On his first day of teaching at Texas A&M University, master’s student Lawrence Schovanec showed up to campus thinking he would easily find a parking spot. He was wrong.
As Schovanec ran to his class, his 1970s platform shoe heel broke. He tied his shoe lace around the heel and hoped he would make it to his lecture. When he got into the building and on the elevator, people stared at the young kid in a suit with the loud, clopping shoe.
Picture provided by the Office of the President.
Schovanec said he has come a long way since then. He is now celebrating his 34th year at Texas Tech University, and after serving in many positions across campus, was recently named the 17th president of the university.
The Hub@TTU sat down with Schovanec on the first day of the Fall 2016 school year to talk about his time as a student, a faculty member and his new position as the head of Texas Tech.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The Hub@TTU: Let’s just start from the beginning. Where are you from, and what was your childhood like?
Lawrence Schovanec: I was one of 12 children, born into a farming community. I think what’s significant is that my mother was the first in her family to go to college. She graduated in 1950 from Oklahoma State, raised her family and had 12 children in 16 years, and then she went back to get her master’s degree. My father, in his mid-30s, realized he was going to have to do something different to provide a college education for us. So he started going to college at the age of 36. When he passed away at the age of 54, he was chairman of the Department of Business Administration at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma.
So I came from a family of modest means, where they said they’d give us one thing: a college education. All 12 of us graduated from college. It was just sort of understood that we would get college educations.
My parents used to say, “There wouldn’t be much to divide up when we’re gone, but we will give you a college education.” I think that is why it is so easy for me to advocate for the value and worth of a college degree.
Hub: What were you like as a college student?
Schovanec: I wish I were more disciplined and organized. I had a lot of friends, and I would fall behind. But then I made straight A’s all they way through undergraduate and graduate school. I loved learning.
I was a very serious student, but I had a lot of fun. You got to realize, this was back in the 1970s. I probably shouldn’t say anymore than that.
Hub: After school, you pretty much immediately came to teach in Lubbock. Why did you choose Texas Tech?
Schovanec: I knew I wanted to come back to Texas, but not to Texas A&M since I went to school there. Texas Tech had a good math department, so I came for a visit.
It was February, and it was snowing pretty bad. I flew in late, after midnight, and the chairman of the department was waiting for me. He was in a 1957 Chevrolet with white wall tires, and he wanted to take me to see the campus. You couldn’t see a thing through the snow, except for the tree that looked more like weeds. The next day, they took me to Stubb’s Barbecue. By the time I left, I realized that the people here were special, and that the faculty loved being here.
The culture here, in my opinion, was so superior in terms of the connection between faculty and students, the atmosphere. I just liked it.
Hub: When you first started teaching, would you have ever guessed that you would be president of a university one day?
Schovanec: No, I had no aspirations to be in administration. In fact, I had a schedule to publish a certain number of papers, teach so many students, get so many dollars in grants. That was a good life.
I was asked to be the acting chair of the math department for one semester, and I found out that I enjoyed it. I remember when I did that, I was advised to not stay in that job for more than five years. I didn’t listen, and I did it for almost 10. As a chair, you can still do research and teach, but you had the benefit of being able to interact with people across the campus, and I really liked that. You find out there are smart people everywhere.
I was then asked to be the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. I didn’t want to take it at first, but I did. I’ve only been in the math building a few times since.
Hub: How have things changed since your first years at Texas Tech?
Schovanec: I think our international and national reputation has changed dramatically. We’re no longer viewed as a regional institution. That’s the biggest difference.
Of course, we’ve grown from the mid-20,000 to what should be around 36,000 students this year. The physical infrastructure has had to change a lot, but the wonderful thing is that we’ve maintained the beautiful Spanish Renaissance architecture across campus.
Certain core values haven’t changed, but I think our national stature definitely has.
Hub: You’ve only been president for a few weeks now, but what are some things you have began working on?
Schovanec: One thing we’ve focused on is initiating plans for revising our strategic plan. We want to be very data driven about how we establish our goals, make sure they come from a grassroots level that takes into account the capacity to do some of the things.
The issue of campus carry, which went into effect the first day I was on the job, was a concern for a lot of people. I would say it has gone rather smoothly. Even though we have not had any incidents, this has been a big concern for many people. They are anxious about what it means to them. So, we have a lot more to do in terms of implementing education policies to make sure everyone understands the law, providing support structures for people who have anxiety over it. But I’m relieved the process has been as smooth as it has been.
Another matter that has taken quite a bit of attention is enrollment. We are going into a legislative session that is going to be challenging. So, the best thing we can do is position ourselves to boost our state funding. It’s based on weighted student credit hours, which is not where I want it to be. We need to maximize our enrollment on all levels.
A bright spot has been our retention rates. We’re probably going to have fewer freshmen than we did last year, but our enrollment will be up because of those students who have come back after their first year. That’s meaningful because when somebody starts down the path of getting a college degree, you want to make sure they have every chance to complete it. That’s important to us.
Hub: What are your goals for Texas Tech’s future?
Schovanec: I have very specific goals for Texas Tech. One has to be careful about too much stock in rankings, because they are unscientific. I hope to improve in several of the most popular ranking lists, particularly by improving our federal research expenditures. I hope to be ranked in the Top 50 research universities by 2023, the 100th year of Texas Tech.
Why do we care? It enhances the value of your degree. It is not about bravado, it is about aspiring for excellence that makes this a better experience for students, makes your degree more valuable.
In general, I want to continue on this upwards trajectory that creates a sense of pride. You go out there and talk to Texas Tech alumni, they are special. They love this school, it’s something to be proud of.
I have been blessed to spend my career here, and I just want to make sure that we continue to make progress, and that I can continue to be part of it.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
