhen I look at what our graduates are
doing in education and in nursing,how they make a difference in the lives
of our community, I just can'tsay enough about our students and our faculty.
All right, So let's move nextto staff and faculty. When you
(03:23):
throw in teachers and everybody employed,to au how many people we talk in
here for a staff. Well,so for the faculty, for example,
we have about one hundred and twentyfull time faculty members. When you add
part time faculty members, that numberhits about three hundred and all together,
when you include the staff and ourwonderful staff, we have about one thousand
(03:44):
people, so we make a realdifference to the local economy. But more
than that, this is the volunteerismof our communities. This is in many
ways the heart of our community interms of families staying in a rea for
a long time and being committed toeach other and of course to the state.
So a thousand people, and I'mprivileged to be a part of the
(04:08):
leadership. Yeah, lot to oversee. We'll talk about that here in just
a moment. The voice you hearis we chat this morning with John Perrish,
pet this week's CEO you should know, and just recently named the new
president of Ashland University. So youtook over officially June first. I could
drive that right, Yes, Itook over June first. So we're a
month end, okay, all right? And how have things gone so far?
(04:30):
A month? And I know it'sbeen busy, right, that's number
one. It's been wonderful. It'sbeen wonderful. I'm getting used to the
fact that even if we go groceryshopping, my wife and I at nine
o'clock, it's important, you know, I have nice khaki zone because I'm
going to run in somebody at thegrocery store. That wants to tell me
about their Ashland experience or their facultymember. So it's not a town where
(04:53):
you can be anonymous. So thatwarmth that I feel on campus, i
feel it when I'm going around thetown too. Awesome. Awesome, all
right. So how many buildings rightnow in total are on the AU campus.
We have about forty buildings on campus, and that includes wonderful athletic facilities.
For example, we have some stateof the arts classrooms and a new
(05:15):
lyceum, this wonderful cafe. Youfeel like you're in Paris. It has
the wonderful vibe and it's in ourlibrary, and I love, by the
way that students are coming to thelibrary as a hub of interaction. And
we've had a twenty million dollar beautificationproject and that's been extraordinary. The grounds
(05:38):
are beautiful as well, Lid andof course it's such a safe community and
so it just gives you a lotof pleasure. I go on weekends a
lot walking and I'll see people fromthe community just walking their dog or strolling
their kids because they know this isthis wonderful park like space and that AU
campus a gem in the Ashland community. The absolutely good conversation this morning with
(06:02):
this week's CEO. You should knowhis name is John Parrish PD. He
is the president of Ashland University.All right, So a question I know
I have many may wonder students,how far did they come from? Is
it just Ohio? Is it outsideof Ohio, is it outside of the
country? How far did they comefrom? All over the globe? Literally,
I was passing our soccer coach andhe had three students with him,
(06:26):
three different countries. I think twowere students, maybe one was a recruit.
And at the same time, wehave a lot of Ohio students,
we have students from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky. What I really like is
the legacy students, where they're saying, my grandfather went here, my mother
(06:47):
went here, my sister or mybrother, and this idea that something happened
in a transformative way in their lifeand they wanted their child or their grandchild
to have that. And I'm alwayspuzzled by these other universities in the country
that are saying, oh, wedon't know if legacy admissions, as some
(07:10):
of them have said, you canno longer weigh that. And I thought
when somebody says I've been in relationshipwith you for half a century. How
could you not want them to comehere? So I love the stories I
hear, and that includes, bythe way, many of our professors their
parents were mentors to other generations andthey've come back. And our professors could
(07:32):
be teaching anywhere in this country theydesired, and they came to be with
us. I love the story ofI went to AU. You know you
mentioned my kid went to AU thosekind of things. Great. Great story
this morning is we are learning aboutthe new president of Ashland University, John
pirishpet with us in studio. Thisweek's CEO. You should know. So
(07:54):
let's step away from work and findout a bit more about you. So
let's step back to the very beginning. I'm sure many people want to know
where was John Parish PD born.When people ask WHEREUND born, they sometimes
hear a Southern bit in my voice. Sometimes they don't. But I grew
up in a small Mississippi town,graduating a class of twenty eight people.
(08:16):
My dad was a town doctor.It was probably three or four thousand people
when I was born there maybe fifteenthousand now, and that was very formative
to me. You knew everybody inthose small communities, and they all knew
you. And that was a timecoming up in the seventies and eighties with
a mother in the neighborhood with disciplineany kid, you know, So you
(08:37):
had this idea that we were allin this together. I spent my career
half my career at universities and halfin the federal government funding universities and libraries
and museums. So I've been abook editor, I've been a director of
communications at a college. I've beena federal grant maker in the arts.
