June 27, 2023 • 15 mins
In this episode, Chancellor May sits down with Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Director Lina Mendez. Lina is leading UC Davis toward becoming a federally designated HSI and talks about what it means to be an HSI and her vision for the future.
Avanza en UC Davis: https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/hsi
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” a UC Davis podcast
featuring students, staff and faculty innovators.
I’m your host, Chancellor Gary May.
Stay tuned for my next guest.
Hola, buenos días. My name is Lina
Mendez. I came to Davis in 2003
(00:23):
to pursue my Ph.D.
in education, which means that
I’ve been here for 20 years.
My research at the time looked at
the access Latino English-learners
had to higher education.
I then became a postdoctoral scholar
at the medical center and did
research on Latinos and
mental health.
I came back to the Davis campus
(00:43):
and became the inaugural associate
director for the Center for Chicanx
and Latinx Academic Student Success,
also known as “El Centro.”
And now I’m the inaugural
Hispanic-Serving Institution
director — or HSI.
And for me, all of this has me
coming full circle from access
to servingness all the way to
(01:04):
graduation.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” Lina.
Gracias.
Thanks for being here.
And thanks for all the work you’re
doing for us in DEI and especially
your new role — or not so new
anymore role in being our
HSI director.
That’s really appreciated by the
campus, and it’s really helping us
(01:25):
pursue our overall DEI
goals.
I want to start with some questions
about you personally. I want to
hear about your journey and sort
of what led you into higher ed,
and how did you get to where you are
today?
Yes, so I’m originally from Idaho.
So a lot of people
are always surprised by that.
And there are Latinos in Idaho, and
(01:47):
I lived there until I was 8.
And then I moved to Mexico, and I
lived in Mexico for six years to be
with my mom, who had gone
back.
And I believe that that
transnational education — living in
Mexico for six years and coming back
to Idaho and experiencing
the educational system in Idaho — is
what really made me want
(02:07):
to become an educator.
So I remember thinking in high
school (02:10):
I want to be a teacher.
I don’t want — a bilingual educator
— I don’t want a student to
feel like they are not smart enough
because they don’t know the language.
So to me, education became
a way of
really helping other people.
And how did you get from Idaho to UC
Davis?
So I decided to do a national
student exchange program.
So I went from Boise State
(02:31):
University to New Mexico State
University.
And I was only going to be there for
a year and then come back and finish
my degree.
But I was really fortunate to
receive the Gates Millennium
Scholarship the inaugural year that
it was given out, and
it allowed me to transfer to New
Mexico State and graduate from New
Mexico State. And I loved it,
because New Mexico is completely
(02:52):
different than Idaho.
And I loved the Native American
community, the Chicano/Latino
community, the borderlands.
So it was just really, to me, as
a bilingual educator at the time, it
was the perfect place to be.
And after that, the scholarship
allowed me to go to Harvard, and it
was going to pay for all of my
master’s and my Ph.D.
So I went to Harvard, and it was
(03:13):
extremely difficult and hard and
challenging to be in these spaces,
where people had gone to Ivy League
schools, and I had gone to a state
school.
I felt like I was
so far away from my family.
And I remember calling my family
within my first week at Harvard and
saying, I don’t think I can do this.
This is really hard.
And I remember my older brother
telling me (03:32):
You better finish what
you started.
And I remember crying and thinking,
oh no, I better finish this.
And from Harvard, I was
recruited to come to Davis by a
Chicana/Latina faculty member,
Patricia Gandara.
And she did a lot of research on
Chicano/Latinos in higher education,
and eventually she went to UCLA.
But to me, that’s how
(03:53):
I ended up in Davis.
And I stayed here, and I never left.
Well, as an older brother myself, I
can tell you how important we are to
our sisters.
Absolutely. I agree.
Your first administrative role here
was El Centro associate director.
And I know you still keep in touch
with the students, and you still
visit the center from time to time.
