Provost Lessons
Jim Lakso, Juniata's Man for All Seasons
If, as the saying goes, 90 percent of success in life is showing up, then Jim Lakso, Juniata's provost since 1998 and faculty member for over 30 years, is a very successful man. If there is a speaker on campus, student recital, concert, talk, play, athletic contest, or faculty and student gathering, he'll be there. And that's on top of the meetings, mentoring, advising, and keeping tabs on faculty, student and athletic issues.
"My team knows when Jim is in the stands and it's a big deal to them; they raise the bar a little higher," says Larry Bock, athletic director. "Jim always gives me good advice, and I sleep better at night knowing he's at Juniata."
Because of Jim's efforts in faculty selection, the faculty as a whole has never been better at Juniata.
- -Tom Kepple, president
"I'm very good at multitasking," Lakso says with smiling understatement. "I think it's important for people who work at Juniata to go to events, but I also go to these events because I find them really interesting."
"Jim has a lot of empathy in that he can put himself into a student's place very well," says Melanie Hanning '05, an international student from Germany. "His office door is always open to students and there is a really nice, friendly atmosphere in Jim's office."
"In the past, students often only saw the provost when they were in trouble," explains Joanne Krugh, administrative manager in the provost's office. ("Joanne really runs this place," jokes Lakso.) "Jim still teaches every year, he advises, and a student is never turned away. If Jim is busy in a meeting, the student comes first."
A student-first credo is an indelible part of Lakso's persona, an attitude burnished by 30 years of asking for excellence from Juniata students. Lakso, who came to Juniata in 1970 with his wife, Bonnie, would never have predicted he would spend his entire career at one institution. Like many of Juniata's alumni and students, he was the fi rst member of his family to attend college. He grew up in Fairport Harbor, a small town on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, where he excelled at sports, particularly football. His football talents (he also received an academic scholarship) caught the eye of coaches at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and he found he liked the idea of learning at a small, liberal arts university.
Lakso decided to study economics not out of a great love for numbers or statistics, but, once again mirroring the experience of many Juniatians, because he was inspired by a great teacher, Bob Schultz, a Wittenberg economist. He decided to continue his studies at the University of Maryland where he earned a doctorate in 1970. He found he had a talent for teaching during his time at Maryland. "Three weeks after getting my diploma at Wittenberg I was standing in front of 40 undergraduates teaching the principles of economics," Lakso says, with a smile.
Lakso was finishing his doctoral work when he heard of a teaching position opening at Juniata. The student protests on college campuses in the early '70s were a regular occurrence at Maryland- "Tear gas fumes would float into our apartment," Lakso recalls- and the couple thought it would be great to be away from the tumult. "I signed for one year, thinking I would be able to move on in a year or so," he says.
"Jim is very down to earth, very fair," says Tony Kamnikar '76, vice president of the Gleason Agency, a regional insurance broker in Johnstown, Pa. "It was like taking lessons from an older brother. He knew when to be fi rm and when to be a regular guy. It doesn't surprise me that he's been able to do that as provost."
That year grew into three and those years grew into decades of teaching, sending generations of business graduates out to seek success and helping to create a competitive but collegial department with colleagues Pat Weaver, Jim Donaldson, and his best friend, the late Ron Cherry. "He's smart without being elitist or stuffy, funny without using other people's mistakes or weaknesses as the brunt of his humor," says Janet Lewis, associate professor of philosophy, who came to campus in 1970, the same year as the provost. "He is committed to the institution without being a fanatic and concerned about the well-being of the Juniata family without being invasive. Jim has gained the faculty's respect and trust."
Honoring a Friend
Fundraising is not what academics usually do, but Jim Lakso was determined to give it a try. His colleague, mentor, and friend, Ron Cherry, passed away in 2000 and Jim wanted help raise funds to start the Ron Cherry Endowed Scholarship. The original energy for the project came from a group of college friends, Steve Gillingham '66, Jack Warfield '66, and Bill Alexander '66. Their enthusiasm inspired Lakso and Bud Wise, who taught business with Ron and Jim in the '70s and is now an executive at PPG Inc., to join in.
From a list of hundreds of business and economics students, Gillingham, Alexander, Warfield, Lakso, and Wise chose people to call asking them to make a gift and, in turn, for them to make additional calls to their college friends. Not only did the committee receive enthusiastic support for the memorial project, they rekindled relationships with alumni and friends from years ago. "When you teach, there is little immediate feedback, you can't tell whether you have made a difference" Lakso says. "The real proof is what these people are doing 10, 15 years after graduation-what do they think now? If you would like to make a teacher's day, let them know how something you got from them made a difference for you."
The fundraising campaign substantially exceeded the goal, providing enough funds to name a full-tuition Leadership Merit Award. Ron insisted that students stretch to be better than they ever thought they could be. Lakso says: "The validation of a teacher’s job is how your students do after they graduate." The first Ron Cherry Scholarship was awarded to Jessie R. Masquelier '06, of Port Matilda, Pa.
-Marsha Hartman '70, director of development
In 1980 and 81, Lakso served as an assistant dean, but the experience was not a positive one and he returned to the business department until a day in 1997 when he walked through Founders Hall. "[Former president] Bob Neff literally grabbed me and asked if I'd like to be interim provost," Lakso laughs. "I didn't campaign for or apply for the job."
"Jim has a healthy respect for the College's history and traditions and has a very direct, genuine approach to people," says KrisClarkson, dean of students. "He has an incredible memory. He is in meeting after meeting, not taking notes, yet he's not missing anything."
The interim title was removed in 1998 when President Tom Kepple arrived. The two top administrators have worked together ever since. "Jim is respected by all who interact with him," Kepple says. "He has thewillingness and courage to move important decisions along that might otherwise get stuck in the faculty committee process."
Lakso says the experience that most prepared him for provost life was his work as a business consultant, commitments he says also made him a better teacher. That capacity for lifelong learning has served him well in hiring faculty aswell. Since becoming provost, Lakso has shaped Juniata by overseeing more than 50 faculty hires. "My principal role is to strike a balance between getting people who will fi t into the Juniata culture and hiring people who can shake things up a bit and show us a better way," Lakso says.
If he is presented with an idea or a new policy, Lakso prefers to err on the side of change. "I have to find more ways to say yes," he says. "Figuring out how to say yes to ideas is an important job."
What Lakso has said yes to, including new buildings, residence improvements, athletic coaching additions, improved student programs, expansion of several departments and the formation of a revamped religion and information technology department, has changed how Juniata educates its students. But Lakso prefers to keep things in perspective: "It still comes down to a faculty member in a room with students who are ready to learn and that will remain the same if the class is in a brand-new building or a dump."