New Academic Leaders

by

CULTURE

“It’s hard work.” Dr. Cady Short-Thompson used these three simple words to describe her first 10 months as president of Northern Kentucky University. She took the reins in October 2023, becoming the first female president of the Highland Heights campus. But when she did, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

“Every single leader in higher education right now is juggling a whole set of complexities that are greater than [those of] probably any of our predecessors,” Short-Thompson said. “I can tell you that higher ed is in incredible flux as it relates to who is coming to school, how they’re coming to school, what degrees they’re seeking, and what sorts of workforce demands we are preparing them for. We have a lot of talent shortage in Northern Kentucky, and so we’re very mindful of making sure that we are preparing our undergraduate and graduate students well for the workforce.”

Facing a huge budget deficit and declining enrollment, Short-Thompson hit the ground running with a sense of optimism.

NKU’s Board of Regents passed a balanced budget in June, the first time since announcing a $24 million deficit in 2022.

Short-Thompson, who began her career at NKU in 1996 as a faculty member, said NKU is now poised to ambitiously grow in how it serves the region. “I think my role as president is to work hard to grow our enrollments and to really beef up this talent pipeline so that we can become the greatest extent of a social and economic engine of the region as possible,” she said. “I’m excited about strengthening the university, making it more vibrant, and making the community feel more welcome on campus in lots of different ways.”

Short-Thompson also sees her role as the institution’s first female president as an example of breaking societal norms and expectations. “I certainly feel the pressures of that expectation, and I realize that we have a different set of cultural weights that come along with being the first to do anything,” she said. “And so, I notice it with young girls I meet, for example … who will come up to me and make a point of saying how cool it is that I’m president. Or I’ll notice that our 60 percent female student population takes note of the facts, [and] many of these individuals will say it’s time to have a woman in the position.”

Short-Thompson calls it an honor.

“I’m just really happy to have the opportunity, and I just feel like I’m in the exact right place at the right time.”

. . .

Dr. Brooke A. Flinders became president of Frontier Nursing University on Aug. 1. Flinders, who has extensive experience as an advanced practice nurse, educator and college administrator, mostly recently was a professor of nursing and associate provost for faculty affairs at Miami University in Ohio.

“I am proud and honored to accept the position of president of Frontier Nursing University,” Flinders said in a news release. “My connection to Frontier extends nearly two full decades, and I am so proud to be one of its more than 10,000 graduates. I loved my time as a student and have been thoroughly impressed by the university’s lived mission and how it has been embraced by the faculty, staff, administration and students through their culture of caring. I believe wholeheartedly in Frontier’s mission and am excited to carry it forward.”

Following experience as an acute care registered nurse and a certified nurse-midwife, Flinders received Miami University’s Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Nursing in 2021 and, in recognition of their service during the COVID pandemic, Flinders and her nursing colleagues received the President’s Service Medallion. Flinders was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2021.

“As a proud graduate of Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and Frontier Nursing University, I am eager to build upon the amazingly strong foundation that already exists,” Flinders said.

“Health care provider shortages and the maternal mortality crisis plague our country. Frontier has a long history of finding unique solutions to complex problems, and we will continue to be a leader in identifying and implementing solutions by producing highly prepared nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who have answered the call to serve.”