Tell us about that experience and
that relationship, and why
(04:15):
that’s an important part of what we
do here at Davis.
I want to backtrack a little bit.
After I finished my postdoc at the
medical center, I was trying to get
jobs back in the Davis campus to
work with students.
And I found myself overqualified
with the Ph.D.
and underqualified, because I didn’t
have student affairs experience.
And I wasn’t getting interviews.
I wasn’t really landing the jobs
(04:35):
I wanted.
So I came back as a temporary
employee.
So I ended up at Undergraduate
Education at the Center for
Educational Effectiveness, helping
to train TAs and doing some
of the faculty learning communities.
And I was there for about a
year. And at the time,
they had someone from Organizational
Excellence coaching
some of the staff.
(04:57):
And I remember her asking me:
What kind of job do you want to do?
And I remember thinking, I’ll do
anything. I just need a job.
And she said (05:03):
But what do you really
like to do? And I remember telling
her, I want to work with
Chicano/Latino students.
I want to have flexibility, because
I have young children.
And I want to
make a difference in the life of
young people.
Why don’t you apply
for jobs like that?
And I remember asking her (05:21):
I can do
that?
And she’s like, of course you can.
And honestly, it was one of those
“aha” moments in my life, where
a part of me was looking around
thinking (05:30):
Which one is a good fit
for me?
And within a couple of months, the
associate director position opened.
It was brand new.
And I said, this is exactly
what I’ve been looking for and
what I’ve been wanting.
And I applied, and I was really
fortunate to get the job.
And the rest is history.
Wow, that’s really impressive.
And we’re glad that it worked out.
(05:51):
... Yes. ... It worked out for us as
well as you.
And now fast forward to today:
You’re HSI director.
Talk about the UC Davis journey
to being an HSI, and
what your role in that is,
and why that’s important.
So HSI stands for Hispanic-Serving
Institution, which is a federal
designation given by the
(06:12):
government once you reach
25% of Chicano/Latino
undergrads.
And I have to say that UC Davis has
really been proactive
and leading the way.
And a lot of it — to your
leadership, Chancellor May, is —
a lot of schools across the U.S.
tend to be HSIs once they receive
(06:32):
their first grant.
So they get their grant, and then
they hire a director or someone
to lead it.
And UC Davis did it the other way
around.
They wanted to be intentional about
how do we get to HSI
in a thoughtful manner that
will sit well with our campus
community, who we are and
how we move forward.
So to me it feels like
(06:54):
becoming an HSI,
and thinking about it, and
planning with community and with
students and staff and faculty
— and taking into consideration what
do they value.
Becoming HSI is not just
about the grants — which a lot of
people think that, right.
They can think — especially
students, you know, they’ve told me
before (07:13):
You’ve all gotten the
money. How are you serving me?
And so it’s a lot of
having to communicate with people
about what it means.
It has never just been about the
money. It’s about how do we
transform people’s experiences.
And, for
me, when I’ve been looking at UC
Davis from a Chicano/Latino
(07:34):
lens, we have such a rich
history dating back to
the ’60s and all the way until
now.
I was recently just reading an
article on the future professors
— Professors for the Future — and
I had no idea that it was actually
started because of a group of
Chicano/Latino graduate students who
said, we have no idea how
(07:55):
to become faculty in academia.
And I just read that last night, and
I was like, this is kind of,
you know, how we’ve been built in
the fabric of UC Davis.
And how important it is for us to
get that designation to
allow us to just open doors
for different opportunities for
students to do research, to get
(08:15):
TAships, to get GSRs,
to become researchers
that are funded by grants, and
to collaborate with our other UC
sisters. We have five of the
campuses that are currently HSIs.
So four of us are emerging, and
we’re on our way.
Yeah, I like to think more in the
HSI acronym about the “S,” the
serving part.
Right? And really, it’s about
(08:37):
serving that student community
regardless of the other
circumstances around grants and 25%
of the threshold.