(09:00):
I was over scholarly publication at theUniversity of Virginia. And then my last
federal position, I was confirmed bythe US Senate to be Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Andthe last thing I'll add to that is
I was a rare case of havingunanimous support in the Senate, including both
(09:20):
parties here in Ohio and listeners ofa certain age. Well understand when I
say I'm a middle child, right. I was raised with this idea that
we try to get along with everyone, and we try to respect their differing
points of view. New AU PresidentJohn Parrish PD this week's CEO. You
should know with us in studio.So we found out born in Mississippi?
(09:43):
Where'd you go to high school atMississippi? I went to a school that
didn't exist anymore. And for collegeand for graduate school, I stayed in
the South. So I was atEventable University and then the University of Mississippi.
All right, terrific now, people, you mentioned all all the polices
you worked. What drew you toAshland University to apply for this job?
(10:05):
Great question? You know, mywife and I had moved back to Mississippi.
I was teaching and the Mississippi Deltaand the Land of the Blues,
and in a kind of slow,quiet life. I was consulting with museums
overseas and Vietnam and had a kindof a nice life. And then I
saw the opportunity at Ashland and theuniversity had brought me out as a lecturer
(10:28):
before, as a faculty member onediting and writing some years ago, and
it just didn't quite let go ofme the call of it. And you
think there's so many wonderful candidates theycould have picked that are already presidents,
that had a more traditional path,and my wife, who's an ordained minister.
(10:48):
You know, she said, youtalk about wanting to answer a calling,
and maybe this is a calling inyour life as a seminary has so
many things you believe in. Andso I have to credit Nancy as we've
been married twenty nine years, morethan half my life, and I can
tell you a lot of decisions cameout of that first good decision of marrying
her. And I have to saythat Nancy saw a truth that I was
(11:13):
still working toward, that this couldbe the next and I hope the final
job of my career. You knowwhat's interesting to me just listening to you
talk. You had been to theAU campus before you mentioned teaching things like
that. Then this opportunity comes andyou already had an experience at in Ashland,
right, So I'm sure that thathad to help a lot. It
(11:35):
really did. And in my federalcareer funded twenty museums, historical centers,
universities in the state. I havelectured at I think four of the universities,
and so I knew Ashland in thisparticular way, and I knew our
other institutions, great institutions in thestate, but in my entire career I
(11:58):
only applied to one and there's areason for that all. A terrific story
this morning is we are learning allabout the new president of Ashland University,
John Peerish PD. He is thisweek CEO. You should know all right,
So you gave a little bit awaythere. We found out where you're
from college, everything, we knowyou're married, So tell us more.
(12:18):
I don't know if you have kidsor not, but tell us more about
John and the family. Yes,So in terms of our family, so
my wife, Nancy Hollam Empedi,who's ordained. She used to be a
chaplain at Harvard University and when sheleft Harvard to come back to her native
South, we were both book editors. I was at a university press,
she was at a religious publishing houseand we met and dated. So there's
(12:43):
an example of dating working out inthe workplace. And it was a tiny
office. If it didn't work out, it was going to be super awkward.
But we've had this wonderful life togetherand we had our one child,
our daughter, Summerset, and she'sa violist. Nancy, And if if
(13:03):
you sit next to us in churchpew, you know we can't sing,
and we don't have any musical gifts. But our daughter does. So she's
a violist and she finished at auniversity of the United States, and then
she finished our masters last year inLondon at Guildhall, and she is pursuing
another master's in viola in Sydney,Australia as we speak all right now,
(13:26):
running a university is super busy.However, when you're not working and you
have some spare time, what doyou like to do? What are the
hobbies for you? My hobbies aregoing to be I think, less and
exciting to you and to our listeners. I spend a lot of my time
reading writing, So I think myhobbies and my workday just are extensions of
(13:50):
each other. I will admit whenI was younger I worked in hiking more.
When I was a younger man,you would go to a national park
and come back. I did asixty mile hike in the Grand Canyon with
a week with friends. In college. I hiked over Mountain Range between Slovakia
and Poland, and so I hadthose moments. Whether it's middle age or
(14:13):
not, or the busyness of myschedule, I do. I do less
of that but reading, writing andbook collecting. I haven't thought about being
a coin collector since I was aboy. But at Ashley we happened to
have a wonderful coin collection, andso that's brought back up to me the
idea that we can use this asa part of way of teaching us history.
(14:35):
For example, on campus. Ibet you a lot of people didn't
know about a coin collection at AshleyUniversity. They're probably hearing about this for
the first time. For many Iwould assume, right yes, and they
can make an appointment to access itat the library and it really is incredible.
