Interim Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
On June 3, 2024, Lynn Vidler assumed the position of interim provost at UCCS, marking a new milestone in their journey of leadership development and growth.
Vidler came to UCCS in July of 2020, during a time they call “high COVID,” to become dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences (LAS).
“It was challenging, because everyone was remote,” they explained. “The whole College was learning new ways of working remotely and communicating from our kitchen tables and basements. Together, we found ways to build relationships and trust. Working through trial and error was essential.”
Vidler came to UCCS from the University of South Dakota, where they served as Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics for three years, followed by three years as an associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.
After receiving their Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in Spanish Language and Literatures, Vidler began their academic career at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.
“That was my first job out of graduate school—I interviewed at West Point just three months after 9/11,” they explained. “It was the only job I wanted,” they explained. It felt like something I could do to serve my country in that moment.”
West Point’s mission kindled Vidler’s interest in leadership development. They took on their first academic leadership positions, including roles as the program director for the Spanish program and the associate dean for the International Intellectual Development Division.
“It was a seminal developmental experience for me to be a faculty member in an environment where the purpose of the institution was to develop leaders for the nation,” Vidler explained.
“I sought leadership positions with a developmental path,” they continued. “At West Point, leadership positions were reserved for military faculty. So when the opportunity arose at the University of South Dakota, I continued my academic leadership journey there.”
As dean at UCCS, Vidler worked with faculty and academic departments to expand academic offerings and research. The college added two departments, eight degree programs, and numerous certificates and badges.
“I’m very proud of our efforts,” said Vidler. “We’ve also fostered an environment to inspire faculty and staff to be innovative and creative, helping meet the needs of today’s students.”
The college has also initiated several programs to support publication costs, seed grants to kickstart research projects, and helped mentor junior faculty in grantsmanship.
“During this time, we’ve actually doubled the average annual college grants from one million to two million dollars,” Vidler said.
LAS fundraising has also expanded during their tenure as dean. Vidler worked with the Advancement department on smaller crowdfunding campaigns as well as larger gifts, and the average annual giving has doubled in the last few years, with over $3 million raised for scholarships and other initiatives.
Vidler continues to emphasize the role of participative leadership. “The thing I am most proud of is the chance to collaborate on the creation of new programs in leadership development,” they said. “That’s something I’ve been passionate about for a long time.”
Starting with chair development programs and workshops in both South Dakota and in LAS, these initiatives are expanding through collaboration with the Human Resources department to develop a campuswide leadership development strategy.
“We were able to do a faculty cohort and a staff cohort of yearlong leadership development programs,” Vidler explained. “Leadership is now going to be an accreditation quality initiative for the campus, so for the next two years we’ll be expanding our work in this area.”
“For me, it’s so important that everyone on campus has leadership skills,” they continued. “Leadership isn’t about a job title or being in a position of authority. It’s a set of foundational skills that everyone can learn that helps improve self-awareness, interpersonal competence, teamwork, and the skills needed to lead change, all for the benefit of the university.”
It is Vidler’s hope that this will be the beginning of a continuous initiative on campus so that all staff and faculty, and even students, will be able to gain leaderships skills to use here at UCCS and in their everyday lives as well.
For Vidler, developing as many skills as possible is vital to organizational success.
“Different situations require different approaches,” they said. “It really depends on what you’re trying to do. Leadership is never something you’re doing alone – the whole point of leadership is that you have to be working with other people to make progress on whatever challenge is in front of you. And everyone is coming from wherever they are. So you have to know yourself, be self-aware, and then you need to get to know where the other people are, their histories and conflicts and needs. So how you approach a situation could be completely different based on all of those factors.”
Vidler observes that all leaders must ensure that they are in alignment with the mission, vision and values of the organization and helping to serve and make things better – and they’re always trying to learn.
“A big part of starting the leadership development project on campus is about me learning and continuing to learn about leadership and reflecting on mistakes that I’ve made and experiences that I’ve had,” they said.
During their time as interim provost, Vidler hopes to build on the momentum that is already in place and be whatever the campus needs them to be in the role.
“I’m happy to serve the campus however I’m needed,” they said. “In this role, it’s not about my goals or my vision, but rather, what does campus need in this moment? What do the faculty, staff and students need in this moment?”
There are a number of programs and policies that were pending when Vidler took on the role that they hope to get across the finish line, while also tackling any other issues that happen to come up during their time as interim provost.
During their free time, Vidler loves to cook, run and practice photography. They’ve found they have less time to cook since becoming a dean, but running and photography are the two things Vidler has “insisted on protecting.”
Running was originally a COVID hobby for Vidler, but they have kept it up over the past three years. “Nobody wants to run with me, because I’m too slow,” they laughed. “But if you’re a really slow runner, call me!”
Vidler gets to practice their other passion by participating in a weekly photography challenge.
“I’ve completed a five-year streak and am halfway through year six,” they said. “I love it because it helps you see the world through a specific lens that week.”
Vidler’s dedication to both running and photography underscores their belief in perpetual learning and development.
“You’re always learning as a leader,” they said. “It isn’t something you achieve and then teach people. Everything is a developmental experience, and that’s how I’ve tried to approach being dean and will continue to do as interim provost.”