Dr. Tonya Strickland is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Wesleyan University, and has held that position since 2015. Dr. Strickland has a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Journalism and a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. The following interview was conducted in the spring of 2016.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n ME: Why did you decide to go into journalism?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> When I was 16, my honors English professor recommended me for a job with the city of Brecksville, Ohio, and I became their PR person. I would cover any events that they did. I went out and got a camera, I started doing photography, writing this up and I loved it. I went on and got two more jobs when I was in high school that were journalism-related\u2014one was working for a community newspaper. So when I went off to college at the University of Wyoming, I was allowed to take journalism courses as a freshman. When I went home on Christmas break, the editor went on break and I actually put the whole community newspaper together, and that\u2019s one of my favorite things\u2014weekly newspapers, which don\u2019t see a lot of anymore. I\u2019d always loved to read and write, and I went into journalism because I had those opportunities<\/p>\n ME:\u00a0 Did you like to read newspapers and magazines, or just reading things in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I read everything. We had a mulberry tree when I was little, and we had a bookmobile since we were so far out in the country. I couldn\u2019t wait to get on the bookmobile and get my books, and I\u2019d go sit under the mulberry tree and read.<\/p>\n ME: Why did you decide to go into curriculum and instruction?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I decided that there was one thing I loved more than writing, and that was teaching writing. So I started looking at what I wanted to get my doctorate in, and I loved learning about how we learn and how the brain works and what makes a good writer. I went into that and began to teach writing.<\/p>\n ME: Was there a long gap between getting your Master\u2019s and your doctorate?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I got my Master\u2019s in 1985, and then my doctorate in 1996, so there was a little bit of gap in there as I was having children and that sort of thing. But I think I always knew I wanted to go on after my doctorate\u2026 actually, I can\u2019t say that\u2019s true, because at one point in my life I was have trouble finishing my Master\u2019s degree and getting my thesis done. I actually decided I wasn\u2019t going to go on with it, because I had a child and it was just so difficult. My mentor at the University of Wyoming paid my tuition and said, \u201cYou will finish your thesis.\u201d That prompted me to go ahead and finish my thesis, which I defended and received my degree right after my second child\u2014my son\u2014was born. I actually have a picture of me in the hospital with my graduation cap on! At the time, I didn\u2019t know what God was preparing me for\u2014I thought before I finished my Master\u2019s that I wasn\u2019t going to need it, but then I see looking back that God brought me through to my Master\u2019s and later led me through to my doctorate, so that he could bring me here. Everything that has gone on in my life has prepared me for this position.<\/p>\n [Discussion goes on to Personal Wholeness]<\/em><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> We\u2019ve done away with the Personal Wholeness courses as of this semester [Spring 2016<\/em>] and I\u2019m writing the three-hour [version of the] course.<\/p>\n ME: I\u2019m sure the students coming in now will appreciate that.<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Yes, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve heard. I\u2019m trying to put together a comprehensive course that is very much faith integrated and starts off with worldview, and we\u2019ll see where it goes from there.<\/p>\n ME: Will it still have the \u201cintroducing freshmen to college\u201d aspect?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s about becoming part of a community, and it\u2019ll have the resources you need to know that are here. It\u2019s called Foundations for Success, and it\u2019ll give students a foundation for success, not just on a college campus but in life with God.<\/p>\n ME: Will that start next fall?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Yes, next fall\u2014I\u2019ll be teaching the honors. I\u2019m so busy I can\u2019t imagine adding teaching to it [her workload], but I love teaching and I love students, so I have to fit it into my schedule at least once a year.<\/p>\n ME: You worked at Bainbridge State College before here\u2014what led you to start teaching there?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I was at another school in the University System of Georgia, I was primarily a faculty member there, and I had people that kept trying to get me into administration. So they had an opening there for a Chair, and I applied for it and that\u2019s what took us there. After being a Chair, I went to being a Dean, and then a VPAA [Vice President for Academic Affairs], and I was a VPAA there for five years before I came here. But all that experience\u2014God was preparing me for this job, I just didn\u2019t know it then.