The Golden years: Wichita State University’s 14th president on where he’s taking WSU

Mere minutes after 8 a.m. on a recent quiet Friday at Wichita State University, Jay Golden already checked off a faculty breakfast.

The new president wasn’t officially on the payroll yet, but he strode into his next meeting with a reporter and videographer with the busy air of a man on a mission.

Golden clapped three times as if he were Coach Gregg Marshall walking onto court with a rallying, “Let’s go!”

He smiles perhaps a bit more easily than his predecessor, the late John Bardo, but Golden seems to have much in common with him as well.

Skipping formalities such as introducing himself or even spending a few seconds on polite chit chat, Golden stopped only long enough to say, “Where do you want me?”

Golden has said a lot of the right things on his path to getting hired as the university’s 14th president.

“Be a better active listener than an active talker,” he said he’s learned.

However, anyone who doesn’t think he’s starting school with an agenda as thick as a backpack would be mistaken.

Golden answered questions with lengthy talking points he’s clearly been saying over and over to anyone who will listen. He has already invited The Eagle to check back for a progress report in just a few months — at most.

You seem to have done so many different things in your career — engineering, the corporate world, even being a policeman and a fraud investigator — so how did you end up in education?

A roundabout way. . . . I got a call after 9/11 to do a . . . remedial action plan of One World Financial . . . which was at the epicenter of the World Trade Center . . . where you had photographs and letters from kids looking for their parents, and I decided then I want to do something. I was doing sustainability, but I didn’t want to do work for law firms and insurance agencies anymore. . . . We just had our children. I wanted to do something more impactful in my mind.

So at that point you had really done nothing in education?

Except being educated. . . . I have a very supportive wife, and I called her and said, “I’m going to sell the company, and I’m going to go back, get my doctorate, and I want to teach.” . . . During that time, really from undergraduate through my career, I was in college at one point or another . . . master’s, professional programs. And each time I went back, I kicked myself in the rear for not being a better student in high school and undergrad. . . . Sometimes it takes people longer to find their calling. It took me a long time. I’m a slow learner. I guess.

How does that now inform how you feel about students who are either doing poorly or are underachieving?

It drives me, and it’s going to drive this institution and hopefully drive this state. . . . Some of our greatest entrepreneurs, greatest community service representatives, greatest politicians, public servants, didn’t go to elite universities . . . weren’t 4.0 the whole time.

What is your philosophy about higher education? Do you view it simply as a path to get a career or —

No, no. . . . It’s not just how I view higher education, it’s how I view the institution. . . . It’s a place that should be making an impact on the community and the region by creating the workforce, by creating the new technologies, the new services, by addressing things like health disparities, educational disparities and . . . economic disparities throughout the state. . . . That will transcend nationally. So let’s be really good at that.

When you were introduced to campus, some people came away thinking you want to basically continue what Dr. Bardo started at the Innovation Campus and that it didn’t sound like you want to make your own stamp. Is that an incorrect impression?

Slightly so. . . . I never met Dr. Bardo, but I want to give Dr. Bardo a lot of credit. I came from North Carolina — where North Carolina State has the Centennial Campus — which I think universally is seen as the gold standard for innovation campuses. It took 30 years for that to get going. Look what Dr. Bardo was able to accomplish in such a short time. That should be celebrated and applauded. . . . I want to take it to the next level. That will be my focus.

One of the criticisms of the Innovation Campus is that the wins the school celebrates actually are businesses that are already in Wichita and have simply moved to campus. Are people misunderstanding that?

That might be true in some respects. . . . What I’m focused on and what I’ve communicated to the team is . . . let’s bring in the organizations that can help grow the economy in Wichita and provide . . . broader and more diverse opportunities for our students. . . . I’m not going to go recruit students just to come and leave. We want them to come and develop . . . new entrepreneurial businesses I call microenterprises. . . . I have a whole plan of what we’re going to be doing in that regard so that we can not only provide great opportunities for our students but further the economy of both . . . greater Wichita and the state.

The other big criticism about the Innovation Campus is a lack of transparency, or a perceived lack of transparency, surrounding it and its development. Isn’t that something you’ve been hearing about from a wide variety of people?

Yeah, I’ve heard part of that. . . . But that’s the past, and I can’t do anything about that. But I think if you talk to our faculty and the community and our students, you will hopefully hear from them that the new president is very focused on transparency.