We still have 8,000
students that are in that community
that need our
attention. So I think that’s the
most important part.
And you’re serving them
very well in your role.
(08:57):
Let’s pretend, though, that we’ve
reached the milestone.
We’ve got the 25%, and
five to 10 years from now after
that milestone:
What would you like to see our
campus looking like?
Yes.
I remember asking you this question
a few years ago.
I would really like for our students
(09:18):
to feel like they can
see people, faculty,
that look like them — administrators
that look like them.
I would love for them to see
buildings that are named after a
Chicano/Latino person
on our campus.
I would like for some of the food,
for some of the drinks — you know, I
think of café de olla, Mexican hot
chocolate.
(09:39):
Obviously, pan dulce is something
they always want in Davis.
For those who don’t know Davis, we
don’t have a bakery, a Mexican
panaderia in Davis.
So we have to go to our — you know,
Dixon or Woodland — our neighbor
cities across
the road. So it’s, to
me, I feel like those are the
moments where people start really
(09:59):
feeling like they belong.
That the university is here
to serve them and their needs.
And that’s how we’ll know that we
are successful as
an HSI.
Well, you know, I think making
people feel like
they can eat the foods that they’re
used to, making people feel
like they can approach
different people, speak different
(10:19):
languages, engage in different ways.
And to have us mentoring each other
and championing each other across
campus, not just for
Chicano/Latinos, but I think for
every student, right, is (10:27):
How do we
continue to,
you know, thrive as a
minority-serving institution?
... Yeah.
I say all the time when we talk
about diversity (10:36):
Diversity includes
everybody.
... Absolutely. ... It’s not just
marginalized students.
It’s not just one particular group
of students. It’s everybody.
I want to play a little game, sort
of. ... OK. ...
We have a tradition in the “Face to
Face” interviews where — what we
call the “Hot Seat.” And
I’m going to ask you some questions,
rapid-fire, looking for like
a one-word or one-sentence answer.
(10:58):
Are you ready? ... I’m ready.
Let’s do it. ... OK.
It’s about to be summertime.
What is your dream vacation spot?
Oh, I love —
I love the ocean.
I actually really love Point Reyes.
Point Reyes is one of my favorite
places.
OK. ... Yes. ... You like the beach?
... I do. Love it.
... Yeah, my wife is the same way.
(11:18):
What’s on your summer reading list?
Oh, yes.
That’s such a good one.
There’s a transforming HSIs
book that just came out by Gina
Garcia.
I also love poetry.
So Amanda Gorman is someone
I absolutely want to read.
So I’ve read some of her other
books. So I think for now, those
(11:39):
are it.
She’s fantastic.
... She is.
... Favorite food or
meal cooked on the grill?
Oh, on the grill.
I would have to say chicken.
I love chicken. ... Yeah? ...
Yes.
... Where do you like to cool off on
those 100-plus-degree Davis
days?
You know what?
(11:59):
I have to say that
the Arboretum provides some
wonderful shade.
And I love the
Arboretum at UC Davis.
I would also have to say that
movie theaters are also a great
place. My husband loves watching
movies, so once in a while I go
with him.
Yeah. What kind of movies?
Oh, he loves every kind of movie.
(12:21):
He can quote things from movies, and
a part of me, I’ll watch it again
and say, I don’t remember that part.
I don’t remember that movie.
So we’re totally different.
Totally different.
Yeah. That’s a good place to cool
off though. ... Yes. ...
And I ask this question of all my
guests (12:32):
What’s at the top of your
playlist right now?
This week has been Shakira.
... OK. ... She is doing a song with
her son, "Acróstico."
It’s in Spanish.
And there’s a sentence in there that
she says:
One plate broke, but not
the entire set.
And she talks about how sometimes we
run and we never get there.
And also how it is
(12:54):
wise people to learn how to forgive.
Wow.
