Blenda Wilson, Part 3

Partial Transcript: BLENDA WILSON: Yes. The Wade McCree Incentive Scholarship was inspired by the, using my New York experiences, going into high schools and telling 7th graders, I believe was his grand view, that if they completed high school and went to college, he would pay their tuition, and I believe the program still exists in New York. And so what we attempted to do was to establish a scholarship, a set of scholarship endowments that would be privately funded by individuals, which became a cornerstone of our development efforts, rather than having the institution bid up the prices out of its own budget.

Segment Synopsis: Wilson shares insights about the Wade McCree Incentive Scholarship, inspired by her experiences in New York, which aims to motivate students to complete high school and pursue higher education. The discussion also touches on the creation of a scholarship framework and the role of the Policy Council in fostering inclusivity and collaboration on the campus.

Keywords: Detroit; Greenfield Village; Harold Skramstad; Policy Council; Private funding; Scholarship endowment; U of M-Dearborn; Wade McCree Incentive Scholarship; Woodworth School; Henry Ford Museum

Subjects: Scholarship

Partial Transcript: BLENDA WILSON: Oh sure. On the other hand, I had an experience at Cal State-Northridge in which the validity of that designation of students was made unavoidably clear to the entire campus. And it was a result of the 1994 earthquake. The earthquake was on January 17, 1994. The campus opened February 14, 1994, in 360 trailers and 14 buildings. And we erected around the campus 18 stations. They were literally kind of like , with faculty and staff and students and whoever was around, with maps and directions to help students navigate this trailer camp university. Our enrollment dipped by about 4,000 students. We had put out the word throughout the state, to our sister campuses to let our students and visitors, if they preferred to stay wherever their homes were and go to school, and then we thought we could get them back. And, of course, some students, you know, lost their homes, or were just devastated and couldn’t deal with it, so we subsequently, even in that state, launched an enrollment campaign; it was really the first enrollment campaign
as well. And in that way suddenly people understood if students didn’t come back, our university could not survive, and certainly not survive at the scale that it had been. So students as customers became a clearly understood thing for even faculty, who participated in recruitment activities for the first time. So, yes, I think there was a needless reaction around industrial and business language that is as sensitive to academics it would still be today. On the other hand, I didn’t also know any other way to get through that students and their satisfaction is what we did in attempting to the ability of the campus to grow and thrive. So, in hindsight, I would have preferred to mute it, but I don’t know if I have anything; I don’t know that I had a substitute for it at that time.

Segment Synopsis: Wilson discusses the controversy over calling students "customers" in higher education. She shares how the 1994 earthquake at Cal State-Northridge forced the university to recruit students actively, making the idea of students as customers more understandable to faculty. While she acknowledges the backlash, she argues that student satisfaction is crucial for a university’s survival.

Keywords: 1994 Northridge Earthquake; California State University; Ford Motor Company; Post-Earthquake Adaptations; Student as Customer; Cal State-Northridge

Subjects: California State University, Northridge--History; California State University, Northridge

Partial Transcript: BLENDA WILSON: The rest was that I was, in the same way that The University Of Michigan in higher ed represented an extraordinarily excellent public model and still does. The other place that was like that was California State University, at the comprehensive level.

Segment Synopsis: Wilson continues to discuss the details of the challenge of rebuilding the Cal State Northridge campus after a 1994 earthquake destroyed the buildings, including the logistics of securing 350 trailers quickly. Wilson shares how she managed negotiations with faculty, especially in keeping academic programs going, and describes her leadership during the crisis, comparing it to "Martial Law." Despite mixed reactions, she sees the disaster as an opportunity to reshape the institution and recover enrollment.

Keywords: CSU Northridge restoration; California State University; State Transportation Authority

Partial Transcript: BLENDA WILSON: Well, let me say on balance, because it’s so obvious in my life, The University Of Michigan-Dearborn experience was to me a wonderful professional and personal experience. I should get an award from the Chamber Of Commerce for telling people what a great area the Detroit metropolitan area is. It’s not commonly known in the world, in case you didn’t recognize that. I found the spirit of Detroit and Dearborn like big towns, where, however difficult problems were, they were always good trying to deal with them, across the racial lines and across the economic lines, and them that behave that way.

Segment Synopsis: Wilson talks about her time at the University of Michigan-Dearborn as a meaningful experience that helped her connect her personal passions with her administrative work. She shares how she applied what she learned there to her role at Cal State-Northridge, especially in development and strategic planning. Looking back, she’s proud of her contributions, like expanding campus reconstruction and empowering faculty, and feels a strong connection to the Metropolitan Detroit area even after leaving.

Keywords: Career transition; Public schools partnership; Detroit metropolitan area

Partial Transcript: BLENDA WILSON: That was at Northridge. The search firm that was hired to find the president of the Nelly May Foundation had called just before Christmas, and said they would call back. And it was one of those totally discreet searches. I’ve never seen one like this. They never talked about candidates. They asked if I would be willing to talk to some people about what I felt about fund-raising, education and whatever, so in February, early February…

Segment Synopsis: Blenda Wilson explains how she was recruited by the Nelly May Foundation through a discreet search process, initially unaware of its purpose. She shares her extensive experience serving on foundation boards and how her background in education made her a strong candidate. She accepted the role, seeing it as an opportunity to directly impact education policy and funding, particularly for underserved communities.

Keywords: Getty Task Force; Independent Press in Washington; Pre-school to adult literacy; Nelly May Foundation