And that's an example of I don'tknow when we've brought together people for
convening, but it seems like anatural thing we might do. So I
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think we're always trying to think ofways that we can enhance the community experience.
That could be a wonderful string quartetexperience. It could obviously be athletics,
but it could be something straightforward asa small part of our community and
they're going to drive from hundreds ofmiles probably to come together for something like
that. So Ashland is large enoughas a university to not be an evil
(15:22):
or do you want this or that, but a both and place. Terrific
conversation this morning as we are learningabout the new president of Ashland University for
just a couple more minutes, JohnPerrish pt this week's CEO. You should
know, so before I let yougo, I got a couple more questions.
Let's circle back to the university.No matter who I visit with right
now doesn't matter. If it's lawenforcement, it's somebody you know, running
(15:46):
a business, doesn't matter. Everybodyis looking for good people. And you
were telling me you guys are hiringright Nowaday, you correct, Absolutely,
we're hiring. And I would sayfor somebody who's interested, whether they have
a high schooler, they think oncelook at the university for good fit.
Whether somebody's looking for a position,go to www Ashland dot edu. You
(16:07):
can click under employment or HR andyou'll find that. The other part I
think is important to say. Sometimeswe see advertisements for jobs and you think,
oh, they already know who they'repicking, you know, and we
talk ourselves out of applying. Ialready said that I thought it was a
perfect match, and with my wifesaying, John, you really need to
step up and do this. That'swhat I would say to your listeners to
(16:30):
if you look at a position andit seems to fit for you. I
am yet to be told a singletime on a position that, oh,
we already know who we are hiring, and so I love that not only
do we have open positions, butthey're truly open in the sense that if
there's a talented person that has thatskill set, their applications can be looked
(16:51):
at. These are real searches.John Perish Pedi is the voice you hear
this morning, president of Ashland University, taking over on June first, and
I know you're just in that role, but we've talked about so much about
the university, about the history,the quality education, the unbelievable achievements in
athletics, and you mentioned, youknow, going out into the work world
(17:14):
maybe their kids come to AU andthe legacy. I always like to ask
people who run businesses. You aresomebody who oversees a university, and that's
a lot of people. What makesAshland University special? You know. I
know I'm a sports guy, soI think those unbelievable athletic facilities are just
incredible. I've there's been you know, former coaches le Owens, the former
(17:36):
football coaches to tell me that,you know, Ashland a Division two School
for Athletics has like division IE interms of the facilities and things like that,
but so much great works done inthe classroom. What makes AU unique.
If somebody is thinking about, youknow, going to college and getting
the degree, you have a coupleof minutes to tell us what do you
feel makes at Ashland University special?I can tell you after being here a
(18:00):
month at Ashland University that when Istarted, we had what was to me
a motto, and now even amonth later, I understand it to be
a way of living. We've talkedabout for decades that we have the accent
on the individual. And you wouldthink, well, that's how every campus
works. Let's be honest, right, you know they're going to try to
(18:21):
enricher life experience. But something abouthow we've said that and believed it and
committed to a decade after decade,that it's true that there is something happening
on this campus that personal interaction andsome of it I can tell you,
not just abstractly but statistically. Seventytwo percent of our students identify a student
(18:42):
faculty mentorship is a transformative experience forthem on our campus. And that's a
question that has asked across our peerinstitutions too. We can look at and
measure that against our peers. Sowhat does that mean. That means that
they're going to have an internship withour alam. That means when they have
that degree in our community and beyondour state, that people are going to
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say, I understand what that brandmeans. That's somebody that is personable,
that is committed, that has thisidea of public service. Right, we
have values, the growd of that. We were founded by the Brethren Church.
The idea of these Christian values,this commitment to each other, not
just to ourselves, that really resonates. And when you get a faculty and
(19:32):
a staff that feels that way,and then they hire others, they bring
in people that have that value system, so it becomes self replicating. So
again I'm saying what was a mottoin my mind before I really hear that
accent on the individual, I realizenow is a way of life, is
a point of view? Is afirm commitment? Well, I know I
(19:55):
got to let them go of takenup a lot of us morning, but
it's been just a great conversation learningabout the new president of Ashland University,
John Parrish, PD. He isthis week's CEO. You should know.
But I have to ask the question. You've overseen you mentioned, you know,
in the government, things like that. But I'm sure that the budget
of a university, all the youknow, buildings, there's forty there's all
(20:15):
these students in faculty. I'm surethat's a lot to oversee, right when
you ask about it's a lot tooversee. It's a blessing to oversee it.