You pay attention to the lyrics.
Yes. Yes.
OK, now it’s your turn.
You can ask me any question you
would like.
Great. OK.
So I wrote down my questions.
... OK. ... So as
a leader, mentoring and championing
is really important to you.
How has that influenced you as a
leader?
Well, I have to say that I owe much
(13:15):
of my own success to having good
mentors in my career.
And I think if you’d ask anybody in
a leadership role — in fact,
they do these surveys of Fortune 500
CEOs and people like
that. And they ask them about, you
know, what was key to your success.
And everyone says having a mentor or
sponsor, more importantly.
And that drives me to be a good
mentor, be a good sponsor to
(13:36):
people that are following me.
And I really get a charge out of
seeing my former students
and people I’ve worked with become
deans and become leaders in academia
and start businesses.
And they often let me know how
they’re doing.
And that just makes my day when I
hear about that. So I think that’s
so important. So I try to make sure
that’s an important aspect of what
we do here at UC Davis.
Yes, your chancellor shadowing
(13:57):
program has been really successful,
I hear from students.
Thank you. Yeah, that’s one example.
I think students — we want to
demystify what these jobs are to our
students, so we let them follow us
around for a day and see how
interesting it is, and maybe not
as exciting as they thought it was
going to be.
Yes.
So my next question is:
When you go through hard times as a
(14:18):
leader, how do you get through it?
You know, there’s lots of things I
do, and there are plenty of hard
times.
I think exercise is important.
It allows — it’s a therapy for me.
It allows me to work off some steam,
let off some steam.
I think I also —
I’m pretty introspective and
spiritual. So, you know, I pray.
(14:39):
And then I have to give credit
to my partner, my wife.
She’s the sounding board.
She gets a lot of the venting
that I like to do when things are
not going well. And she takes it
well, and she helps me, gives me
good advice and helps me get through
some of those hard times.
... Wonderful. ... It’s been a real
pleasure talking with you, Lina.
I really enjoyed the conversation.
(15:03):
Thanks to everyone for listening.
Tune in next time on “Face to Face.”Go, Ags!
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” a UC Davis podcast
featuring students, staff and faculty innovators.
I’m your host, Chancellor Gary May.
Stay tuned for my next guest.
Hola, buenos días. My name is Lina
Mendez. I came to Davis in 2003
(00:23):
to pursue my Ph.D.
in education, which means that
I’ve been here for 20 years.
My research at the time looked at
the access Latino English-learners
had to higher education.
I then became a postdoctoral scholar
at the medical center and did
research on Latinos and
mental health.
I came back to the Davis campus
(00:43):
and became the inaugural associate
director for the Center for Chicanx
and Latinx Academic Student Success,
also known as “El Centro.”
And now I’m the inaugural
Hispanic-Serving Institution
director — or HSI.
And for me, all of this has me
coming full circle from access
to servingness all the way to
(01:04):
graduation.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” Lina.
Gracias.
Thanks for being here.
And thanks for all the work you’re
doing for us in DEI and especially
your new role — or not so new
anymore role in being our
HSI director.
That’s really appreciated by the
campus, and it’s really helping us
(01:25):
pursue our overall DEI
goals.
I want to start with some questions
about you personally. I want to
hear about your journey and sort
of what led you into higher ed,
and how did you get to where you are
today?
Yes, so I’m originally from Idaho.
So a lot of people
are always surprised by that.
And there are Latinos in Idaho, and
(01:47):
I lived there until I was 8.
And then I moved to Mexico, and I
lived in Mexico for six years to be
with my mom, who had gone
back.
And I believe that that
transnational education — living in
Mexico for six years and coming back
to Idaho and experiencing
the educational system in Idaho — is
what really made me want
(02:07):
to become an educator.
So I remember thinking in high
school (02:10):
I want to be a teacher.
I don’t want — a bilingual educator
— I don’t want a student to
feel like they are not smart enough
because they don’t know the language.
