Chancellor Rebecca Chopp weaves through sixty large packing boxes in her newly renovated office to find a place for us to sit. It eventually becomes clear that they are filled not with office supplies, furniture or memorabilia, but with books.
“I cut my library in half every time I move, but these books are my friends,” she says unabashedly.
If this is true, and especially considering the 20 additional boxes she decided to leave at home, it makes it hard to imagine the size of her original library; before coming to DU, she moved from administrative positions at Yale University, Emory University, Colgate University and—most recently—from her position as president of Swarthmore College.
Perhaps it was her experiences at all of these institutions, in addition to those at the three where she earned her degrees (a BA from Kansas Wesleyan University, a MDiv from St. Paul School of Theology and a PhD from the University of Chicago), that ignited her passion for students and education.
“I really believe in the power of education,” she said. “This is about each individual success, but it is really also about what the world needs. The world needs them to be educated leaders in the 21st century and I’m committed to making sure they have a good experience.”
She emphasizes that the good experience she envisions goes far beyond receiving a good education, and includes skills like networking with diverse people and building organizations, both of which are abilities Chopp says students will need to use to function in today’s working world.
“My deep commitment is to try to get education to re-think itself in light of who the students are now—not who they were 25 years ago—and also the world they’re going into; what kind of skills and talents and experiences they need,” she said.
Her administrative emphasis on preparing 21st century students for the 21st century world is something she says she started to work toward during her time at Colgate and Swarthmore.
“In both of those schools, in very different ways, I was very committed to continuing to evolve the academic programs,” she said.
At Colgate, one of the programs where she focused her attention was a plan to help college sophomores improve their career skills. At Swarthmore, on the other hand, she helped establish an institute for the liberal arts, a think tank that she says combined creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership. Her initiatives at both schools, Chopp says, were intended to target today’s students and what they need most.
“The current generation of students represents a really different generation—millennials—than we have ever seen in education,” she said. “You learn differently, you care about different things, you’re incredibly passionate, you want life to have meaning and you’re moving into a world where knowledge is far more problem-based and interdisciplinary.”
Her interest in helping prepare students for today’s changing world does not stop in the classroom, which is why she says raising endowment funds for financial aid is one of her most important tasks as DU’s new Chancellor.
“The name of the game for many students is simply access, and that takes aid,” she said.
She can say this with certainty, as she experienced the situation herself.
“I’m a first generation college student—I would not have gone to college without financial aid,” she said. “And all students benefit from financial aid, even those who aren’t on it, because they benefit from a more diverse image.”
As to other issues that will be important for her to tackle? She’s all ears.