I have a great team. Wedo it together. Our budgets about
one hundred million dollars a year.When I was in the federal government,
over say a three year period,I gave out about half a billion dollars
(20:37):
to university's libraries, museums. SoI've dealt with this number and you know,
larger numbers before. What I cansay is the team, we have,
their dedication, their skills set.It matches what I've experienced over twenty
five years across the country. Soit's quite manageable because we had the right
(20:57):
people in place. I'm glad wordedit that way because I visit with so
many business leaders in the community,mayors and what they all say, just
what you said, we have agood team in place. That's what makes
it run like a well oiled machinewhen you have a great team in place.
Now, as I let you go, I know you've only been roughly
on campus for about a month,but have you walked into the new athletic
(21:18):
facility, the indoor, the footballstadium. Just unbelievable, the you know,
for me being a sports guy,unbelievable facilities at Ashley University some of
the best, not only in thestate but across the country. And you're
absolutely right, the quality of thoseathletic facilities there are absolutely d one quality.
When I was a candidate and startedadvancing more, they showed me there's
(21:41):
a point in an interview where you'reno longer interviewing, they're also trying to
recruit you as a candidate. Andwhen they moved to that stage, they
took me to those athletic facilities.Absolutely and my wife and I live on
campus. Last night, I heareight o'clock at night, I hear this
kind of loud, positive noise,but uncommon one. And we had evidently
(22:03):
a high school cheer team that's herefor a summer camp, and you know,
their voices were carrying out of thisthis massive building, and so that's
the other part about Ashland having thesegreat athletic facilities. These become for our
local high schools a chance for themto have this experience in these these quality
institutions. And when I see themafterwards, they're just glowing. And I've
(22:29):
used it as a chance to talkto their coaches and the parents and tell
them that we hope will consider ouruniversity as their next home. And there's
a lot of great things happening inAshland. I'm sure if you haven't met
him yet, you will, theMayor Matt Miller. I visit with him
once a month. There has justbeen so much growth in positive energy in
Ashland. Right absolutely you mentioned MayorMatt Miller. We already have a great
(22:51):
relationship and he really talks about howAshland transformed his life. He has this
this powerful story. We have alot of kind of first generation college educated
people and that spiriture it's in him. You meet Matt, you know that
was always in him. But sometimeswe need that university, that nurturing environment
(23:15):
to pull that out of us.For somebody who'll say I believe in you
before you even believe in yourself.And also something I challenge you to say
you can make it to that nextlevel. You have that inside you,
and I think that's what I seein our faculty, and that's what I
hear from our lums, like themayor saying that I was supported when I
need to be supported, and Iwas challenged when I need to be challenged
(23:37):
to be my best self. I'mgoing to do everything I can to be
a voice of continuity. With thatoutstanding conversation this morning with the new President
of Ashland University, John Perrish PD, this week's CEO. You should know,
okay, as I let you go, we've talked about so much great
stuff with the university hiring right now. If somebody once to enroll in,
(24:02):
if they want to get the processstarted with any of this, the best
place to go is the school website. Correct, absolutely absolutely go to www
dot Ashland dot a edu. Allright, and we've enjoyed our visit this
morning, John PERRISHPDE been great.So you know, first of all,
meet you have you in, learnabout your great story the university. Thank
(24:22):
you for joining us and we wishyou continued success. Thank you, and
I appreciate iHeartRadio taking the time todo this interview. John Parrish PD President
of Ashland University. The CEO youshould know rita bio ce a photo and
here the extended interview at wm An FM dot com. This is John
(24:44):
Roby of RFME Insurance. It hassaid that a good leader sets the bar
high because he or she wants toreach goals and make the best of their
teams. We're proud to introduce youto some of the community's leaders on the
CEO series.
The CEO you should know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO John Parrish PD,President of Ashland University, and we
are excited this morning as we havethe new President of Ashland University with us
(00:21):
in studio. John Perish, PET, good morning and thank you for coming
in. How you doing today?I'm doing well. Thank you Erin for
having me in. First of all, you had to be excited right to
get this role. Overjoyed, it'shumbling too. Well, let's jump in
and we're going to learn about you, but we're going to learn about the
university as well. Now, AshlandUniversity has been around a long long time,
(00:44):
right, give us some history togive you a since how old Ashland
University is. It was founded ineighteen seventy eight, which means I'm the
thirty first person to be honored aspresident of the university. And it's really
been foundational to the region, intothe state. And when you look at
the achievements of our lums, thenyou're talking literally about international achievement. Yeah,
(01:08):
it's amazing and we're going to gothrough a lot of great information about
AU this morning. You think aboutin the classroom doing great, great work.
You think about athletics, there's beenOlympic champions I mean, you think
about AU. It's pretty cool,right it is. And that's the wonderful
part of Ashland University is how itmixes academic excellence and then the athletic achievement.