So to me, education became
a way of
really helping other people.
And how did you get from Idaho to UC
Davis?
So I decided to do a national
student exchange program.
So I went from Boise State
(02:31):
University to New Mexico State
University.
And I was only going to be there for
a year and then come back and finish
my degree.
But I was really fortunate to
receive the Gates Millennium
Scholarship the inaugural year that
it was given out, and
it allowed me to transfer to New
Mexico State and graduate from New
Mexico State. And I loved it,
because New Mexico is completely
(02:52):
different than Idaho.
And I loved the Native American
community, the Chicano/Latino
community, the borderlands.
So it was just really, to me, as
a bilingual educator at the time, it
was the perfect place to be.
And after that, the scholarship
allowed me to go to Harvard, and it
was going to pay for all of my
master’s and my Ph.D.
So I went to Harvard, and it was
(03:13):
extremely difficult and hard and
challenging to be in these spaces,
where people had gone to Ivy League
schools, and I had gone to a state
school.
I felt like I was
so far away from my family.
And I remember calling my family
within my first week at Harvard and
saying, I don’t think I can do this.
This is really hard.
And I remember my older brother
telling me (03:32):
You better finish what
you started.
And I remember crying and thinking,
oh no, I better finish this.
And from Harvard, I was
recruited to come to Davis by a
Chicana/Latina faculty member,
Patricia Gandara.
And she did a lot of research on
Chicano/Latinos in higher education,
and eventually she went to UCLA.
But to me, that’s how
(03:53):
I ended up in Davis.
And I stayed here, and I never left.
Well, as an older brother myself, I
can tell you how important we are to
our sisters.
Absolutely. I agree.
Your first administrative role here
was El Centro associate director.
And I know you still keep in touch
with the students, and you still
visit the center from time to time.
Tell us about that experience and
that relationship, and why
(04:15):
that’s an important part of what we
do here at Davis.
I want to backtrack a little bit.
After I finished my postdoc at the
medical center, I was trying to get
jobs back in the Davis campus to
work with students.
And I found myself overqualified
with the Ph.D.
and underqualified, because I didn’t
have student affairs experience.
And I wasn’t getting interviews.
I wasn’t really landing the jobs
(04:35):
I wanted.
So I came back as a temporary
employee.
So I ended up at Undergraduate
Education at the Center for
Educational Effectiveness, helping
to train TAs and doing some
of the faculty learning communities.
And I was there for about a
year. And at the time,
they had someone from Organizational
Excellence coaching
some of the staff.
(04:57):
And I remember her asking me:
What kind of job do you want to do?
And I remember thinking, I’ll do
anything. I just need a job.
And she said (05:03):
But what do you really
like to do? And I remember telling
her, I want to work with
Chicano/Latino students.
I want to have flexibility, because
I have young children.
And I want to
make a difference in the life of
young people.
Why don’t you apply
for jobs like that?
And I remember asking her (05:21):
I can do
that?
And she’s like, of course you can.
And honestly, it was one of those
“aha” moments in my life, where
a part of me was looking around
thinking (05:30):
Which one is a good fit
for me?
And within a couple of months, the
associate director position opened.
It was brand new.
And I said, this is exactly
what I’ve been looking for and
what I’ve been wanting.
And I applied, and I was really
fortunate to get the job.
And the rest is history.
Wow, that’s really impressive.
And we’re glad that it worked out.
(05:51):
... Yes. ... It worked out for us as
well as you.
And now fast forward to today:
You’re HSI director.
Talk about the UC Davis journey
to being an HSI, and
what your role in that is,
and why that’s important.
So HSI stands for Hispanic-Serving
Institution, which is a federal
designation given by the
(06:12):
government once you reach
25% of Chicano/Latino
undergrads.
And I have to say that UC Davis has
really been proactive
and leading the way.
