People, Programs, and Place: Dr. James M. MacLaren, Lebanon Valley College’s 19th President

We were trying to come together as a family and support one another through difficult times.

Though talking about his experiences at Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the words of Dr. James M. MacLaren, LVC’s newly appointed 19th president, parallel the current world situation. He joins Lebanon Valley College at a historic time in U.S. history, with racial justice, the COVID-19 pandemic, and radical changes in the higher education environment at the forefront.

Dr. MacLaren brings three decades of experience as a professor, academic leader, innovator, and community builder at Tulane University, and most recently as provost of St. Xavier University in Chicago, Ill. He is an award-winning physicist, a passionate advocate for student success, and a visionary academic leader who was elected unanimously as LVC president by the Board of Trustees earlier this year. He and his wife, Gina, joined the College June 1.

Molly O’Brien-Foelsch, LVC’s chief communications officer, sat down with Dr. MacLaren to learn more about The Valley’s next leader.

As dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, James MacLaren made an immense difference to me, a first-generation college student. Dean MacLaren thoughtfully and kindly responded to student feedback, worked to make the campus more equitable, and fostered a real community. From his firstyear seminar on leadership to Friday morning Donuts with the Dean, Dr. MacLaren’s impact on the student experience cannot be overstated.

— Courtney Liss, Tulane University ’15

Why did you pursue this opportunity with LVC?

Any successful liberal arts institution has three key ingredients: people, programs, and place. When I was first approached about the opportunity and began researching the College, and throughout the interview process, I found an amazing, dedicated, and talented faculty and staff, and an equally engaged Board of Trustees. I also found wonderful students.

Further encouraging was the really heavy lifting that had been accomplished to develop programs and structures that will position the institution for success in the next decade. Everything is in place through the work of a strong faculty and administration to advance the institution. I am honored and humbled to be asked to be part of and continue this tradition.

What are your primary goals as you enter your first year?

Ensuring that our students and staff can return safely to campus, depending, of course, on recommendations and regulations set by government and health officials, is of paramount importance. However, we also need to look ahead and move forward to continue the College’s momentum. As such, I will initiate three primary goals: fostering academic success and equality, diversifying LVC’s revenue streams, so we are not so tuition-dependent, and creating new opportunities to serve our students and community from an educational perspective.

First, the College has strived to foster academic success and equity, but our job has only begun; there is so much more to do and accomplish. The work that our team in the Office of Intercultural Affairs and Inclusive Programming is doing is impressive and more important than ever. However, it needs to become an all-campus commitment; become part of our daily fabric. We need to increase our support of underrepresented and first-generation students, and for our underrepresented faculty and staff.

I am a firm believer in guiding students while they are in college and during their post-graduation lives. I also will encourage further integration of academic and career advising, the latter through the Edward and Lynn Breen Center for Graduate Success under the leadership of Dr. Kimberlee Josephson. I’ll work with Provost Monica Cowart and the faculty to weave career development into the curriculum, and implement professional development opportunities for our students on and off campus.

Second, like any higher education institution in today’s competitive landscape, we need to diversify our revenue sources and become less tuition-driven from our traditional-age undergraduates. This flexibility will create new and enhanced opportunities for our students and faculty and help LVC become an even greater college. It will also foster academic success and equity.

Finally, we must find ways to serve our students and community better, whether it’s expanding online educational opportunities, graduate education, allied healthcare, other new market-driven programs, and/ or degree completion. There are 40 million adults who started college but haven’t completed their undergraduate education. LVC can play an important role by developing tailored programs to help working adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. Success in this area will, in turn, help us achieve our first two goals.

I first met James MacLaren as part of Tulane University’s freshmen initiative. He was my professor for a leadership course, and I had not at that point, or since, met an educator who cares as much about students as he does. James MacLaren works hard to ensure that every student in his classroom and oncampus feels understood and appreciated and that they belong to his community…. He and his family have been a rock in my life even years after I graduated from Tulane. LVC welcomes a president who puts students first.

—Lea Bogner Loy, Tulane University ’12

What do you mean when you say, “Students are the Center of the Enterprise?”

Many of us have had a teacher who became a mentor and guide, someone who lit up a subject for us. I had a teacher who ignited my interest in the physical sciences and inspired me to become a guide and mentor to students. I always thought I was going to “pay it back” in a sense and become a faculty member at a university. I was fortunate to continue this tradition of serving as a professor and dean at Tulane, then as provost at St. Xavier.

Placing students at the center of the enterprise leads to transformative education, especially at a four-year residential institution. LVC is the ideal size. Students don’t get lost ‘between the cracks’ as they might at a larger state school. LVC is particularly successful at hiring faculty and staff whose primary motivation is mentoring and guiding their students. Our culture believes in an educational and student development style that goes beyond the classroom and into their activities and leadership development. This makes LVC a special place.

