One-on-One with President Dottie L. King

Looking Back On 10 Years As President

By BJ Riley ’16

After ten years, President Dottie King reflects on her presidency, the College and its future. 

It is not obvious when talking about Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) with Dottie L. King, Ph.D., president, that her background is in mathematics. As granular as a mathematician has to be, King exhibits the ability to look at a broader view to formulate her vision for SMWC. 

Her favorite quote is from James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of the book, The Leadership Challenge. They wrote, “It is the work of leaders to inspire people to do things differently, to struggle against uncertain odds, and to persevere toward a misty image of a better future.” 

King says about The Woods that she realized early on as president that “if we didn’t do things differently, we would not grow.” She often talks about the College’s future in terms of a misty image — one that is not rigid or concrete. 

King smiles when she says, “I want the image to always be misty. I might miss a lot of things in the pathway. I don’t like to ignore opportunities.” 

In June 2010, King was appointed as interim president following the departure of President Dave Behrs, who came to the College in 2007. King, who had been appointed vice president of academic affairs the previous year, said she had no plans to apply for the position originally. 

A visit from Sister Jeanne Knoerle ‘49 shaped her path, however. “Sister Jeanne took my wrist in her hand and asked, ‘Are you going to apply?’ I told her that I had been thinking about it, but likely not,” recalled King, who believed Sister Jeanne and Sister Barbara Doherty ‘53, both having served as president, were bigger than life with shoes to fill of equal size. After much discussion and prayer, she decided to apply and put it in God’s hands.

On her first day as interim president, King received a letter from the Department of Education (DOE) claiming that an audit had shown the College to be non-compliant with Title IV funding for the Woods Online program and that the College would have to return $42 million to the government. She worked tirelessly, traveling to Washington D.C. and working with former governors Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence and U.S. Congressman Larry Bucshon, to prove SMWC was compliant. In October 2019, the DOE issued a resolution reversing the initial finding and stating SMWC had no financial liability. “It was the first issue I faced after becoming president. It took nine years, and in the end we were shown to be correct. It was an affirmation that we had always been compliant.” 

With a sound educational foundation and a mission that included a deep care for the students, King began implementing what she called a “small ball” approach to strengthening the College.

“I knew we were going to have do small things well first,” she said. 

 King started with implementing an engagement and advocacy strategy on campus and off, addressing small capital projects in the Library and at Le Fer Lake and strengthening the areas of fundraising, enrollment and external relations. The mantra “Aspire Higher” was born during these early days, which has become a widely embraced phrase by students and alumni alike. Relaunching a campaign to building a sports and recreation center along with embracing the school colors of Pomeroy blue and white were also key milestones. 

Long a believer in the single gender women’s college model, King wrestled with the knowledge that it was an unsustainable one for The Woods.

“I set out to examine the issue, completing five-years of research quietly and treating it like a dissertation,” King explained. She interviewed presidents of other colleges which included other single-gender institutions and colleges that had moved from single-gender to coeducational. 

“I was gathering data and courage. I needed courage to make the case and data to support the case,” explained King, who brought the data about decades of declining enrollment to the board of trustees in the fall of 2014. 

”I looked at the Linda Sax study on “Who Attends A Women’s College?” commissioned by the Women’s College Coalition, which reported findings that less than 2% of women nation-wide were likely to consider a single-gender institution. That was eye-opening.”

In a historic move, the trustees voted to change the mission of the institution to allow men in all programs the following May.

It is a special place and it draws people who are special. It makes me want to do more. I know people give so much to this place.

President Dottie L. King, Ph.D.

With a focus on growing and strengthening the College, the Aspire Higher Strategic Plan was launched in 2015. With a foundation of spirituality and a focus on diversified enrollment, the plan outlined three pillars of strategic priorities: academics, facilities and IT, and marketing and awareness.

The next steps for the coed transition were to do it well and quickly. 

“Fundraising immediately increased as the College hit its goal for the first time in six years as alumni and current students rallied around the decision,” King said. “That didn’t mean there wasn’t push back, but we dealt with it with grace. I believed that in admitting men The Woods would be able to enhance our mission of developing female leadership.” 

The proof was in the numbers. The incoming class in 2012 consisted of 89 new students, all female, with a total campus enrollment of 268. In 2016, the first class to be fully coed, increased to 134 new students of which 115 were women. The total campus enrollment for 2016 was 320. 

“What I’m proud of is that today we serve many more women than we did during the time when total enrollment had dropped below 300 students. It just was not sustainable,” said King. 

Of the 500 students in the campus program today, men represent approximately 20 percent. As of the fall of 2020, there were 185 new students of which 137 were women. The increase in women from 2012 to the present is just over 50% while the total enrollment has increased 86%. A Women’s Leadership Certificate program launched in 2020 as a further commitment to the women’s college founding.

“The people at The Woods continue to inspire me,” King said. “It’s a special place, drawing people who are special. It makes me want to do more. I know people give so much to this place.” 

The future is a subject King loves to talk about. “Change and evolution have been a cornerstone of The Woods since its inception and that will clear the path for the future,” she said. “A decade may be a long time at some colleges, but not at The Woods. We have been given this time here to make a difference and provide a sound base for generations to come.” 

Evidence of growth at The Woods during King’s presidency can be found throughout the campus. The Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center opened in 2014, which has led to the expansion of athletics teams with women’s volleyball in 2015 to men’s basketball in 2021, and now the addition of new majors such as kinesiology this fall and exercise science to launch in 2021. Nursing, which launched in 2014, continues to be the highest enrolled major. This summer, the College began construction on a new residence and dining hall while working to complete renovations on Le Fer Hall. The first doctorate in global leadership studies is set to launch in 2021. 

“Sometimes I think about what Saint Mother Theodore Guerin would have founded on these grounds if she were to arrive from France in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, today. I think she would build what our students need now, for this time and place. And with that knowledge in hand, I think so shall we,” said King. 

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A Decade of Significant Milestones Leads to Sustained Growth

• Relaunched a stalled fundraising effort, rebranding it the Pomeroy Pride Campaign in 2012
• Successfully built and opened the $8.3M Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center in 2014
• Funded the launch of the Nursing Program in 2014
• Launched the Aspire Higher Strategic Plan and began a branding effort in 2015
• Led the College through a mission shift in transition to become fully coeducational in 2015
• Increased enrollment in all modalities beginning in 2015, up 86% in 2020 for campus students
• Began work to strengthen the College’s Catholic identity in 2016
• Launched the Aspire Higher Campaign to raise capital funds for Le Fer Hall in 2017
• Expanded campus acreage from 67 acres to 311 acres through land purchase in 2018
• Achieved status as the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Historic District in 2018
• Reopened Le Fer Lake and walking trail after a full restoration in 2018
• Introduced Onyx the mascot in 2018
• Closed a decade-long issue with the Department of Education over repayment of $42M in 2019
• Launched Aspire Even Higher, the second phase of the strategic plan and a refreshed logo in 2019 
• Strengthened fundraising, attained and surpassed the Woods Fund goal for the 6^th straight year in 2020
• Created an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2020
• Broke ground on the first new residence and dining hall for nearly 100 years in 2020
• Expanded athletics to 14 teams beginning with the addition of women’s volleyball in 2015 and soon men’s basketball in 2021