Invested in Student Success

While reflecting on her first year as president of Northern Kentucky University, Dr. Cady Short-Thompson most fondly remembers her opportunities to see students excel at what they’re passionate about. Whether they’re speaking, competing or performing, knowing that students are being given the support they need to thrive is one of her biggest motivations.

"I was at a play last week, and I found myself moved by how good they are," President Short-Thompson said during an interview on Oct. 2, the first anniversary of her assuming office. "I sometimes think about how lucky we are to get to be along for the ride as a part of their journey while they develop into who they're meant to become."

As president, one of her primary goals has been to foster an environment in which all students can pursue excellence, surrounded by a community that has their best interests in mind.For President Short-Thompson, this means providing access to attentive faculty, well-equipped advisors and touchpoints along the way to ensure students are on track.

"I find the faculty and staff who are willing to extend themselves generously and graciously to our students on their best days—and on their worst days—to make sure that they have the support they need to thrive is so powerful and so uniquely important," she says. "At NKU, we're highly relational. We're highly invested in their success. And I find it moving to hear from students about how faculty or staff have changed their lives or that they're the reason they chose their field or their profession."

At the end of her first year in office, President Short-Thompson says that she’s been most proud of seeing NKU’s enrollment rise at a time when enrollments tend to be down nationwide.

"I'm proud of the way that people are starting to sense an awakening in Northern Kentucky University," she says. "People are often saying that there’s something happening in Highland Heights, they're hearing more about us, or they're more aware of our willingness to engage with our community, and I think that's exciting.”

At present, enrollment management is President Short-Thompson’s No. 1 priority, because increased enrollment improves NKU’s financial stability and furthers its mission to educate as many students as possible.

To increase the university’s reach, she has cast a wide net in the region and to ensure strong connections with local feeder schools.

"We’re spending quite a lot of time right now meeting with the superintendents and principals of our school districts, as well as community college leaders to understand where they are, what their needs are and what we can do to strengthen our partnerships and pipelines," she says.

Engaging with new constituents of students—not just incoming graduate and undergraduate students—is also part of her plan to increase enrollment.

President Short-Thompson wants to extend second chances to those who have previously dropped out or paused their college educations to pursue work, raise their families or address personal matters.

"It's all about broadening the door and making sure that we attract and then do our best to serve all sorts of students who want to come and pursue their dreams of education," she says.

Another critical piece of her plan is examining university systems as a whole—improving clunky elements, processes and technologies to make college a more straightforward experience.

"We are dated in some of our systems, whether it’s our website or our Enterprise Resource Planning, and we need to rebuild these so that we can work with other advances like AI and new software," she says. "The tech part of modernization is really to streamline what I call the 'back office' parts of our university that are slower and require manual work, which for most people isn't the enjoyable part of coming to the university every day."

She is also determined to increase vibrancy and engagement on campus, which she says starts with activities like seminars, sporting events and club meetings.

"There are so many different ways that a university can gather people, and our community is always looking for new ways to engage, grow and build into one another," she says. "I think it is our job to make sure these are worthwhile endeavors and that people are walking away from these engagements feeling informed or inspired."

This on-campus support has been a major help for President Short-Thompson in navigating the challenges that come with becoming a university president. Reconnecting with former students has been a particularly uplifting experience.    

"I’m grateful for the broad support I've received from faculty and staff and the board and the community. This is work that requires all of us, and the welcome I've received back to the university and back to the region from folks I knew and from folks I had not met, has been remarkable," she says. "One of the highlights of the year has been re-engaging with many students that I taught when I was here who are, of course, now well established in the community and excelling in their respective careers and lives. And everywhere I go, I have the great joy of coming across students I taught. And truly—whether it's in a restaurant or at a chamber event or it's in their own company that I'm visiting—they come out, and the look on their face when we see each other is priceless to me. We're excited to see each other again. At some point in the day, it's fun for me just to get reacquainted with people I care about."

Jude Noel ('19)

Communications Specialist

Jayna Morris ('22)

Assistant Director, University Communications

---

---