(01:33):
This idea that we're a community oflearners, that there's a sense of
fellowship and closeness, but at thesame time we have people that have done
extraordinary things with their lives after theyleft campus. I think it's that nurturing
environment where faculty care about you andstaff care about you, and somehow it
(01:56):
comes together in a way that isn'tbeing replicated on campuses. And I say
that as somebody who has spoken atmore than one hundred campuses in my career.
We are going to learn more aboutthe new President of Ashland University this
morning, John Perrish PD. Heis this week CEO. You should know,
all right, So we just foundout you are the thirty first president
(02:19):
of Ashland University opened as you mentionedback in the eighteen hundreds. Do we
know roughly how many students enroll eachyear at AU? Absolutely, we have
about sixty two hundred students all together, about eighty percent of those are undergraduate
students. And we also have anumber of graduate programs. We have an
(02:39):
MBA program, we have a seminary, we have a nursing school, and
we have other masters and doctoral degreessuch as an education And I think when
I talk about the NBA School,for example, that is really something that's
making a difference in the local businessworld. And we all need better teachers
(03:00):
if we can find them, andwe don't always reward our teachers financially the
way we might hope to. Butwhen I look at what our graduates are
doing in education and in nursing,how they make a difference in the lives
of our community, I just can'tsay enough about our students and our faculty.
All right, So let's move nextto staff and faculty. When you
(03:23):
throw in teachers and everybody employed,to au how many people we talk in
here for a staff. Well,so for the faculty, for example,
we have about one hundred and twentyfull time faculty members. When you add
part time faculty members, that numberhits about three hundred and all together,
when you include the staff and ourwonderful staff, we have about one thousand
(03:44):
people, so we make a realdifference to the local economy. But more
than that, this is the volunteerismof our communities. This is in many
ways the heart of our community interms of families staying in a rea for
a long time and being committed toeach other and of course to the state.
So a thousand people, and I'mprivileged to be a part of the
(04:08):
leadership. Yeah, lot to oversee. We'll talk about that here in just
a moment. The voice you hearis we chat this morning with John Perrish,
pet this week's CEO you should know, and just recently named the new
president of Ashland University. So youtook over officially June first. I could
drive that right, Yes, Itook over June first. So we're a
month end, okay, all right? And how have things gone so far?
(04:30):
A month? And I know it'sbeen busy, right, that's number
one. It's been wonderful. It'sbeen wonderful. I'm getting used to the
fact that even if we go groceryshopping, my wife and I at nine
o'clock, it's important, you know, I have nice khaki zone because I'm
going to run in somebody at thegrocery store. That wants to tell me
about their Ashland experience or their facultymember. So it's not a town where
(04:53):
you can be anonymous. So thatwarmth that I feel on campus, i
feel it when I'm going around thetown too. Awesome. Awesome, all
right. So how many buildings rightnow in total are on the AU campus.
We have about forty buildings on campus, and that includes wonderful athletic facilities.
For example, we have some stateof the arts classrooms and a new
(05:15):
lyceum, this wonderful cafe. Youfeel like you're in Paris. It has
the wonderful vibe and it's in ourlibrary, and I love, by the
way that students are coming to thelibrary as a hub of interaction. And
we've had a twenty million dollar beautificationproject and that's been extraordinary. The grounds
(05:38):
are beautiful as well, Lid andof course it's such a safe community and
so it just gives you a lotof pleasure. I go on weekends a
lot walking and I'll see people fromthe community just walking their dog or strolling
their kids because they know this isthis wonderful park like space and that AU
campus a gem in the Ashland community. The absolutely good conversation this morning with
(06:02):
this week's CEO. You should knowhis name is John Parrish PD. He
is the president of Ashland University.All right, So a question I know
I have many may wonder students,how far did they come from? Is
it just Ohio? Is it outsideof Ohio, is it outside of the
country? How far did they comefrom? All over the globe? Literally,
I was passing our soccer coach andhe had three students with him,
(06:26):
three different countries. I think twowere students, maybe one was a recruit.
And at the same time, wehave a lot of Ohio students,
we have students from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky. What I really like is
the legacy students, where they're saying, my grandfather went here, my mother
(06:47):
went here, my sister or mybrother, and this idea that something happened
in a transformative way in their lifeand they wanted their child or their grandchild
to have that. And I'm alwayspuzzled by these other universities in the country
that are saying, oh, wedon't know if legacy admissions, as some
(07:10):
of them have said, you canno longer weigh that. And I thought
when somebody says I've been in relationshipwith you for half a century. How
could you not want them to comehere? So I love the stories I
hear, and that includes, bythe way, many of our professors their
parents were mentors to other generations andthey've come back. And our professors could
(07:32):
be teaching anywhere in this country theydesired, and they came to be with
us. I love the story ofI went to AU. You know you
mentioned my kid went to AU thosekind of things. Great. Great story
this morning is we are learning aboutthe new president of Ashland University, John
pirishpet with us in studio. Thisweek's CEO. You should know. So
(07:54):
let's step away from work and findout a bit more about you. So
let's step back to the very beginning. I'm sure many people want to know
where was John Parish PD born.When people ask WHEREUND born, they sometimes
hear a Southern bit in my voice. Sometimes they don't. But I grew
up in a small Mississippi town,graduating a class of twenty eight people.
