Abriana Fines

Tori Murden McClure

President of Spalding University

Spalding University

Psychology with an emphasis on Neurology and Physiology

1) What are the major job responsibilities?

-Tori Murden McClure stated that this was too hard of a questioneverything dealing with

running a university is ultimately her responsibility.

2) Describe a day in your lifeparticularly a day in your life while rowing the Atlantic.

-While rowing, she would wake up at sunrise and would prepare the boat for a day of

paddlinggetting the oars out, checking the boat for cracks or damage from a storm. For

breakfast, she would eat granola. The goal each day was to row for around twelve hours,

stopping each hour for five minutes. She would row until the bottom of the sun was touching

the surface of the water.

3) What educational background is required for your position as a university president?

-As a university president, McClure does not have the typical qualifications. For most

presidents, especially at prestigious universities, they have their PhD and a terminal degree.

Instead, she has over 300 hours of graduate work. She earned her Masters in Divinity from

Harvard, a law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law, a Masters degree in Fine

Arts and Creative Writing, in addition to two outdoor semesters with medical certifications

(Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician).

4) How does your current position compare to your whole career?

-McClure said that her current position is a culminationit takes everything I ever had, all the

experiences.

5) What are the high and low points of this job?

-The lows of being the president is that it is a very lonely jobpaperwork and hard decisions

that are done solely by the president for confidentiality and as a responsibility of the job. When

great accomplishments happen with that, sometimes there is no one else to celebrate with.

Another downside it that there can be a faculty versus administration atmosphere. There will
 never be a time when everyone is happy with the decisions that are made. She used the

analogyand asked that I not say this outside of this assignmentof professors being dogs and

the university president being the cat. Everyone is chasing that prestigious title, but are in some

ways forced to be respectful which comes off in the wrong way.

-A high point is that during the difficult times, there is a community of people that are there for

support.

6) How does your academic major reflect the work you are currently doing?

-Her undergraduate degree in psychologyneuroscience and physiologydoes not really help

her in her presidency. She notes that her degrees in law and her masters in divinity from

Harvard are more beneficial for this position. Some days her law side needs to come out more,

others time not, and sometimes she just wants to hit people in the head with an oar.

7) What was the process from being the first woman and American to row solo across the

Atlantic to being the President of Spalding University?

-McClure stated that this process was long and complicated, but she was first the vice president

at the university. With that title she learned the ins and outs of the presidency, did her research

on things she did not understand, and observed the president at the time.

8) How do your experiences rowing translate into your role as a university president?

-Through rowing, McClure learned persistence, endurance, resourcefulness, and how to find the

motivation to get up each morning.

9) What is the best advice that you wish you had taken?

-President McClure usually takes all advice given to her or at least tries to incorporate the advice

into her personal or professional life. The same approach goes for when she receives criticism

as she always questions herself, what part of the criticism is true?.

10) What is something that took you by surprise or that you did not expect in this career?
 -She did not expect the amount of respect that her job title hadstating that individuals that

she had known before becoming president treated her differently after she had the title. She

notes that the way she is treated by her staff and faculty at times does not feel correct.

11) Before graduating with your undergraduate degree, is where you are at in your life where you

thought you would be?

-President McClure did not expect to have accomplished being the first woman and American to

row solo across the Atlantic or especially be a university president. She did not row for the

fame, she rowed for her own personal will. Being a university president is never what she

foresaw herself doing.

12) Prior to this interview, what were your assumptions/ideas about this career? How have your

ideas changed since the interview, if at all? How well do you think you would fit into this

position, given your knowledge about your own interests, values and abilities? What are your

overall impressions of this position and this career field in general?

-University presidents, I assume, are highly dedicated to their institution. There are numerous

responsibilities that they must fulfill, such as proposing new plans for the university and oversee

the actions of the various departments. My ideas post-interview have not changed in the grand

scheme of things. There are aspects of the job that I did not realized like the difference in

respect from colleagues once being president. Although, I never plan to become the president

of a university, I can see myself in an executive position at an outdoor facility in the future. I

find it interesting that President McClure never foresaw herself as a president either; it just goes

to show that anything could happen. Her and I are very similar in a way, both introverted and

adventurous. Wherever I may find myself in the future, I am sure to be happy in whichever

direction it takes me.