<\/p>\n ME: How would you compare working there to here at Southern Wesleyan?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Well, what\u2019s interesting is that a couple years before I applied for this position, I was getting that restless feeling and I thought, \u201cI just need to do something more spiritual.\u201d That\u2019s when I decided to finish up my seminary credentials so I could teach our Intro to Religion class. I was doing that in the fall when I applied here\u2014I thought that was going to make me not restless anymore. I loved preparing for the class, but because it was a state institution I could not share my testimony or my faith or what I believed or didn\u2019t believe. That was very hard when I got in that course and had to teach it without being able to share Jesus and what He\u2019s done in my life. So that definitely did not get rid of the restlessness, and God knew that it wasn\u2019t going to do what I needed. It was during that semester when God led me to apply for this position.<\/p>\n ME: Are you excited for next semester?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I\u2019m so excited to be able to integrate my faith in what I teach. Right now, I\u2019m working on preparing the course and it\u2019s just so wonderful to know that the foundation of everything I\u2019ll teach starts and ends with God.<\/p>\n ME: You said in your paper But God <\/em>that when you were feeling that call you searched for \u201cChristian college provost,\u201d and the one result was SWU. How did you feel in that moment when that came up?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> When that came up it was just so\u2026God. I mean, here I hear His voice, I follow through on it, and He stamped His name right on SWU. As I looked through what the school was looking for in a provost and the type of school it was, it was like a perfect fit.<\/p>\n ME: SWU has a motto: \u201cSouthern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community dedicated to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ.\u201d From what you\u2019ve seen, do you believe they\u2019re living up to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I believe that Southern Wesleyan is living up to that in every single word, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m so excited to be here. You just don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to go into the President\u2019s cabinet meeting and know that you\u2019re sitting there with people who love God, love each other, love students, and the whole reason that we\u2019re here is that so we can transform students\u2019 lives. You go to a meeting, your colleagues are there, you\u2019re praying for each other, you\u2019re praying for students; and you get so excited because you hear about this student or that student coming to know Christ. I\u2019m in prayer group with students Wednesday nights, and to hear stories that they come in and that God is working in their lives\u2014that\u2019s just what keeps me going every day.<\/p>\n ME: Compared to some other Christian universities I\u2019ve been to, SWU seems to have a more open policy of discussing other worldviews. Do you believe that strengthens or hinders the students in their faith?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I think that everybody has a worldview, and people sometimes don\u2019t even understand what their worldview is until you start to talk about worldviews. I think you need to know not just what you think you believe, but what others believe and be able to understand and follow the evidence. We don\u2019t have a blind faith. There is evidence for our faith, so you need to know what that evidence is and be able to defend that evidence.<\/p>\n ME: One thing that interested me in your paper was that you were excited about your antique partner\u2019s desk before you were moving so you could renew your writing ministry. What did you first do with your writing ministry, and what caused you to renew and start it again?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I\u2019ve worked in different Christian organizations, but I\u2019ve always done writing that you would call Christian writing. I\u2019ve had a book published at one point, but once I got into graduate school and had children I got very busy. Once you get into administration at the college level, it can just gobble up all of your time. So when I wanted a place of my own to write, I thought that what I would really like was a partner\u2019s desk. A partner\u2019s desk is a large desk\u2014this thing probably weights five-hundred pounds\u2014and there\u2019s a chair on both sides. I started looking for partners desks and they were all thousands of dollars. Then I kind of forgot about it, until God brought it to my mind almost a year later when I had seen a partner\u2019s desk. So I checked Craigslist and there, just three hours from us, was a partner\u2019s desk that was being sold for [a good deal]. I called her, we drove down the next morning, and she called and asked, \u201cWho are you bringing to carry this desk?\u201d I answered, \u201cIt\u2019s just my husband and me,\u201d and she replied, \u201cWell, it took four men to carry it into the house.