(08:16):
My dad was a town doctor.It was probably three or four thousand people
when I was born there maybe fifteenthousand now, and that was very formative
to me. You knew everybody inthose small communities, and they all knew
you. And that was a timecoming up in the seventies and eighties with
a mother in the neighborhood with disciplineany kid, you know, So you
(08:37):
had this idea that we were allin this together. I spent my career
half my career at universities and halfin the federal government funding universities and libraries
and museums. So I've been abook editor, I've been a director of
communications at a college. I've beena federal grant maker in the arts.
(09:00):
I was over scholarly publication at theUniversity of Virginia. And then my last
federal position, I was confirmed bythe US Senate to be Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Andthe last thing I'll add to that is
I was a rare case of havingunanimous support in the Senate, including both
(09:20):
parties here in Ohio and listeners ofa certain age. Well understand when I
say I'm a middle child, right. I was raised with this idea that
we try to get along with everyone, and we try to respect their differing
points of view. New AU PresidentJohn Parrish PD this week's CEO. You
should know with us in studio.So we found out born in Mississippi?
(09:43):
Where'd you go to high school atMississippi? I went to a school that
didn't exist anymore. And for collegeand for graduate school, I stayed in
the South. So I was atEventable University and then the University of Mississippi.
All right, terrific now, people, you mentioned all all the polices
you worked. What drew you toAshland University to apply for this job?
(10:05):
Great question? You know, mywife and I had moved back to Mississippi.
I was teaching and the Mississippi Deltaand the Land of the Blues,
and in a kind of slow,quiet life. I was consulting with museums
overseas and Vietnam and had a kindof a nice life. And then I
saw the opportunity at Ashland and theuniversity had brought me out as a lecturer
(10:28):
before, as a faculty member onediting and writing some years ago, and
it just didn't quite let go ofme the call of it. And you
think there's so many wonderful candidates theycould have picked that are already presidents,
that had a more traditional path,and my wife, who's an ordained minister.
(10:48):
You know, she said, youtalk about wanting to answer a calling,
and maybe this is a calling inyour life as a seminary has so
many things you believe in. Andso I have to credit Nancy as we've
been married twenty nine years, morethan half my life, and I can
tell you a lot of decisions cameout of that first good decision of marrying
her. And I have to saythat Nancy saw a truth that I was
(11:13):
still working toward, that this couldbe the next and I hope the final
job of my career. You knowwhat's interesting to me just listening to you
talk. You had been to theAU campus before you mentioned teaching things like
that. Then this opportunity comes andyou already had an experience at in Ashland,
right, So I'm sure that thathad to help a lot. It
(11:35):
really did. And in my federalcareer funded twenty museums, historical centers,
universities in the state. I havelectured at I think four of the universities,
and so I knew Ashland in thisparticular way, and I knew our
other institutions, great institutions in thestate, but in my entire career I
(11:58):
only applied to one and there's areason for that all. A terrific story
this morning is we are learning allabout the new president of Ashland University,
John Peerish PD. He is thisweek CEO. You should know all right,
So you gave a little bit awaythere. We found out where you're
from college, everything, we knowyou're married, So tell us more.
(12:18):
I don't know if you have kidsor not, but tell us more about
John and the family. Yes,So in terms of our family, so
my wife, Nancy Hollam Empedi,who's ordained. She used to be a
chaplain at Harvard University and when sheleft Harvard to come back to her native
South, we were both book editors. I was at a university press,
she was at a religious publishing houseand we met and dated. So there's
(12:43):
an example of dating working out inthe workplace. And it was a tiny
office. If it didn't work out, it was going to be super awkward.
But we've had this wonderful life togetherand we had our one child,
our daughter, Summerset, and she'sa violist. Nancy, And if if
(13:03):
you sit next to us in churchpew, you know we can't sing,
and we don't have any musical gifts. But our daughter does. So she's
a violist and she finished at auniversity of the United States, and then
she finished our masters last year inLondon at Guildhall, and she is pursuing
another master's in viola in Sydney,Australia as we speak all right now,
(13:26):
running a university is super busy.However, when you're not working and you
have some spare time, what doyou like to do? What are the
hobbies for you? My hobbies aregoing to be I think, less and
exciting to you and to our listeners. I spend a lot of my time
reading writing, So I think myhobbies and my workday just are extensions of
(13:50):
each other. I will admit whenI was younger I worked in hiking more.