If transparency is important to you, how do you feel about your closed hiring process?

Again, that’s something that’s out of my hands. . . . Even if it was a very transparent process, I would have to earn the trust of every faculty member, every student, every staff member and community members.

There’s talk that you’re already looking to make changes at NIAR, the National Institute for Aviation Research. Does that include a name change?

You know, my wife is from the Midwest. . . . There’s humbleness in the Midwest. And my point is that we have arguably one of the world’s great research programs in aviation — period. We know that but not the rest of the world knows that. . . . The name is fine, but the way that we communicate and market and let people know of what all the great things that are happening here . . . that to me is very important because that will also then attract the millennials and others that would want to move to Wichita, stay in Wichita, the businesses that might want to locate on the Innovation Campus. So we have to get the word out better.

Even when there was another permanent president, and then with an interim president, some considered NIAR executive director John Tomblin to be sort of the de facto president. Does that concern you?

No, I’m very confident in my skills, my background and my vision, and it’s much broader than the Innovation Campus and NIAR. . . . I’m the voice and the advocate and the strategist for all the components of Wichita State University.

Speaking of voices on campus, the university got what amounts to a failing grade in a recent watchdog report on freedom of speech. What was your reaction to that? And what are you going to do about at least that perception?

So my reaction was I need to learn more about it. . . . I could just tell you my philosophy, and that is our institution, like all institutions of higher education, should be places where different and divergent points of view are heard and respected as long as those voices do not threaten, intimidate, demean or scare anybody in our campus or in the community.

What do you think of the Sunflower and its role on campus?

Their website and their paper, the frequency and the depth in what they do is wonderful. You know, if they call me out, maybe I need to be called out, right? I’m not going to push back. If they get something in error, that’s incorrect factually, we’ll let them know. But you know, that’s how we develop great journalists. So amen.

So you also have said you want to not only empower but require everyone at WSU to be bold and creative. What do you mean by that?

You look at China. You look at India. They’re thinking big and bold right now. When you think about areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, or other type of programs, health care, we can’t keep doing incremental changes. . . . That thought process also needs to come into higher education. . . . I got my PhD at an institution that started in 1200. And in some ways, they still do things very much from the 1200s. . . . Thank God we don’t do, you know, medicine that way anymore. And so I think I want to make sure that . . . we all question what we’re doing and how’s it preparing our students and the community for five years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years out.

How tolerant are you of employees who aim high and fall short?

Very tolerant. I have no tolerance for people who say we can’t do it because we’ve always done it this way. . . . That’s not acceptable.

You’ve been heavily involved with environmental sustainability. How does that apply to WSU?

Well, first of all, I think we could do a better job of sustainability on campus period. . . . Sustainability is not just thinking green. It’s also trying to do things that are . . . good for the economy. . . . Energy management, water management, those type of things. . . . It framed who I am because I’m . . . basically a systems engineer. So by that I fully embrace and need to embrace the humanist, the socioeconomist, business, policy engineers together to solve problems.

On that note, have you met Charles Koch yet?

No. I look forward to it. We’re both MIT people.

You had an extensive, ongoing education. Exactly how many schools did you go to? Cambridge, MIT —

The right question is how many schools did you write a check to?

So did you already have any personal connections in Wichita?

My youngest daughter plays volleyball in college, and her teammate and her roommate is from Wichita. East High School graduate. . . . The first time I came out I actually spent time with the family and they gave me a tour.

You say you instantly liked Wichita. Why?

I’ve learned — and my wife is the same way — we’ve learned that we’re not big, big city people. I get a little claustrophobic when I’m in New York. And Wichita checked all the boxes . . . without the mess and the issues and the traffic and everything that you have in a much bigger city. I love Wichita because it reminds me very much of North Carolina and its people. The people are really kind. . . . And the one thing I will say is as far as the entrepreneurial spirit here, I didn’t appreciate kind of the history of entrepreneurs in Wichita. And considering that’s really where I want to go, that was a very pleasant surprise.

Realistically, doesn’t every city the size of Wichita or larger have all kinds of entrepreneurs?

It has certain components. . . . I’ve been in places where it — for right or wrong, and obviously . . . for the people who live there, it’s right — “We don’t want to do that. . . . We’ve done it this way, and we will continue to do it this way.” God bless. That’s fine. I am just personally more attracted to communities that say, “Wow, what if? What if we could do that?” . . . That’s exciting.

