Icons of Education: 2009

Greater Kansas City and the surrounding region is home to a treasure trove of educational riches. From a 4-year-old’s first exposure to a classroom, to those hardy souls who earn doctoral degrees, the region is rich with exceptional educational opportunities—most of which are more affordable than in many other parts of the country.

Consider that time and again, voters on both sides of the state line repeatedly—almost without fail—pony up when their local school districts say they need help. That results in award-winning public school districts from North Kansas City to Olathe, from Park Hill to Lee’s Summit, and points in between and all around.

Consider that many of the city’s most respected business leaders are proud graduates of several of the area’s outstanding private high schools, legendary institutions such as Rockhurst and Pembroke Hill, while newer schools on the Kansas side are gaining widespread respect.

Consider that the region’s public colleges and universities continue, year after year, to gain national accolades, increase enrollment, attract huge gifts and donations from proud alumni and continually improve the educational experience in the face of trying financial times.

And consider that the region is home to several of the most respected private liberal arts colleges in the country, repeatedly mentioned in reports and magazines as among the best buys in education.

None of this is any accident. We live in a region where taxpayers and lawmakers, students and parents, business people and alumni all recognize the importance of quality, affordable education. Where our schools are concerned, it really does take a village.

But every village needs a good leader. And Kansas City area schools, colleges and universities have been blessed with an abundance of exceptional leadership.

On the occasion of our 35th Anniversary, Ingram’s is proud to launch a new feature, “Icons of Education.” In this inaugural year, we recognize nine people who have had a profound impact on their educational institutions and their communities. Many—not all—of this initial class have either recently retired or will soon. Their dedication to their profession and, most notably, to the students they served, will be missed. These education icons will be appreciated by all who follow in their footsteps and by their colleagues at other outstanding institutions, many of whom are more than worthy of inclusion on this list.

Dr. Barbara F. Atkinson

Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas Medical Center

Dean, University of Kansas School of Medicine

Barbara F. Atkinson is a trailblazer. She’s one of only 14 women in the country serving as dean of a medical school and the only woman to serve simultaneously as a medical school dean and executive vice chancellor of a medical center. She was the first woman trustee of the American Board of Pathology and serves on or chairs a number of national committees, boards and societies. And she’s the first woman to lead the KU Medical Center, a role she assumed in 2005. She wasted no time making an impact on both KU Med and the greater community. “I set a goal to bring a new curriculum to the medical school and we’ve done that. We now have integrated courses with more clinical activity and computerization. We want to bring an NCI-designated cancer center to Kansas City and to Kansas, and we’ve set a 2011 target date for that.” Atkinson championed KU during a laborious, sometimes painful process that resulted in the school’s affiliation agreement with several area hospitals, including the University of Kansas Hospital. In the six years she has been dean, the school has added 242 new faculty members, clinical revenue has increased by $50 million, and grants have jumped from $69 million to $89 million the past three years. Her goals for the next five years are just as aggressive—most notably she expects KU to play a significant role in establishing Kansas City as a national leader in life sciences research.

Dr. Tom Bryant

President, Pittsburg State University

Tom Bryant has been a “yes” man—and the university he has served for a remarkable 39 years is a better place for it. So, too, is higher education throughout the state of Kansas. Several times in his career he has been asked to step in and fill important roles. Since 1993 he served as the PSU dean of education. He served as interim president of PSU in 1995. In 1998 he served a year as interim executive director for the Board of Regents. Those roles paved the way for Bryant to be named president of Pittsburg State in 1999. “I didn’t set out to do this, it just happened,” he said. “But the university has been so worthy that when there has been a need, I have said yes.” He’s especially proud to be leading the same university where he earned his master’s degree and where he rose to the role of president from among the ranks of the faculty, a rare feat among regent institutions in Kansas. But this is his last year leading his beloved school. “I’ll be 69 in January. The university is in good shape. We’ve gone above 7,000 students for the first time. It’s time to let someone younger come in and take the reigns.” Still, his time at Pittsburg State isn’t over. After this year he’ll take a one-semester sabbatical “and get out of everyone’s hair.” He then plans to return in the spring to teach, finishing his 40-year career at the same school where it started.

