Chatham University President Rhonda Phillips has been president for more than a year now – a year that included a reorganization, financial burdens and stressors for all involved.
Despite this, Phillips spoke with the Communiqué on her experiences so far as president — the good and the bad — and her love for the University, as well as its people.
This passion for Chatham University’s preservation is what led her efforts in fighting for the institution’s financial future. The results so far include an improvement in the University’s financial responsibility ratio and continued progress.
“We were all determined, you know, me, the leadership team, the board, alums, everyone. We’re not gonna let this happen. This is too valuable of a place,” Phillips said.
Phillips stated that early in her career, she came to the realization that problem-solving was always going to be a large portion of her professional experiences.
Prior to working at Chatham University, Phillips was a dean employed by Purdue University in Indiana. Originally from Mississippi, Phillips was fully prepared to retire from Purdue and return to her family farm that she was raised on. That is, until she was made aware of an opening at Chatham. The deadline for the application was the same day she decided to look at the job application.
“I quickly wrote my letter, updated my CV and I sent it in at 11:53 p.m., before midnight. I was number 106 and so people joke with me and call me number 106. It was just meant to be,” Philips said.
Phillips connected with the values and mission of the University, explaining that not many other institutions have anything like Chatham — between the Falk School of sustainability, the health sciences, liberal arts programs and history, Phillips was in love.
“This is like a jewel. So I was like, ‘OK, I’m all in. I’m all in. This is great, I’ll just change my life trajectory. I’m not going to retire and do farming in Mississippi for a while. I can do that.’”
While there was excitement, there were also immediate challenges. Before Phillips was even inaugurated as president, it was uncovered that the University was $8-12 million in debt.
“It’s important to remember that Dr. Phillips learned of Chatham’s financial and administrative challenges AFTER she accepted the job,” said Dean of Students Chris Purcell in an email interview. “Many people would have turned right around and walked out of the door. She embraced the challenge head on. She has made a lot of tough and necessary decisions. Her first year was, in large part, about administering a metaphorical CPR to the University to resuscitate it from a fiscal emergency.”
The Department of Education assigns universities a financial responsibility ratio (FRR), which is a scale between negative one and positive three. This number represents the financial standing of private institutions – values below one being considered failing, 1-1.4 are worth financial inquiry and 1.5 or above considering passing. At the time of Philips’ inauguration, Chatham was rated a 1.2
After months of hard work, it was announced that the score raised to a 2.4.
“This is big. So, when we sat down with our auditing team and we got the news, I felt this weight just go ‘whoosh.’ Yes, I knew it was going to be better because we had been doing all of these things, but I had no idea it was going to be double,” she said. “This is massive. What this means is a lot of people have been working very hard to get us to that stabilizing point.”
Outside of University problem-solving, Phillips spends her free time outside gardening, growing medicinal herbs, hiking and walking her dogs. When asked what she would want students to know about her, she emphasized the importance of students’ wellbeing.
“The idea is that I really want our students to have the opportunities to thrive and grow. This is their beginning journey into the rest of their lives, and I want that to be meaningful,” she said. “This is your gateway to a world of learning, and hopefully a love of lifelong learning.”
