Miles Davis reflects on
his five years leading Linfield
President says he hopes he's leaving university
better than he found it
By SCOTT UNGER, McMinnville N-R/News-Register
11/17/2023
Although Linfield President Dr. Miles K. Davis
announced he is stepping down two weeks ago, he remains busy conducting
day-to-day operations from his Melrose Hall office.
“My ethos says that you do a job until it’s not
your job,” Davis said. “I’ve been spending more time doing my job than
preparing for my departure.”
The outgoing president is confident in the board
of trustees and the direction of the university he is leaving after five years
in charge in order to be closer to family on the east coast.
“The leadership team that we have in place, the
members of the board that are there, I think we are set to continue to move
forward,” he said. “I think we have clear direction, we have a strategic plan
that was approved, it’s just what individual is going to be responsible now
that I’m not there?
“Anyone’s able to apply for that position, if
they’re crazy enough to want it,” he said with a laugh.
Davis sat down with the News-Register this week
to discuss his tenure at Linfield, his goal of making the university a
“regional comprehensive institution,” criticism that his time as president has
been tumultuous, and the future of the college-turned-university that has seen
growth in facilities and record enrollment numbers for first-generation
students.
Davis spearheaded the name change to Linfield
University in 2020 that also brought aboard masters programs, oversaw expansion
of the nursing program with the opening of a Portland campus, and helped
complete the largest capital construction project in school history with the
opening of the W.M. Keck Science Center. Yet he doesn’t list any of those as
his proudest accomplishment.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is that we are
able to move in a more focused direction (with) students,” Davis said. “The
reason that we changed to a university, the reason that we have a school of
business and began to fully incorporate the school of nursing and fully
incorporate the College of Arts and Sciences is that it allows innovation in
those schools to adapt to the changing needs to students.”
Innovative programs such as Wine Studies and
Sports Science and Analytics, providing the breadth of a liberal arts education
(Davis points out the Latin meaning of liberal arts is “skills of free people”)
to accompany a focus on applied fields such as nursing and business education
and the First Scholars program, are examples cited in the change of direction.
“What we’re moving toward and why it is
important for us to change these structures and do these things is we talk
about becoming a regional comprehensive institution.”
Davis believes students should be prepared for
the ever-changing landscape that accompanies technology and often asks how old
the iPhone is to prove his point.
“In 16 years (smartphones) changed the way we do
everything,” he said. “We call it a mobile phone, the last thing we do is talk
on it, and whole industries have been created since then.”
He rails against the focus on workforce
development, preferring a path of economic mobility for his students.
“I am having a real problem with the
conversation that’s taking place across this country, and in Oregon in
particular, where we just talk about workforce development,” he said. “What I’m
talking about with economic mobility is having the skill set that allows you to
either be employable or start your own business. That’s about solving problems,
that’s not just about preparing somebody to go into an immediate job.”
As a first generation student himself, Davis saw
the opportunity to change a diversity scholarship that’s only criteria was “not
white,” early in his tenure.
“I saw that as a lawsuit waiting to happen,” he
said.
The result was the First Scholars program, an
award winning scholarship for first-generation students that joins mentorship
and financial assistance.
“Not only did it increase the number of whites,
particularly from rural areas that apply to Linfield, but it also allows us to
increase the number of Native Americans, Black Americans and Hispanics who tend
to be marginalized and underrepresented in society,” Davis said.
Last year, first-generation students made up 37%
of the school’s undergraduate population.
Davis also cited the establishment at Linfield
of a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a point of pride.
“It was amazing to me that this school had never
had a recognized Martin Luther King (Day). It was state holiday, it was a
federal holiday, but no one here thought to incorporate that,” he said. “That
was meaningful to me because if you want to build an inclusive society, then
you do that by acknowledging the contributions of all its people.”
Known for posting visionary quotes on Twitter
and frequently citing thought leaders, Davis said he has a love of reading that
stems from his childhood, when “books were my toys.”
He is worried about the lack of reading in
today’s society and (quoting MLK) that many people are “willfully ignorant.”
“This is scary because if you haven’t taken time
to read or explore, that means that someone that shows up that claims that they
have simple answers for complex issues, you believe them, you follow them,
because you don’t want to think about it.”
Davis’ tenure has been called tumultuous by
critics for its frequent administrative changes, allegations of antisemitism on
the school and Davis himself that resulted in a $1 million settlement with a
former professor, and another pending lawsuit with the former basketball coach.
Davis brushes off the critics, saying sports
coaches are frequently fired and it’s his job as president to bring in staff
that can help achieve his vision for the school.