\u201d My husband went and got lots of ropes and pulleys and things to carry this, and there was the biggest downpour of a thunderstorm that I had seen in years. My husband said that we couldn\u2019t move the desk if it was raining. As we were getting supplies at Lowe\u2019s, I had two prays. I first prayed, \u201cGod, please let it stop raining,\u201d and then \u201cAnd please bring Charlie someone to help him move the desk.\u201d When we got back to the house, the woman\u2019s son-in-law was just showing up, and he said, \u201cOh, let me help you with that!\u201d And it stopped raining just until we got the partner\u2019s desk loaded and covered, and when we were on our way the heavens opened up and it poured rain again. So that is my miracle desk\u2014God led me to that desk and then His hand was all over it.<\/p>\n ME: Do you still write now?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I do. Well, just like what I sent you. I\u2019m currently working on the course right now, but I constantly have ideas and I just keep putting notes in there. Once I get through writing this course, then I\u2019ll go back to writing. My heart\u2019s desire is to write and publish words that will inspire people to know who Jesus is. That\u2019s why I believe God brought me to Earth.<\/p>\n ME: What do you think of the faculty here? I know that you mentioned that you prayed together and that they\u2019re trying to make an impact on people\u2019s lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> I\u2019ve known a lot of faculties over the years in my different positions, and this is the most dedicated and loving faculty I have ever been privileged to be with. They are wonderful people\u2014they work so hard, they care so much about their students. I\u2019m inspired by our faculty.<\/p>\n ME: The faculty are great here\u2014I have one professor where, if I don\u2019t do well on their tests, they\u2019ll actually ask and say, \u201cHey, what happened?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> And that\u2019s very different\u2014some schools you\u2019ll go to the first day of class and the professor will say, \u201cI want you to look around the room, because at midterm half of you will have flunked out.\u201d My whole view of teaching is, when you go into a classroom, you want the students to know that you\u2019re there to help them learn. Your job isn\u2019t to flunk them out, but it\u2019s to help them be successful; It\u2019s so nice to be at a university where that is how faculty perceive their role.<\/p>\n ME: Have you gotten to interact with students a lot?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> When I first got here, no. I was so busy learning how everything operates here and where I needed to put my energy, so I did not have a lot of student interaction. This semester, though, I\u2019m getting to know students more.<\/p>\n ME: Are [the students] kind of scared of you or nervous?<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Oh yeah, especially when they don\u2019t know what a provost is: \u201cThat sounds really important! I think I\u2019m going to be intimidated!\u201d<\/p>\n ME: Yes, I felt kind of bad \u2013 [SWU President] Todd Voss sat down at our table at lunch once and none of us knew how to interact with him.<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> Yes, but then you realize that we\u2019re just normal people\u2014we like to have fun and we like to kid around. One suggestion [to have more contact with students] that has been made is that we have some times where we just meet with students and just talk about whatever issues they want to talk about. I love it when students come to me with issues, because I\u2019d much rather hear it from a student than let it go all over the place and then by the time you hear about it, there\u2019s been so much damage. So I love to hear students\u2019 ideas. I much prefer when something comes up to sit down and talk about it right away and pray about it.<\/p>\n ME: It\u2019s very nice talking, especially since there is that barrier like, \u201cOh, that person is so high up\u201d and you don\u2019t want to mess up or not look perfect in front of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n STRICKLAND:<\/strong> You see, I see that as Christians, we all need to take down the masks that say, \u201cHey, I\u2019m perfect\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ve arrived,\u201d because all that does is make other people feel inadequate. We\u2019re real people\u2014even people who are at this level, we\u2019re real people. Same needs, same challenges, same pains that everyone has. That\u2019s what students and faculty have in common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jessica Mau Dr. Tonya Strickland is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Wesleyan University, and has held that position since 2015. Dr. Strickland has a Bachelor’s and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[344],"tags":[82,373],"class_list":["post-1191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-events","tag-conversations","tag-swu-stories","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1191"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3413,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions\/3413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}