Not your typical academician
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| George C. Knox, president of Labette Community College, followed an academic career path much different from that of more traditional educators. Don Wilkinson/JBJ |
PARSONS, Kan. — When George Knox was hired in 2004 to serve as the president of Labette Community College, his career path had taken several interesting turns uncommon to most pure academicians. In fact, it never occurred to him during the formative years that he would ever become a community college or university president.
Knox wasn't even sure if he'd make it to graduation let alone go to college.
"I never thought I'd get out of high school. Honestly, I had a goal in my senior year of high school to see how many days I could skip. I was very talented in signing my mother's signature to those notes that you needed to get back in," Knox said with a mischievous smile. "My (late) counselor would either congratulate me or die on the spot. He said that I would never make anything of myself if I continued on the path that I was going. And he was absolutely correct, I wouldn't have."
But a stint with the military right after high school provided him with an "attitude adjustment" that put him on the right path. "I went into the Air Force and I think I learned a good work ethic. Then I did something that most would not consider doing, and got married when I was 19. I grew up pretty quick."
Life following the military led him back to school as an employee not a student. While working in the graphic design department at Nova University, Knox didn't think he was making enough money, so he went to the president to ask for a nickel per hour raise.
"He laughed and said, "When you get your degree, come back and talk to me." I quit to become a police officer." During the next 11 years, Knox earned his bachelor's ('81) and master's in criminal justice ('83) at Nova while working the formidable streets with the Hollywood (Fla.) Police Department.
"It was a tough city to be sure, but for me it was a really great learning experience," Knox said. "I spent the first part of my career in the older Cuban community, really enjoyed learning a different culture. The second part was tougher, working homicide and there I got to see the seeder side of life."
However, raising two boys in South Florida with his wife was not for Knox, so he moved to North Carolina in 1983, bought a mom-and-pop hardware store with a history dating back to deliveries made by horse-drawn buckboard. The ironic part of this: Knox didn’t have a clue about running a retail business.
"Not having ever been in business, let alone the hardware business, I bought the store with all of our savings and spent the next three years having a great time putting the store back together, Knox said. "Not only were we a retail hardware store but we did screen and glass repair, and lawnmower repair. Our biggest sell in the store was our tool rental – we had a huge tool rental department."
Knox credited his business success to the woman that worked in the store for more than 25 years. "She had been the bookkeeper, cashier, you name it, she did it. If it wasn't for her, I don't know that I would have been successful." The experience taught Knox another important lesson – patience with people – in what he described as trial by fire in customer service.
"We were doing great … we had built the stock back up from nothing to something and making a profit." However, competition put Knox's business into a declining sales situation so he took a part time gig at the local community college teaching criminal law.
And although he had a better appreciation for patience, the frustration after his second day of teaching in the wake of extensive preparation prompted him to visit his department chair.
"Here's my advice," he said. "Leave the textbook at home, bring some notes, put the podium aside, sit on the desk and talk about your experiences. Teach from what you know. The textbook is great but they want to really know what it's like to really be on the street, how the criminal law is applied." From then on, Knox had the bug for teaching and became hooked on administration.
"But the defining moment was I picked up a copy of Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and hadn't read it but had it on my desk. My college president came in one day, picked it up, read the back cover, and said "we won't have any of this crap at our college. Put the book down and walked out. I thought I'd better read it because there must be something to it if he doesn't like it."
What intrigued Knox was Covey's axiom, "Seek first to understand, and then be understood." "I was never a good listener and I think that could have been part of the culture of being a police officer. You would think the opposite, that you would be a good listener as a police officer and I don't think I was … it really helped me."
Not having his dissertation finished and wanting a different experience, Knox moved on to the technical college system in Fond du Lac, Wis., where their administration is based upon the Seven Habits, and became dean over 20 programs. He immersed himself in the Covey program at full speed to become a trained facilitator.
"I understand that it was more important to listen to people than listen to myself talk and I hope that I've tried to hold to that value today, because I certainly value people's input," Knox said. "It was a life-changing event. If fact, we are trying to bring some Covey things here that will tie the city, the community college, and the two USDs together."
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Sitting in his office, Knox ponders a question about his experience in the retail hardware business he owned in North Carolina. Don Wilkinson/JBJ | Knox came to Parsons at the behest of his predecessor after five years at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan. Knox found Parsons comfortable, and was amazed at the rich resources in the people. But Knox was not ready to step into the kind of "maintenance until retirement role" at the college that his predecessor described to him.
When he came aboard, Knox said that he made it very clear he was not there to "maintain" but to move forward. One of the first problems to resolve was branding and notoriety. Part of that has been accomplished with the addition of new signage along U.S. 400 and repainting one of the city's water towers with the school mascot. Red banners go up in the downtown area twice each year during registration to further identify the college with the city.
"I think that is a welcoming thing when people come to Parsons and see that the community is involved in our campus," Knox said alluding to the second area that he wanted to improve – enrollment.
"We just have a super college. Everybody on this campus pitched in to increase enrollment over the last four years and it has increased about 8 percent, higher than any other community college in Southeast Kansas," Knox said but unfortunately it highlighted greater problems – lack of space. But that is a subject for a future story.
So, in going from slacker to soldier to graphic designer to police officer to academician, who is George Knox and what does he bring to the table?
"That's a tough question to answer. I look at myself as a facilitator. I guess I would like to think that I am a person that would empower someone to use the best of their talents to move us forward. I don’t think I'm a micromanager.
"And what do I bring to the table you asked – too many ideas at once," he quipped. "Nothing wrong with that but it depends on who you ask," as Knox went on to cite a recent example.
Mentoring has played a major role in the success of many and for Knox there were two stages. "My mother and grandmother were probably the two most loving people that I've ever known – that is where my mentorship would have started. Regrettably, my grandmother did not live long enough to see me go through college, but I think she would have been pleased. My mother passed at age 50 and she did see me get my undergraduate degree."
The second stage of mentorship was his wife. "How she has put up with me for 39 years, raising two kids … well."
Regarding civic leadership in the community, Knox enjoys that role in the community but that funding was an issue. "I wish the college had more money to put back into the community. The board reminds me that there is a delicate balance between on campus and off campus activities, and I guess I don't necessarily have the ability to say no, so I probably do too much but I have a good time doing it."
In closing, Knox offered this piece of advice to those seeking to become leaders in their fields. "Think more about the people that you work with than yourself. And if you can't do that, then forget it. Find another career," he said.
"I want everyone in the organization to succeed on whatever level they want to and I think that we've been true to that statement on this campus in trying to bring the people along that want to advance, Knox said. "If you can't take care of the people that you work with, then you are in the wrong position." |