Among your varied past jobs was a stint as a motorcycle cop. How did you wind up doing that?

Well, because I wasn’t a great undergraduate student, and so I took a little time off . . . at the behest of myself and my parents and Arizona State. . . . And, long story, I got an opportunity to become a police officer with the city of Tempe.

And then you had to choose between being a motorcycle cop or joining a SWAT team and rappelling face first down a 78,000-seat stadium?

All my counterparts who were former Marines and Rangers had no problem (doing it). I almost lost my lunch. There’s no way. You’d have to push me hard to get me over. So I thought, hmm, this isn’t it for me. Motorcycles were a little closer to the ground. And so I did it. I loved it. . . . On nice weather days (it) was great. When it’s 115 in Arizona, and you’re wearing all black with a bulletproof vest, and it’s nothing but hot air coming at you, it was not a fun day.

Anything from that experience that you still think about or use today?

Oh, every day. . . . If you’re a cop, and you’re going (on) domestic violence (calls) . . . or (there’s) drunks, and they’re in your face, you learn that when people raise their voice at you, etc., it doesn’t faze me at all. . . . Been there, done that. Doesn’t matter. You see society at its worst. And when I was a motorcycle officer, I did vehicular homicide. So part of my responsibility was to do notification of next to kin. . . . So I think those type of things formulate who I am for good or bad.

When you were at Arizona, didn’t you see the last WSU football game in 1986?

I did. . . . I don’t really remember the game. I remember the year because it was a very good year for us. So that was exciting. But I go into meetings with alumni or others and occasionally will ask who was there. I just did with the faculty. “Who was at the very last Wichita State football game?” And three people raised their hand, and I said, “You were at Sun Devil Stadium in November?” “No, I was the last home game.” . . . I do feel a little guilty that following that game . . . they got rid of the football team.

But you’re not going to bring back football?

I would love to bring football back. But I’m not going to in the near term. Doubtful.

In addition to trying to get in 10,000 daily steps, which you track, what’s the other health commitment you’ve made with your new job?

I have a responsibility to my family and myself and also the campus to stay healthy. . . . I try to focus on that. And I get invited to a lot of lunches, dinners and breakfasts, so I made a commitment that I do not eat sweets. . . . I try to push the plate away a little bit. . . . I don’t have the metabolism as I did when I played lacrosse.

As a former lacrosse player, you’ve said you often played dirty. What does that mean?

Well, any good lacrosse player who plays defense is a little dirty. That’s the fun of lacrosse. A good hit.

Do you bring that to your day job as well?

Ah, sometimes.

Give an example.

No. . . . But I would say it with a sense of humor.

Except for maybe that question, you seem to be someone who is willing to speak his mind, even publicly. Is that usually the case?

I am transparent to the point that I want to make sure people know where I’m coming from. I think one of the more difficult things and more stressful things for people who . . . report to a president . . . is ambiguity. What did he mean by that? What’s going to happen? Am I in trouble? Do I have to worry about something? The worst thing I could do is send an email to somebody, benign, but saying, “I need to see you. Can you come here?” Do I need to bring HR with me, or? . . . I always try to say, “I need to see you. It’s about this. It’s nothing. I need your input.”

When you were introduced to the school, you famously did the shocker hand sign. It’s not the easiest sign to make. Did you practice? (He flashes it again.) How did you do that so quickly right now?

Okay, so here — being transparent — I drew it for the first time. So I wanted to make sure I had it ready because last thing I want to do is have the wrong finger show up at the wrong time. But after that, it’s become very simple.

So do you have any concerns that sign could be misconstrued —

As long as people know the reason I do it — just like all the students and all the alumni and everybody else does it at the basketball game — is Shocker pride.

So anything already keeping you up at night about your new job?

Honestly, I am up a lot during the night. And it’s mostly because I’m so energized with ideas that people are giving me. . . . I put my head down and all these things start coming at me. . . . I find myself getting up and writing notes. . . . It’s all about, oh my god, we could do so much. . . . I have to be careful because I’m going to be asking people to go Mach 2 with their hair on fire to do things, and I need to make sure that for their health I pull back a little bit and slow it down at times.

This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 4:47 AM.