And a lot of it — to your
leadership, Chancellor May, is —
a lot of schools across the U.S.
tend to be HSIs once they receive
(06:32):
their first grant.
So they get their grant, and then
they hire a director or someone
to lead it.
And UC Davis did it the other way
around.
They wanted to be intentional about
how do we get to HSI
in a thoughtful manner that
will sit well with our campus
community, who we are and
how we move forward.
So to me it feels like
(06:54):
becoming an HSI,
and thinking about it, and
planning with community and with
students and staff and faculty
— and taking into consideration what
do they value.
Becoming HSI is not just
about the grants — which a lot of
people think that, right.
They can think — especially
students, you know, they’ve told me
before (07:13):
You’ve all gotten the
money. How are you serving me?
And so it’s a lot of
having to communicate with people
about what it means.
It has never just been about the
money. It’s about how do we
transform people’s experiences.
And, for
me, when I’ve been looking at UC
Davis from a Chicano/Latino
(07:34):
lens, we have such a rich
history dating back to
the ’60s and all the way until
now.
I was recently just reading an
article on the future professors
— Professors for the Future — and
I had no idea that it was actually
started because of a group of
Chicano/Latino graduate students who
said, we have no idea how
(07:55):
to become faculty in academia.
And I just read that last night, and
I was like, this is kind of,
you know, how we’ve been built in
the fabric of UC Davis.
And how important it is for us to
get that designation to
allow us to just open doors
for different opportunities for
students to do research, to get
(08:15):
TAships, to get GSRs,
to become researchers
that are funded by grants, and
to collaborate with our other UC
sisters. We have five of the
campuses that are currently HSIs.
So four of us are emerging, and
we’re on our way.
Yeah, I like to think more in the
HSI acronym about the “S,” the
serving part.
Right? And really, it’s about
(08:37):
serving that student community
regardless of the other
circumstances around grants and 25%
of the threshold.
We still have 8,000
students that are in that community
that need our
attention. So I think that’s the
most important part.
And you’re serving them
very well in your role.
(08:57):
Let’s pretend, though, that we’ve
reached the milestone.
We’ve got the 25%, and
five to 10 years from now after
that milestone:
What would you like to see our
campus looking like?
Yes.
I remember asking you this question
a few years ago.
I would really like for our students
(09:18):
to feel like they can
see people, faculty,
that look like them — administrators
that look like them.
I would love for them to see
buildings that are named after a
Chicano/Latino person
on our campus.
I would like for some of the food,
for some of the drinks — you know, I
think of café de olla, Mexican hot
chocolate.
(09:39):
Obviously, pan dulce is something
they always want in Davis.
For those who don’t know Davis, we
don’t have a bakery, a Mexican
panaderia in Davis.
So we have to go to our — you know,
Dixon or Woodland — our neighbor
cities across
the road. So it’s, to
me, I feel like those are the
moments where people start really
(09:59):
feeling like they belong.
That the university is here
to serve them and their needs.
And that’s how we’ll know that we
are successful as
an HSI.
Well, you know, I think making
people feel like
they can eat the foods that they’re
used to, making people feel
like they can approach
different people, speak different
(10:19):
languages, engage in different ways.
And to have us mentoring each other
and championing each other across
campus, not just for
Chicano/Latinos, but I think for
every student, right, is (10:27):
How do we
continue to,
you know, thrive as a
minority-serving institution?
... Yeah.
I say all the time when we talk
about diversity (10:36):
Diversity includes
everybody.
... Absolutely. ... It’s not just
marginalized students.
It’s not just one particular group
of students. It’s everybody.
I want to play a little game, sort
of. ... OK. ...
We have a tradition in the “Face to
Face” interviews where — what we
call the “Hot Seat.” And
I’m going to ask you some questions,
rapid-fire, looking for like
a one-word or one-sentence answer.
(10:58):
Are you ready? ... I’m ready.
Let’s do it. ... OK.