When I was a younger man,you would go to a national park
and come back. I did asixty mile hike in the Grand Canyon with
a week with friends. In college. I hiked over Mountain Range between Slovakia
and Poland, and so I hadthose moments. Whether it's middle age or
(14:13):
not, or the busyness of myschedule, I do. I do less
of that but reading, writing andbook collecting. I haven't thought about being
a coin collector since I was aboy. But at Ashley we happened to
have a wonderful coin collection, andso that's brought back up to me the
idea that we can use this asa part of way of teaching us history.
(14:35):
For example, on campus. Ibet you a lot of people didn't
know about a coin collection at AshleyUniversity. They're probably hearing about this for
the first time. For many Iwould assume, right yes, and they
can make an appointment to access itat the library and it really is incredible.
And that's an example of I don'tknow when we've brought together people for
convening, but it seems like anatural thing we might do. So I
(14:58):
think we're always trying to think ofways that we can enhance the community experience.
That could be a wonderful string quartetexperience. It could obviously be athletics,
but it could be something straightforward asa small part of our community and
they're going to drive from hundreds ofmiles probably to come together for something like
that. So Ashland is large enoughas a university to not be an evil
(15:22):
or do you want this or that, but a both and place. Terrific
conversation this morning as we are learningabout the new president of Ashland University for
just a couple more minutes, JohnPerrish pt this week's CEO. You should
know, so before I let yougo, I got a couple more questions.
Let's circle back to the university.No matter who I visit with right
now doesn't matter. If it's lawenforcement, it's somebody you know, running
(15:46):
a business, doesn't matter. Everybodyis looking for good people. And you
were telling me you guys are hiringright Nowaday, you correct, Absolutely,
we're hiring. And I would sayfor somebody who's interested, whether they have
a high schooler, they think oncelook at the university for good fit.
Whether somebody's looking for a position,go to www Ashland dot edu. You
(16:07):
can click under employment or HR andyou'll find that. The other part I
think is important to say. Sometimeswe see advertisements for jobs and you think,
oh, they already know who they'repicking, you know, and we
talk ourselves out of applying. Ialready said that I thought it was a
perfect match, and with my wifesaying, John, you really need to
step up and do this. That'swhat I would say to your listeners to
(16:30):
if you look at a position andit seems to fit for you. I
am yet to be told a singletime on a position that, oh,
we already know who we are hiring, and so I love that not only
do we have open positions, butthey're truly open in the sense that if
there's a talented person that has thatskill set, their applications can be looked
(16:51):
at. These are real searches.John Perish Pedi is the voice you hear
this morning, president of Ashland University, taking over on June first, and
I know you're just in that role, but we've talked about so much about
the university, about the history,the quality education, the unbelievable achievements in
athletics, and you mentioned, youknow, going out into the work world
(17:14):
maybe their kids come to AU andthe legacy. I always like to ask
people who run businesses. You aresomebody who oversees a university, and that's
a lot of people. What makesAshland University special? You know. I
know I'm a sports guy, soI think those unbelievable athletic facilities are just
incredible. I've there's been you know, former coaches le Owens, the former
(17:36):
football coaches to tell me that,you know, Ashland a Division two School
for Athletics has like division IE interms of the facilities and things like that,
but so much great works done inthe classroom. What makes AU unique.
If somebody is thinking about, youknow, going to college and getting
the degree, you have a coupleof minutes to tell us what do you
feel makes at Ashland University special?I can tell you after being here a
(18:00):
month at Ashland University that when Istarted, we had what was to me
a motto, and now even amonth later, I understand it to be
a way of living. We've talkedabout for decades that we have the accent
on the individual. And you wouldthink, well, that's how every campus
works. Let's be honest, right, you know they're going to try to
(18:21):
enricher life experience. But something abouthow we've said that and believed it and
committed to a decade after decade,that it's true that there is something happening
on this campus that personal interaction andsome of it I can tell you,
not just abstractly but statistically. Seventytwo percent of our students identify a student
(18:42):
faculty mentorship is a transformative experience forthem on our campus. And that's a
question that has asked across our peerinstitutions too. We can look at and
measure that against our peers. Sowhat does that mean. That means that
they're going to have an internship withour alam. That means when they have
that degree in our community and beyondour state, that people are going to
(19:06):
say, I understand what that brandmeans. That's somebody that is personable,
that is committed, that has thisidea of public service. Right, we
have values, the growd of that. We were founded by the Brethren Church.
