June 1, 2017 is a historic day for North Central University, as the seventh president in the institution’s nearly 87-year history officially begins in his new role. Scott Hagan, M.A., has been on this journey for more than a year, since he heeded the invitation of Board of Regents member Tom Jacobs, who said, ”You were made for this job,” and allowed his name to be put forth for the position.
His unanimous selection by the Board of Regents was announced in February and his introduction to the NCU community was met with great enthusiasm. Now, following a two-month transition during which he had the rare privilege to run his first few laps alongside outgoing President Gordon Anderson, Hagan has taken the baton and is ready and eager to lead NCU into the next chapter.
The first 100 days
While the American public has grown accustomed to anticipating and evaluating the first 100 days of a new president’s time in office (which happens every four or eight years), North Central University hasn’t had a “first 100 days” of a new leader for 22 years.
These first 100 days of President Hagan’s tenure are important, but rather than facing them with any kind of trepidation, Hagan is eager to lean into “a pretty steep learning curve” and apply his proven skills as a leader to this new environment.
In laying out his plans, Hagan is quick to point out that far beyond plans or programs, his priority is people, first connecting with them, and then connecting them to the vision and goals that lie ahead.
Hagan sees amazing opportunity in what’s about to happen, noting that the people working at this university right now are in a position to build something brand new. “I’ve talked to hundreds of people in the last two months,” Hagan said, “from alumni who are 80 years old to new graduates. Everybody loves this place! And every single person tells me in one way or another, it has not yet reached its potential.
“So I think leadership transition is a great moment where you help people to start feeling something new. And the great thing about the human heart and human mind, especially for Christians, is that we do believe in new beginnings, we believe in resurrection and rebirth, we believe in healing… so there is a theological and emotional template for moving organizations forward, just like you move people forward.”
Making connections
With most of his career spent in leadership positions, Hagan is familiar with people’s natural response when a new leader comes on board. “Some people come from a culture where if the top guy says something, we’ve got to drop everything and do it,” Hagan pointed out. “I am not that way. My style is to process out loud; I present a lot of ideas or suggestions, but not demands.”
Hagan noted that in the early stages, it’s about learning the rules and the resources. “You poke around by offering an observation or making a suggestion or giving an idea. Then you tap a rule or you tap an absence of resources, or a complexity.” This process allows the new leader to better understand the environment before introducing dramatic changes.
“An organization is first, people,” Hagan said. “It is second, structure. For me to learn and understand North Central University, is foremost to learn and understand the lives of the great people that serve here. Everything starts and ends with relationships. That’s where trust happens. Visions or ideas are secondary to the bond people feel, one to another.”
Hagan described the essence of the process for getting to know an organization: “You gotta cannonball into the lake,” he said. “And there are those few seconds when you go from dry to wet, and it’s all cold, and it’s the transition; but it’s only for a few seconds, and then your body acclimates to the temperature of the water and it’s refreshing.”
With the two-month transition before day one as president, Hagan is feeling good. “I think I’m past that shock of hitting the water, and it’s becoming refreshing,” he reflected. “I’m enjoying the people and their stories. My first one hundred days is spending a lot of time one-on-one and in small groups sharing stories and getting to know one another’s lives.”
Plans and strategies
Hagan readily acknowledges that putting the people and relationships in place is a vital first step, but there is much to do beyond that, too. One “rhythm” of higher education that the new president has observed is the natural movement of personnel that happens with the cycle of a school year. “There is a lot of movement with faculty, staff, and administration right after graduation,” Hagan pointed out. “It’s a time when people make their career moves and professional decisions for their jobs.”
Because of these natural transitions, some of Hagan’s first hundred days will be spent making key personnel decisions. His faith and confidence in the leaders around him help make this a less daunting task. “When you’re new you don’t have the privilege of understanding all the situations…” Hagan observed, “…but God helps and you have wise people around you; you just have to be thoughtful. You have to get good counsel as best you can, to understand where the decision needs to be in this area of personnel.”
A university of promise
After the clear priority on getting to know the people of the university, President Hagan does have a guiding theme for the first hundred days and beyond, “We are a university of promise,” he said. “When you think of the word, ‘promise,’ you think of something yet unopened, something in the future that’s even better than what lies in the past.”
Three key supporting themes Hagan wants to introduce are to engage, align, and expand our pathways. He explained each briefly:
- Engage: This is the people part that takes place each time he meets with members of the NCU community—students, faculty, and staff—and an extended network that includes alumni, donors, community leaders, and more. “It’s the best part of the job so far, meeting people,” Hagan said. “They did hire the right guy for that. I have endless energy about meeting new people.”
- Align: This involves everyone who is part of NCU’s story, from the Board of Regents to the newest student. “Aligning them, bringing their stories together,” Hagan explained, “[means] I have to fully understand these pieces. And then part of the art of leadership is creating a connecter. Leadership is about leveraging everything that exists in that organization…and putting the pieces together differently—to create new fruitfulness and new strength.”
- Expand our pathways: This is recognizing a changing market in higher education that demands increase in affordability and accessibility. It’s important to expand online learning options, but do it in a way that retains North Central’s DNA so that all students experience Spirit-empowered, academically rigorous education, whether it’s in-person or online. Hagan retains an ardent commitment to NCU’s powerful model of primarily in-person education for traditional-age students. “The socio-academic setting for the 18 to 22 year-old is imperative,” Hagan commented. “[Most students] are not going to sit around at 18 years of age…with an iPad, and become world-changing leaders. It’s not going to happen because leadership is a human-to-human transaction. There must be the transfer of the proven life to the promising life.” And that needs to happen in a human way, not a digital way.
Action will follow as these themes are shared and explored, but for Hagan pace is important. “I’ve studied [university] presidential transitions—there is no goal-setting the first year,” he observed. “There are guiding themes, because I need to learn, I need to listen, I need to engage with people and find out all the beautiful talent and things that exist; and to bring no assumptions and no bias into the organization.”
Two requests
President Hagan is aware that he is likely to be afforded more grace in his first 100 days than some other leaders of late, and he is grateful. He noted that there are two things he would ask of the NCU community during his first 100:
- For staff and faculty, in particular, Hagan encourages them to “use this change window on a very personal level to welcome your own revival in your relationship with Christ, and your own professional revival.”
- “Please let me grow into the job,” he requested. “I’m going to make mistakes.” That he is filling big shoes, following Gordon Anderson’s presidency, does not escape Scott Hagan. “Think about this person,” he reflected, “he’s very distinguished, iconic; if you were casting Gordon Anderson in a movie as university president…he looks like the president of Notre Dame! So I just have to let it all go and be comfortable in my skin.”
Hagan believes a dream he had recently carries weight, not only for him in his new role, but also for everyone. “I sat up in a dream,” he recounted, “and I felt the Lord saying to me, ‘Don’t waste one second of your time being insecure.’ Relax. Go with what you’ve got here. Go with your heart. Listen. Just don’t be insecure.”
From the first 100 days to the future
Scott Hagan believes North Central should be excited about the future. “North Central University is a proven reality,” he said; “It has already been a dream come true. It’s 86 years of producing and creating promising leaders, so it’s not like we’re hoping, we’re crossing our fingers that something might happen.
“All of the pieces, all of the people are in place. Every single person I talk to wants to see this place soar! When you get that many talented people who want to see this, who have a common vision for what it can be—it’s an unstoppable possibility.”