“There’s always a challenge when you hold people
accountable and hold people responsible for their actions,” he said. “I have no
regrets.”
“Is the assumption that everything should be
status quo? What was status quo getting us? How would status quo move the
institution forward?” he asked. “Higher education is often risk-averse, I don’t
show up that way. I think that you have to take risks and be held accountable
for the risks in which you take.”
“I’m responsible for the decisions I made, I
changed administrative staff and I reserve the right to do that. Every
president that comes in and leads the country brings in their own staff because
those people can carry out their vision. I don’t know why it’s expected in
higher education that I wouldn’t do the same thing here. Also coaches get fired
everyday ... to say that ‘oh that shouldn’t happen’ or ‘everything should be
stable’, I don’t necessarily think that, I think the only constant is change.”
An East coast native, Davis acknowledges his
direct approach might have clashed with the culture of Oregon.
“I think some criticism of me is legitimate, I
had to learn the ways of the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “This is the home of
passive aggressive, and so my assertiveness can be interpreted by some as being
aggressive.”
Another adjustment from the east coast is the
racial demographics, and Davis doesn’t shy away from discussing race and his
experience as the first Black president at Linfield.
Earlier this month, Davis held a forum with
Linfield graduate and renowned surgeon and Professor Harold Tu, entitled:
“Black and Asian: A Conversation about Our American Journey.”
Davis discussed his inter-faith upbringing as
the son of a Christian and Muslim, the “soft bigotry” of low expectations and
the uncomfortable racial history of Oregon and Linfield.
The point of the forum was to have an open
dialog about a challenging subject, something Davis said needs to happen a lot
more. He emphasizes “brave spaces” over “safe spaces” and defending your
position without getting upset over ignorance or missteps.
“We create brave spaces by being willing to
speak our truth and not speak our truth from a defensive position or a posture
of attack, but speak our truth about trying to create greater understanding,”
he said. “We have to produce resiliency in people where they are able to stand
up and confront things and not take it as being hostile toward one another.
This is how you create a civil society.”
“I just wish that we could get to that point in
more places in society where we’re brave enough to say ‘this is what bothers
me’ and own what bothers me as opposed to saying ‘you’re racist, you’re
antisemitic, you’re Islamophobic, whatever title you want to use. Because we
can have legitimate differences of opinion without being anti-something. It’s
just a difference of opinion.”
Most times racism stems from unconscious bias,
Davis said, which is why diversity at all levels of Linfield is an important
goal.
“When you show up on campus and the only person
that you see that looks like you is working in the kitchen or cleaning up the
grounds, what image is it reinforcing for those that don’t look like you?” he
asked. “If the only time you’ve ever seen a person that’s different than you is
in a subservient role, it becomes harder to translate that person into an
authoritative role.”
Davis has made several minority hires in his
tenure and would like to see Linfield continue to pursue candidates from broad
backgrounds.
“If you want to diversify faculty you have to go
to where diverse faculty are,” he said. “There are universities on
reservations, there are Hispanic-serving institutions that grant doctorate
degrees, there are all sorts of things you can do if you are intentional about
it, but we haven’t been intentional about it.”
Davis will remain in his role until a new leader
is identified, estimating his tenure will end around the end of the year. He
has been asked to create a podcast and is writing a book called “The Rise and
Fall of American Higher Education and What Can Be Done to Save It.” A return to
higher education seems unlikely, he says, unless he is approached to build
something from the ground up.
“I probably will not do anything directly in
higher education in the United States. And only because, I’ll just say this, I
came here and did what I was asked to do, I think I took on the challenges. But
I’m also getting older, it was not only stressful to me, I have to realize that
I have a family that was very much impacted. That’s not good and I don’t want
to go through that again. I don’t want to go in and be somebody’s change agent
anymore.”
At first Davis said he doesn’t think much about
his legacy, only what is written on his tombstone.
“All I ever wanted written on my tombstone, as
long as I can remember, is that he made a positive difference in the lives of
people. That’s all I want,” he said.
Expounding further about his legacy at Linfield,
Davis relied on Dr. King and his famous “Mountaintop” speech made the night
before he was assassinated.
“I may not get there with you, but I have seen
the mountaintop,” Davis said. “I’ve seen what Linfield can become and so I may
not be there when it gets there, but I also know that the foundation had to be
laid.
“So I’d like to imagine that I somehow leave
Linfield better than how I found it. I like to imagine that we put in
structures, processes and procedures that allow the institution to move
forward. (That) doesn’t mean that some people aren’t happy with the changes,
because people are always unhappy with change, but are you better positioned as
an institution to move forward? And if people can say that, then I’m OK; you
don’t have to say anything else.”
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