Dr. Tom Cummings

Superintendent, North Kansas City School District

In 1985, Tom Cummings became superintendent of a fragmented North Kansas City School District that stretched over a hodgepodge of disparate Northland communities. Despite a growing enrollment, there hadn’t been a new school built in 14 years, and many of the existing buildings were outdated. Today, parents and civic and business leaders from 14 different municipalities take great pride in one of the premier public school districts in the state. In a district that used to have trouble getting bond and levy issues approved, “there has been a changing of the mindset of the community toward its schools.” As he approaches retirement at the end of this school year, Cummings recalled his first week on the job. “I began talking about the need for that community connection, a need to open the district to the inclusion of all people involved.” Through aggressive use of advisory boards and extensive cooperation with and support from the business community, he has accomplished that goal. Case in point: The district is host to a significant population of students with limited English skills. Rather than treating that as a problem, NKC views it as an opportunity. Properly nurtured, these immigrant students can grow up to be business leaders in the community, helping the Northland compete in a global economy. Among the secrets to Cummings’ success? “If I have one skill at all, it’s to identify people with good skills and the right stuff and place them in the right positions, then support them and get out of their way.”

Dr. Thomas R. Burke

President, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Kansas City Kansas Community College is, Thomas Burke says, “one of the best-kept secrets in the Kansas City area.” That’s understandable, because most of the time since Burke became KCKCC’s president in 1992, the community that the school served was the metro area’s trouble child. Kansas City, Kan., and Wyandotte County were, after all, burdened by decades of population decline, a high crime rate and a stagnant economy. The region’s remarkable rebirth—thanks to the new Unified Government and the success of the Kansas Speedway/Village West complex—is well-established. “We’ve played a key role in the turnaround through the success of our workforce training. Our students have been successful transferring into four-year institutions and into the workforce.” KCKCC’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter has been recognized globally as the society’s outstanding chapter. The debate team has won five consecutive national championships. The college has a relationship with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which has a crime lab on campus. Burke is proud of the college’s School of Mortuary Science, one of the top in the region, and of the growth of the School of Nursing. Burke’s contributions to the community don’t stop at the college’s doors. He was one of five people selected by the governor to help develop the plan that led to the unification of the two often-competing city and county governments. He offers this advice to young people: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I have learned more from my mistakes than from my successes.”

Dr. Dean L. Hubbard

President, Northwest Missouri State University

A first-generation college graduate, Dean L. Hubbard has spent much of his 25-year tenure as president of Northwest Missouri State dedicated to making higher education affordable for all who seek it. When he retires at the end of this school year, he will retire with the reputation of creating a “Culture of Quality,” which has helped foster continuous growth and improvement in all aspects of university operations. Such growth has resulted in Northwest being awarded the Missouri Quality Award three times, more than any other educational institution in the state. He served as a member of the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, served on the board of directors for the Excellence in Missouri Foundation and received the Missouri Governor’s Quality Leadership Award in 1998. Hubbard has been a champion of expanding Northwest’s alternative fuels program, which transforms recycled cardboard, paper and agricultural wastes into most of the energy used to heat and cool the campus, resulting in $10 million in savings. In the furtherance of both educational and economic opportunity, the new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will open in 2009 as a combination research center and high-tech business incubator. A resident of Korea for five years in the late 1960s, Hubbard has continued to make contributions to the global Korean community, and his international experience has helped translate into the creation of the university’s International and Intercultural Center, which helps future leaders learn how to build multinational relationships.

Robert E. Hemenway

Chancellor, University of Kansas

Since becoming the 16th chancellor for the University of Kansas in 1995, Robert E. Hemenway has made his mark on academics, administration and athletics. More than 30,000 students attend KU, and although the school provides an excellent education – U.S. News & World Report ranks many of its graduate programs among the best in the nation – it also provides vital services to Kansas. With a focus on health research and an eye toward achieving a National Cancer Institute designation for the KU Cancer Center, the university keeps improving research and care for area patients. Under Hemenway’s stewardship, the university created the Kansas University Hospital Public Authority, which increased its income, assets and patient load. In addition to the medical industry, Hemenway has also championed KU programs that advance business, conservation and law enforcement in the state. Since 1995, 55 new patents have been issued to the university and 19 new start-up companies were founded using KU intellectual property. In western Kansas, KU’s researchers measure ground water and police departments from all over the state have officers who were trained at KU’s Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. Hemenway’s work outside of the academic walls only adds to his list of accomplishments. After Hemenway hired athletic director Lew Perkins, the basketball team won a national title and the football team brought home an Orange Bowl victory. During his 14-year tenure, Hemenway has built an impressive resume, and with his extracurricular accolades he will retire in 2009 at the top of his game.