At LVC, I can see a clear focus on the student as the center of the enterprise. The faculty and staff help students get to places they perhaps thought were not possible, then take them there. They take particular pride in their students’ success— that love of teaching and mentoring forms a transformational education.

Working with James is working with a true professional who cares about students—all students. One of the great joys of my professional life was working with James to establish the Center for Academic Equity for underrepresented students at Tulane. The work of meeting the equity needs of students of color, firstgeneration, LGBTQ, and Posse and College Track students is a labor of love and imagination, both of which define James MacLaren as a leader. Lebanon Valley College is lucky beyond words to have James MacLaren as your new president.

—Rebecca Mark, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership, Rutgers University (Past Director of Newcomb College Institute and Center for Academic Equity at Tulane University)

What are some personal highlights of your career thus far?

Probably foremost, I was proud to establish the Center for Academic Equity in the undergraduate college at Tulane University. We recognized that many first-generation students and those from underrepresented groups felt lost in terms of academic support and needed increased co-curricular support, and some had food and housing insecurities.

We formed partnerships with the Posse Foundation and College Track, which is run by the Urban League. These programs provide mentoring and support for a student cohort, and I know we can use some of these approaches at LVC to help our students achieve academic success and equality.

LVC, through the great work of Dr. Renata Williams and Tyler Cox in the Office of Intercultural Affairs and Inclusive Programming and programs like Dutchmen First, already has a strong foundation from which these partnerships can blossom. I plan to make it an even stronger focal point for our underrepresented and first-generation students.

Another milestone was working remotely with my colleagues after Hurricane Katrina to develop and implement the Renewal Plan, a roadmap for Tulane to reopen and rebuild. There are many similarities to what is occurring now with the COVID-19 crisis. Again, if it is deemed safe to do so, we plan to safely open LVC in the fall while maintaining academic and student development excellence.

As part of the Renewal Plan, I was appointed founding dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, which united students in those schools offering undergraduate programs to form a holistic student experience. During my 12 years leading the college, retention rates increased significantly, and the college exceeded fundraising targets each year. The experience I gained during another unprecedented time in American higher education will be invaluable as we move LVC forward through and beyond COVID-19.

What is your educational background?

I was born in London, England, and earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the natural sciences from Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, U.K. Then, I studied the electronic properties of catalyst surfaces at Imperial College, London, earning a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics.

My research focused on the electronic structure of materials, particularly layered magnetic materials. My colleagues and I had some success in spin-dependent tunneling that lead to a remarkably sensitive read head for magnetic hard drives. The United States Department of Energy recognized our work with an Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Metallurgy and Ceramics Award.

I’ve also published 150 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and books and presented papers at national and international conferences. However, I consider myself a teacher first, gaining great pride in collaborating and mentoring my undergraduate and graduate student researchers. This LVC tradition was another reason I was interested in becoming the College’s next president.

Would you mind sharing a bit about your family?

My wife, Gina, was born in Memphis, Tenn., but spent most of her life in New Orleans, La. She works as a realtor. We have three daughters. Emily, our eldest, graduated from Tulane with a degree in public health. Meg, our second daughter, is a political science major at Tulane, and Caroline, our youngest, is a rising sophomore studying computer engineering at Villanova University. We also have Luna, a very excitable pit-bull and, I think, alligator mix that likes to chew a lot!

Lebanon Valley College is fortunate to be getting James MacLaren as its 19th president! He is an effective leader, teacher, administrator, and fundraiser because he connects well with faculty, staff, students, and alumni. James treats people with respect, finds commonality with them, and genuinely cares about their well-being… James is an effective problem solver and a team player who encourages others, builds on their strengths, and uses his resources well. I look forward to seeing all that LVC and James will accomplish together!

—Beth Wee, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the School of Science & Engineering, Tulane University

Any closing thoughts?

Much like our students at Tulane after Katrina, when we can safely return to campus, I anticipate some new and returning students will need extra support. They will be affected by the loss of high school graduation, family members affected by COVID-19, and the work to address the pernicious systemic racism in the U.S. Fortunately, LVC is a supportive place with a student-first focus—it’s an excellent setting for having difficult dialogues, learning deeply about these complex issues, healing, and doing the hard work of creating change.

Whether it’s an in-person or virtual experience, we’ll ensure we have the support systems, counseling services, and peer-to-peer connections, including facilitating group conversations among students. Through our robust First-Year Seminars, faculty will be particularly sensitive to what these students lost out on due to COVID-19; they’ll build a supportive learning community. Faculty, coaches, and staff have reached out to new and returning students throughout the summer, and, as always, will continue to be there for them in and out of the classroom.

Gina and I look forward to hosting LVC community members at Kreiderheim when it is safe to do so. We especially can’t wait to get to know the students.

Editor’s Note: Please visit our Valley Forward blog to learn more about LVC’s plan to return to campus if officials determine it is safe.