NAME: SUE WESSELKAMPER

AGE: 63

ORGANIZATION: CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY OF HONOLULU

TITLE: PRESIDENT

Previous position: Dean of the School for Arts & Sciences, College of New Rochelle

BORN: ATHENS, OHIO

HIGH SCHOOL: JULIENNE (DAYTON, OHIO)

College: Edgecliff College (B.A.); University of Michigan (M.S.W.); Graduate Center of the City University of New York (D.S.W.)

FIRST JOB: TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL - SOCIAL STUDIES

BREAKTHROUGH JOB: DEAN AT COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE

Mentor: Several along the way. I think that is the point, I have been very fortunate to have had a mentor in every position I have held.

Major challenge: Implementing our campus facilities plan

HOBBIES: READING, HIKING, MOVIES, TRAVEL

Books recently read: "1776" by David McCullough; "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini; "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, "The Runaway Quilt" by Jennifer Chiaverini

Q. When you arrived at Chaminade in 1995, the school had serious financial and enrollment difficulties. Now that things are running smoothly do you find it difficult to stay motivated?

A. There were clearly difficulties, financial difficulties, and it was a very tough first year. The big surprise is that the hard part is not over. The first part of our planning in the mid '90s was to get us through the crisis. We're now in the plan, which is one that I think will take several cycles to get us to sustainability. We don't want to ever go through this type of crisis again. So I have found, actually, whereas the first years may have been a little more traumatic in terms of day-to-day operations, this time is extremely challenging.

Q. Was there any point where you thought about turning around and heading back to the Mainland?

A. We had sold our home, we had taken the plunge. I never thought of quitting. When you're in a situation like that you really want to make it work. The thing that for me was very sustaining was that here at Chaminade there were a critical mass of people who also wanted to move ahead. That for me was very energizing.

Q. The Society of Mary (Marianists) that sponsors Chaminade provided some critical funding to help the school through the crisis. How is the fundraising effort going today?

A. When you are a small university it's very flattering to talk in percentages, so I could say our endowment has almost tripled since 1995. The reality is we have a very small endowment — almost $6 million. For an independent school, that's very small. We've prioritized our goals. We put a lot of focus on recruiting faculty and academic program and the facilities to support that.

Q: Are leadership skills something you worked hard to develop, or are they something that came naturally to you?

A: First of all I think there's lots of different kinds of styles of leadership. I don't remember ever consciously studying leadership, although I'm sure I've gone to a number of workshops at various times of my life. Part of it is having a sense of being very passionate or excited about something, having a clear sense of how it can be accomplished and selling it to people. One of my favorite books has been "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. One of the things he says in the book is that the most important thing about a leader is to get the right team, and I absolutely believe that. If you get people who also have the same passion — and they have the expertise in their area — the synergy that creates I find very, very exciting and energizing. The best thing is to try and stay out of people's way and let them run with it. The person who gets labeled the leader has a special role to play, but it's only one role and in isolation it would not nearly be enough.

Q. You were the first woman president of a four-year university in Hawai'i. How did you view that?

A. At the time it didn't mean a lot because there was so much to do so I really didn't focus on that. Also, I had come from a women's college, the College of New Rochelle, where I had been for 12 years. The president was a woman and there there were a lot of women role models. Another thing is that the Marianists themselves are a very egalitarian group. They have a very strong sense of community, and were very receptive to my coming. So it just wasn't a particular issue.

Q. What are the enrollment targets at Chaminade?

A. We will be close to 1,100 students this fall. Our next goal is to reach 1,200 undergraduate students, and ultimately we would like to grow to 1,500 students. That will enable us to keep our identity as a small school. Also, our tradition is a Catholic tradition. Our sponsors, the Marianist Christian brothers, have a very special approach to education that's very holistic, so they're interested not only in students' academic performance but also how they develop in terms of their spirituality. So at the end we'd like to see our students well-prepared for whatever career that they want, but also that they've had the opportunity to mature as people and have a sense of who they are.

Q. What is your assessment of the state of higher education in Hawai'i?

A. I think we're very, very fortunate to have the quality of education we have in both the private and public sectors. Certainly the University of Hawai'i has just world-class programs in many areas, and it is complemented by the private universities here, and that we all offer something distinctive. I think Hawai'i is a unique environment for higher education in that it is so diverse. And in that diversity there are really unlimited possibilities for learning. So you not only have your academic subjects, but you have the experience of working with people from so many different ethnicities and backgrounds.

Q. What is Chaminade's niche?

A. As for Chaminade, approximately 25 percent of our students identify themselves as Native Hawaiian or Native Pacific Islanders, so we feel a special commitment to those populations. I think our niche is that we offer excellent programs with excellent faculty in a very personalized type of education with a great emphasis on student success. Even though 50 percent of our undergraduate students are not Catholic, we feel they come to us because there's a sense that their religious beliefs and values are honored.