It’s about to be summertime.
What is your dream vacation spot?
Oh, I love —
I love the ocean.
I actually really love Point Reyes.
Point Reyes is one of my favorite
places.
OK. ... Yes. ... You like the beach?
... I do. Love it.
... Yeah, my wife is the same way.
(11:18):
What’s on your summer reading list?
Oh, yes.
That’s such a good one.
There’s a transforming HSIs
book that just came out by Gina
Garcia.
I also love poetry.
So Amanda Gorman is someone
I absolutely want to read.
So I’ve read some of her other
books. So I think for now, those
(11:39):
are it.
She’s fantastic.
... She is.
... Favorite food or
meal cooked on the grill?
Oh, on the grill.
I would have to say chicken.
I love chicken. ... Yeah? ...
Yes.
... Where do you like to cool off on
those 100-plus-degree Davis
days?
You know what?
(11:59):
I have to say that
the Arboretum provides some
wonderful shade.
And I love the
Arboretum at UC Davis.
I would also have to say that
movie theaters are also a great
place. My husband loves watching
movies, so once in a while I go
with him.
Yeah. What kind of movies?
Oh, he loves every kind of movie.
(12:21):
He can quote things from movies, and
a part of me, I’ll watch it again
and say, I don’t remember that part.
I don’t remember that movie.
So we’re totally different.
Totally different.
Yeah. That’s a good place to cool
off though. ... Yes. ...
And I ask this question of all my
guests (12:32):
What’s at the top of your
playlist right now?
This week has been Shakira.
... OK. ... She is doing a song with
her son, "Acróstico."
It’s in Spanish.
And there’s a sentence in there that
she says:
One plate broke, but not
the entire set.
And she talks about how sometimes we
run and we never get there.
And also how it is
(12:54):
wise people to learn how to forgive.
Wow.
You pay attention to the lyrics.
Yes. Yes.
OK, now it’s your turn.
You can ask me any question you
would like.
Great. OK.
So I wrote down my questions.
... OK. ... So as
a leader, mentoring and championing
is really important to you.
How has that influenced you as a
leader?
Well, I have to say that I owe much
(13:15):
of my own success to having good
mentors in my career.
And I think if you’d ask anybody in
a leadership role — in fact,
they do these surveys of Fortune 500
CEOs and people like
that. And they ask them about, you
know, what was key to your success.
And everyone says having a mentor or
sponsor, more importantly.
And that drives me to be a good
mentor, be a good sponsor to
(13:36):
people that are following me.
And I really get a charge out of
seeing my former students
and people I’ve worked with become
deans and become leaders in academia
and start businesses.
And they often let me know how
they’re doing.
And that just makes my day when I
hear about that. So I think that’s
so important. So I try to make sure
that’s an important aspect of what
we do here at UC Davis.
Yes, your chancellor shadowing
(13:57):
program has been really successful,
I hear from students.
Thank you. Yeah, that’s one example.
I think students — we want to
demystify what these jobs are to our
students, so we let them follow us
around for a day and see how
interesting it is, and maybe not
as exciting as they thought it was
going to be.
Yes.
So my next question is:
When you go through hard times as a
(14:18):
leader, how do you get through it?
You know, there’s lots of things I
do, and there are plenty of hard
times.
I think exercise is important.
It allows — it’s a therapy for me.
It allows me to work off some steam,
let off some steam.
I think I also —
I’m pretty introspective and
spiritual. So, you know, I pray.
(14:39):
And then I have to give credit
to my partner, my wife.
She’s the sounding board.
She gets a lot of the venting
that I like to do when things are
not going well. And she takes it
well, and she helps me, gives me
good advice and helps me get through
some of those hard times.
... Wonderful. ... It’s been a real
pleasure talking with you, Lina.
I really enjoyed the conversation.
(15:03):
Thanks to everyone for listening.
Tune in next time on “Face to Face.”Go, Ags!
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