Most Admired CEO Janine Davidson leads charge to make higher ed more equitable

When President Janine Davidson took over the top job at Metropolitan State University of Denver, her business-friendly approach was evident through partnerships with Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems. And her school just graduated its 100,000th student — a worker 80% likely to stay in Colorado for a decade after graduation. She led MSU Denver in its pivot to virtual and managed to pass through 3,368 graduates despite the hurdle.

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The outlook for higher education was bleak in the early days of the pandemic — especially for schools like MSU Denver that don’t have huge legacy endowments or NCAA football revenue to fall back on like some of the region’s big-name systems. Tell us about how things are looking now for your school. We’re looking at the future through a “recover, stabilize, build” timeline: We’ve returned to campus and are bouncing back from some of the Covid cuts, and soon we’ll be building on our upward trajectory again. We launched a 2030 Strategic Plan in December 2020 where we detail goals like providing an ideal transfer experience, serving as a civic and economic catalyst for the community and becoming Colorado’s most desired place to work. I’m confident MSU Denver will come out of the other side of the pandemic stronger than before.

You successfully advocated at the Legislature for millions more in funding and 13 additional “priority bills” — all of which passed. How big of a difference will this legislation make for MSU Denver and other higher-education institutions that serve largely underserved students? What happened last year is that Covid really exposed many of the weak points and inequality in our systems, including higher education. The Legislature stepped up and made moves to address these historic inequities by adding resources where institutions were best positioned to close many of these gaps. The state’s master plan for higher ed explicitly calls out the need to increase credential completion for Coloradans of color. MSU Denver educates nearly 9,000 students of color, so this investment will help the state reach its goals.

We also advocated for bills that make it easier for immigrants to earn professional licensure in their fields and make standardized tests optional in college admissions — the kinds of policies that remove systemic barriers and help Colorado educate and fill the advanced workforce that it needs.

What trends or stories in higher education are you watching as we enter Year 3 of the pandemic? Nationally, higher ed enrollment decreased 3.5% in spring 2021, one year after Covid hit. About 725,000 undergraduates disappeared from campuses, and many high school grads delayed college. On the other hand, graduate school enrollment actually increased in that time, and adult-learner enrollment at four-year universities is up too.

As many lost their jobs or decided to reevaluate their careers during the pandemic, more students are going back to school or going for advanced degrees, and MSU Denver is educating a record number of master’s students this fall. Most MSU Denver students are a little bit older and work throughout school. They need flexibility in their schedules, including online and off-cycle courses. We are ready to meet them where they are and help them reskill and relaunch post-Covid.

Day-to-day transformation: My No. 1 love is getting outside — biking, hiking or skiing is where I am “all me.” And luckily I have a husband who also loves the great outdoors.

I’m not sure if I would declare myself a chef, but I got reacquainted with my kitchen and learned a few tricks during the pandemic. I recently squared off against one of my vice presidents in a “Biscuit Bake-off” hosted by MSU Denver’s School of Hospitality, and I more than held my own. Since some of the best chefs in Denver work on my campus, I at least know where to go if I want to take my cooking to the next level. (video)

Hoped-for Denver transformation: MSU Denver has long been known for meeting students where they are, and that will be extremely important as we recover from a pandemic that has interrupted every facet of our lives. As the Denver economy bounces back and people reconsider their careers, MSU Denver will be the place for Coloradans who are integrating their dreams of a degree and a better life into their real, complex, zig-zaggy lives.

We’re investing in our online offerings, transfer student processes, and advising resources for returning and working students, and just as importantly demonstrating the Roadrunner attitude and culture, which started with students running across roads downtown as they juggled work and class throughout the history of the institution. Our faculty “get it” — they wake up every day focused on this mission, and that is what drew me to MSU Denver.

How MSU Denver is driving transformational community change: I could talk all day about how MSU Denver is transforming the community but one thing I’m most proud of is that 58% of our students are the first in their families to go to college. There’s an often-cited stat that a college degree is worth about a million dollars in salary over the course of a career compared to a high school diploma, but it is even more than that: When someone is the first in their family to go to college, that trend continues to their children and grandchildren — that’s the kind of positive generational change we can have on a family when a student is the first in their family to earn a degree.

Advice for emerging leaders: My No. 1 focus as a leader is to remember that leadership is all about people! Without the faculty and staff at MSU Denver, there is no need for me or my board of trustees; no need to wake up in the morning and go to work. And without passionate, talented and motivated faculty and staff, there are no students, no mission. People-focused leaders listen to their employees and make it their job to clear all obstacles so that teams can soar.