The office of the president is where the buck stops. University presidents get all the credit – as well as the blame when something goes wrong – for the institution. However, the vice presidents are where the specialization and delegation help all the different university departments fulfill their mission. The vice presidents bring in money, increase enrollment, and make sure students are comfortable.

Robert Clark, vice president of administration and institutional effectiveness

Throughout Clark’s 43 years, Robert Clark has had several positions from 1976 to now. His current primary duty is to lay-out plans for the future of the school, and pitch his opinions in that area as well. He also touches base with everyone around him to see what’s going on around this campus so that he knows everything is going smoothly. If anything goes wrong, he stops and works with the problem until he is able to fully resolve it.

“It’s a great job because I get to work with so many great people. They are smart, willing and really helpful,” Clark said.

He said the reason he chose this job was because it was a comfortable fit for him.

“It isn’t a huge town, but it isn’t too small either. It has everything my wife and I need and nothing more. I honestly don’t want to work anywhere else,” Clark said.

Another job of his is working with undergraduate research, which he said he enjoys.

“It’s really fun to work with that. I love being involved with undergraduate research because I think it’s fascinating to see what people work on,” Clark said.

His favorite contribution to the school is the cycling team he helped to create in 1989. He was a cyclist himself, and he said he wanted to give student athletes the opportunity to participate in the sport.

“I love to see them do well, and I like that I got to help put that together here,” Clark said.

He also teaches a human sexuality class with Emily Elizabeth LaBeff.

“It helps me stay involved with the students while also letting me teach, which is something I really like doing,” Clark said.

Even though he loves the job, he said he is starting to get tired. He wants to retire in two to three years so he can spend time with his wife and travel across the country with her along with his two dogs.

Clark spent his early education years at Baylor, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s in sociology. He traveled to Montana to get his doctorate because he felt like the north would be a good fit for him for a few years. He also taught sociology classes at Montana for several years after that.

Howard Farrell, vice president of advancement and public affairs

Howard Farrell has worked here for 26 years, and has enjoyed every minute of it. His main jobs are to bring in money from 40,000 alumni, sponsors, and supporters to help improve the campus, while also letting the world know about the school.

“It’s the best job ever. I like being able to make this campus grow and give the students here the best college experience of their lives. We want to bring in more money than all of our rival schools, and we’ve been pretty good at it so far,” Farrell said.

He also believes he has made quite the difference in increasing the school’s population. He has seen this campus go from 2,000 to 6,000 students.

“Seeing the progress we’ve made is just incredible,” Farrell said.

He said he couldn’t think of anything wrong with his job other than losing contact with students.

“I love working with these students because I know they do a lot. I sometimes get caught up in the work I do, and it takes me away from that. I try to stay with that as much as possible,” Farrell said.

When he isn’t working, he loves spending time with his wife. He said wants to be with her as much as he possibly can.

“I’m not one to take anything for granted. She is a strong woman, and I make sure she knows that every day,” Farrell said.

He said he plans to retire in five years, but if his job isn’t over, he will keep going. He said he doesn’t believe in waiting until retirement to do things that he wants to do, so he is in no real hurry to retire.

Farrell received three degrees in business marketing from Texas A&M – Commerce.

“It gave me all of the things I needed to do the job that I do now. I didn’t want to go anywhere else while I was there,” Farrell said.

Marilyn Fowlé, vice president of business affairs and finance

Marilyn Fowlé has spent the last three years working here, and has helped contribute to the goals of the school. Her main job is to figure out what the school needs, and provide it to them  in the best way the budget allows them too.

“It’s a good job. I like that I have a say in the growth of this campus,” Fowlé said.

While she enjoys her job, she said her main struggle is working with the budget.

“You would like to give this campus everything it needs, but unfortunately you can’t. I have to go in and figure out exactly what the school really needs so that I can help the school the best way I can and not use the money the wrong way,” Fowlé said.

Her favorite thing about the job is working for an independent school. She said she worked with systems in the past such as the University of Texas system, and it made it hard for her to work.

“It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it made it hard to put in my opinion and do things my way,” Fowlé said.

During her free time, she loves to read and write. She wants to read as much as she can when she gets the chance. She also participates in the Daughters of American Revolution, where she studies about people in her family that were involved in the colonization of America.

“It’s so fascinating what you learn. Getting to do this has let me learn more and more about my family, as well as the colonization of the country that I live in,” Fowlé said.

After her time here, she wants to go to Washington, D.C. to visit the Daughters of American Revolution headquarters and learn more about her family. She also wants to hike the Appalachian Trail with her husband.

She was educated at University of Houston-Clear Lake, where she earned her bachelor’s in business. She then went to Rice to earn her master’s in business. After getting those out of the way, she went to the University of Pennsylvania to earn her doctorate.

Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management

Keith Lamb has spent 16 years here, the majority of those years in student affairs. He started out as a director of housing, and then moved up to associate for student affairs. He’s only been the vice president of student affairs for four years, but he feels like he’s made a big difference.

Lamb said, “I love it here. I like to be involved with students, and I think I’ve been able to do that a lot here.”

While he loves advancing in his job, he said he doesn’t like that he’s losing a lot of contact with students.

“That’s the biggest negative. I love being involved with students, and to know what’s going on with them so it’s kind of unfortunate,” Lamb said.

Outside of work, he said he loves to hang out with his wife and two children. He values his family, and he wants to do as much as he can to support them. He said since he is still fairly young, he has no plans to retire, and he doesn’t ever want to leave this job.

“I want to stay here as long as they want to keep me. I have no plans of leaving since it’s such a great job,” Lamb said.

Lamb got his bachelor’s and master’s degree in business at Texas Tech, and his doctorate at North Texas. He said he liked both of those campuses feels more at home here.

Betty Stewart, provost and vice president of academic affairs

As the chief academic officer, Betty Stewart certainly has her hands full with her work.

Stewart said, “It’s a busy job, but I love it. I love working with the people here.”

She started here in 2007, then left to take another vice president job, then came back, and has been the provost since 2012. She said her primary problem with the job is dealing with disciplinary issues with students and faculty.

“I don’t like doing that. It’s uncomfortable because I don’t like have to get people in trouble, but it’s part of the job,” Stewart said.

When she eventually does get a break, she likes to read and travel. Internationally, she has been to places like France, England, Germany and Italy. Nationally, she has been to Alaska and Hawaii. She likes to read business management books because it helps her get better at her job, and she likes reading mystery books because she said she is a curious person.

“My favorite place I’ve been to is Italy. I loved the atmosphere, but my favorite thing about was the food,” Stewart said.

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in biochemistry at Mississippi State, then went on to Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania to earn her doctorate in biochemistry. She plans to work this job for as long as she can.

“I love this job, and I want to stay until they tell me I have to leave,” Stewart said.

CORRECTIONS

In an earlier version of this story online, we inaccurately attributed a quote to Keith Lamb. That quotation has since been removed. In addition, we inaccurately stated where Keith Lamb is from and confused where Betty Stewart received her degrees from. The Wichitan regrets the errors.