A Conversation with Thompson Rivers University President, Dr Kathleen Scherf

Arjun Singh's Podcast Page

I was honoured that Kathleen Scherf, TRU's new President, took the time to have this conversation with me about our amazing university. We talk about Kathleen's background, the nature of a TRU education, and also about her experiences managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution.Here is a roadmap for the audio: 01:08: how did you get interested in teaching and academia 02:46: How did you become a Frankenstein scholar 07:55: How did you get into university administration 10:05: Tribute to Roger Barnsley 11:14 - Changing the Culture of TRU 11:58 - How did you find about TRU President Opening and fall in love with TRU 13:34 - breaking the mold of a University President a bit 14:28 - the mom car, the parking ticket on the first day 16:43 - has been kind of unusual been a challenge, being who you are and trying to being a role model 19:05 - what makes a TRU education special - your vision? 21:23 - small classes and large classes 23:13 - value of President teaching first year students 25:54 - how do liberal arts students become financially independent? 27:45 - a comprehensive university preparing students well 28:34 - Law School update 33:54 - House of Learning update, other capital projects - Old Main repairs 36:17 - Managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution: collegial governance, transparent leadership, team concept