President of Kentucky State University since 2004, Dr. Mary Sias added chairwoman of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities to her list of titles in November. In that capacity, Sias is charged with being one of the chief advocates for not only Kentucky State and the 17 other “1890s” Land-Grant HBCUs, but public institutions across the nation. Her tenure as APLU board chairwoman comes at a difficult time for her constituent institutions, as many are reeling from deep cuts in public funding amid unprecedented state budget shortfalls. Sias speaks with Diverse about her passion for education and goals for Kentucky State and other APLU institutions.
DI: Why did you decide to become an educator?
MS: I grew up in Jackson, Miss., and at the time both my parents had only an eighth-grade education because Blacks couldn’t go on to finish high school, and there were no public high schools for them. But my mother would sit at the table every night and go over the things she had learned. So I got educated [at] the kitchen table and thought I wanted to be a teacher. When I got to junior high, I was in a college preparatory track.
My teacher, Mable Pittman, was the first person I knew who had a master’s degree. I would help her grade papers and stay after school every day to talk to her and listen to her. And she was the first person who talked to me about the possibility of getting a Ph.D. So I understood that a master’s degree wasn’t going to be my stopping place. Those two women were my source of inspiration.
DI: What should aspiring college presidents do to prepare for the daily challenges you face?
MS: One of the most important things to do is to make sure you have good budgeting skills. You have to understand fundraising and have improved skills in those areas because we’re going to be relying much more heavily on external funds. We’re becoming a more state-assisted institution as opposed to state-supported. You must have strong communication and interpersonal skills. You must be able to work with people of diverse backgrounds.
You have to understand the legislative process. And you must work with faculty in order to meet the needs of the students we’re educating. You must also be well-schooled in technology and student characteristics because they’re different from when we were in school.