The idea of these Christian values,this commitment to each other, not
just to ourselves, that really resonates. And when you get a faculty and
(19:32):
a staff that feels that way,and then they hire others, they bring
in people that have that value system, so it becomes self replicating. So
again I'm saying what was a mottoin my mind before I really hear that
accent on the individual, I realizenow is a way of life, is
a point of view? Is afirm commitment? Well, I know I
(19:55):
got to let them go of takenup a lot of us morning, but
it's been just a great conversation learningabout the new president of Ashland University,
John Parrish, PD. He isthis week's CEO. You should know.
But I have to ask the question. You've overseen you mentioned, you know,
in the government, things like that. But I'm sure that the budget
of a university, all the youknow, buildings, there's forty there's all
(20:15):
these students in faculty. I'm surethat's a lot to oversee, right when
you ask about it's a lot tooversee. It's a blessing to oversee it.
I have a great team. Wedo it together. Our budgets about
one hundred million dollars a year.When I was in the federal government,
over say a three year period,I gave out about half a billion dollars
(20:37):
to university's libraries, museums. SoI've dealt with this number and you know,
larger numbers before. What I cansay is the team, we have,
their dedication, their skills set.It matches what I've experienced over twenty
five years across the country. Soit's quite manageable because we had the right
(20:57):
people in place. I'm glad wordedit that way because I visit with so
many business leaders in the community,mayors and what they all say, just
what you said, we have agood team in place. That's what makes
it run like a well oiled machinewhen you have a great team in place.
Now, as I let you go, I know you've only been roughly
on campus for about a month,but have you walked into the new athletic
(21:18):
facility, the indoor, the footballstadium. Just unbelievable, the you know,
for me being a sports guy,unbelievable facilities at Ashley University some of
the best, not only in thestate but across the country. And you're
absolutely right, the quality of thoseathletic facilities there are absolutely d one quality.
When I was a candidate and startedadvancing more, they showed me there's
(21:41):
a point in an interview where you'reno longer interviewing, they're also trying to
recruit you as a candidate. Andwhen they moved to that stage, they
took me to those athletic facilities.Absolutely and my wife and I live on
campus. Last night, I heareight o'clock at night, I hear this
kind of loud, positive noise,but uncommon one. And we had evidently
(22:03):
a high school cheer team that's herefor a summer camp, and you know,
their voices were carrying out of thisthis massive building, and so that's
the other part about Ashland having thesegreat athletic facilities. These become for our
local high schools a chance for themto have this experience in these these quality
institutions. And when I see themafterwards, they're just glowing. And I've
(22:29):
used it as a chance to talkto their coaches and the parents and tell
them that we hope will consider ouruniversity as their next home. And there's
a lot of great things happening inAshland. I'm sure if you haven't met
him yet, you will, theMayor Matt Miller. I visit with him
once a month. There has justbeen so much growth in positive energy in
Ashland. Right absolutely you mentioned MayorMatt Miller. We already have a great
(22:51):
relationship and he really talks about howAshland transformed his life. He has this
this powerful story. We have alot of kind of first generation college educated
people and that spiriture it's in him. You meet Matt, you know that
was always in him. But sometimeswe need that university, that nurturing environment
(23:15):
to pull that out of us.For somebody who'll say I believe in you
before you even believe in yourself.And also something I challenge you to say
you can make it to that nextlevel. You have that inside you,
and I think that's what I seein our faculty, and that's what I
hear from our lums, like themayor saying that I was supported when I
need to be supported, and Iwas challenged when I need to be challenged
(23:37):
to be my best self. I'mgoing to do everything I can to be
a voice of continuity. With thatoutstanding conversation this morning with the new President
of Ashland University, John Perrish PD, this week's CEO. You should know,
okay, as I let you go, we've talked about so much great
stuff with the university hiring right now. If somebody once to enroll in,
(24:02):
if they want to get the processstarted with any of this, the best
place to go is the school website. Correct, absolutely absolutely go to www
dot Ashland dot a edu. Allright, and we've enjoyed our visit this
morning, John PERRISHPDE been great.So you know, first of all,
meet you have you in, learnabout your great story the university. Thank
(24:22):
you for joining us and we wishyou continued success. Thank you, and
I appreciate iHeartRadio taking the time todo this interview. John Parrish PD President
of Ashland University. The CEO youshould know rita bio ce a photo and
here the extended interview at wm An FM dot com. This is John
(24:44):
Roby of RFME Insurance. It hassaid that a good leader sets the bar
high because he or she wants toreach goals and make the best of their
teams. We're proud to introduce youto some of the community's leaders on the
CEO series.
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