New Provost Brings Perspective In Education, From Elementary School To College

Sue Willcox, Ph.D., Rockhurst University’s new provost, brings a unique perspective to the job of higher education administration.

While many higher ed administrators start as faculty before joining the administration, Willcox began her career with younger students as a public school special education teacher.

It was as a teacher that Willcox said she learned so much about how to meet students where they are and to make their education relatable. Willcox brings that in-classroom experience, in addition to knowledge of strategic planning, curriculum development and accreditation honed in higher education, to the new role. 

Following several years in public education, Willcox began teaching community college courses. She then joined the mathematics faculty at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas. Willcox spent 22 years in administration at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri, where she served in roles that included provost and vice president of academic affairs, vice president for institutional effectiveness and information services, vice provost and associate vice president of academic affairs, before retiring. Sort of.

“Apparently, I have flunked retirement,” Willcox laughed.

Even after leaving her full-time position at Avila, she continued working in the field of higher education accreditation for the Higher Learning Commission and served the institution on a part-time basis. And the plan was to stay that way, until she got a call about the opportunity here from President Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., Rockhurst’s president, who had worked alongside Willcox as a peer evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission.

“It just sounded too good to be true,” Willcox said. “Rockhurst has always been pretty much the top institution in Kansas City. To have the opportunity to work here, and to work with Sandy again, is just amazing.”

Willcox praised Rockhurst’s faculty for the quality of their instruction and their ability to imbue their classroom work with the Jesuit mission and values. The result is an education unlike any other, one that is lifechanging, as Willcox said she has already heard firsthand.

“Students graduate from Rockhurst as leaders, with a strong sense of community and service,” she said. “I talked to some students in the interview process and they are so excited about the education they are getting here and they see that difference. They are well trained in leadership, but also they have this strong sense of service and community and building that in students in that balance is an amazing thing to do.”

Willcox said higher education in general faces challenges from the pandemic, demographic change, and other factors. In adapting as an institution to all of that and continuing to offer the kinds of programs students want, Willcox said it’s important to preserve what makes Rockhurst special — the Jesuit education that has led so many students to lifelong success.

“Well-rounded, well-educated people are still very much in demand, and we are really good at teaching things that students are not going to pick up on their own,” she said.