What Nobody Talks About - Interim Roles in Academia

Have you been asked to serve in an Interim role? READ THIS.

If you don’t want to read about my journey, scroll down to the bullet points. You might scroll up and read my story after reading my advice on what TO do and what NOT to do in an Interim role.

Firstly, this is not a bad reflection of my institution. I LOVE FGCU, my colleagues, my students, and where I work. Seriously, I would not want to work anywhere else. This is my journey, not unique, and I want to share what I’ve learned.

In December 2023, our School found ourselves in a failed search and a previous Interim recommended me for the role within five days' notice. Then, I had about 10 faculty and staff cornering me in a hallway begging me to take the position. I couldn’t say no. I was to be the new Interim Director as of January 2nd.?

Now, I have directed several entrepreneurship centers before (Director at Chico State, Assistant Director at the University of Cincinnati, and Founding Associate Director at Florida International University).??

However, I had never served in an Interim role. I was charged with leading a team after two recent leaders with no guarantee I would be their leader come Fall of 2024.?The primary charges I was given were culture change and student engagement.

Let me save you the suspense, I was not chosen for the permanent role. BUT I learned a lot about not only what Interim roles should be thinking about and what they SHOULDN’T be thinking about.?

What I want to share here is perhaps the most valuable things I wish I knew before taking on an Interim role. So here we go…

I hate to start with a negative, but my first three things are what you should NOT be thinking about as an Interim:

1.??????? Culture: While I was assigned specifically to improve the culture of the school, the assignment is truly designed to fail. Everyone knows that you may not be the leader at the end of the day. While you might be able to make changes during your term, it will not last once a new leader is named. If you do engage in ‘changing culture’, know it may not endure past your term. Now, with that being said, I DID impact the culture is a truly positive way. We had an amazing alumni event that was truly unprecedented, but every question was: Will this continue? And I couldn’t answer that.

2.??????? Accountability: In your new role, you may have noticed that some faculty or staff have not ‘lived up to their role’ or perhaps have ‘checked out’. Any efforts to work with those faculty or staff will run the risk of ruining your relationship, especially if you are not chosen as the permanent leader. And so the question is: Will this continue? And I couldn’t answer that.

3.??????? Community Engagement: This one I’m going to explain in simple terms. You are the new side piece. No one knows if you are around for the long term, not even you. Don’t make promises that make not be carried out by the permanent person. They will always ask: Will this continue? And I couldn’t answer that.

Hoping you catch my drift… WILL THIS CONTINUE? I COULDN’T ANSWER THAT. Anything you do in an Interim role where you cannot answer the question with a definitive answer, should not be a priority. I made that mistake.

If you’ve accepted an Interim role, don’t despair. There are some things you CAN focus on to make REAL change. The main thing to focus on here is, what you can launch that will last beyond your role.

1.??????? New Low-Key Programs: One of the things our School has always wanted to do is be more cross-campus. In my role, I was able to appoint a Faculty Fellow to lead a cross-campus test/initiative to see if other faculty on campus would respond to a program where they were compensated to lead entrepreneurial efforts in their colleges. Since contracts run a year, this program is currently running and thankfully successful.

2.??????? New Low-Lift Community Programs: An organization in a neighboring county wanted to launch a dual enrollment with our program to allow high-school students to earn college credit while still in high school. I worked with adjuncts, faculty, and staff to expand that program. This program is still running and will be expanded based on its success.

3.??????? Learn The People: While your influence may end in your role (or not), you may find opportunities to talk specifically to the staff of the program. You may uncover passions they have that they are willing to go over and beyond for that were just never tapped upon. I PROMISE you, you will uncover opportunities to work with them in research or teaching.

The main thing to remember is that in an Interim role, you cannot affect long-term culture change, BUT what you can do is launch low-resource programs and tap into the passions of people that you never knew before.

And if it isn’t you, your replacement, the faculty, and the staff will thank you. While I didn’t get the permanent position, I learned so much in the Interim position and I have such wonderfully richer relationships with everyone in my building (faculty, staff, and students).

And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s always about?