Jennifer Hodges Stephens (PhD 2013) is the associate vice president of public affairs at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), which opened its doors in 2006 with 118 students and serves almost 11,000 students today. GGC is the first four-year, public college created in Georgia in more than 100 years. Stephens’ primary responsibilities are to tell the college’s story, launch its new and evolving brand, and build strong relationships with its various constituencies. She has been intimately involved in almost every facet of the creation of the new institution and its strategic planning. The Public Affairs Office oversees the college’s website, social media functions, media relations, publications, marketing, communications and creative services. Stephens is the college’s spokesperson and also provides strong support to development, external affairs and enrollment management. Prior to her role at GGC, Stephens served as the chief communications officer at Georgia Perimeter College, the largest two-year college in the state. She is the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Service Award for Public Relations from the Georgia Education Advancement Council. She also serves as a board member for the Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association. In her career, her teams have been the recipients of numerous national, regional and state awards. What are your current projects? I recently completed a summer program at the Harvard Institute for Management and Leadership which has challenged and sharpened my leadership strategies. I was reminded by my cohort of higher education leaders from across the world that most issues in our field today are complex and global in nature. To be successful as a leader and a change agent, it is critical to have a support network of colleagues and friends. Also, for the first time ever, I will begin teaching this fall. In what ways does your IHE training apply to your work—both the everyday and long-term? I have always seen myself as a practitioner/scholar. This seems logical to me–higher education administrators should be effective leaders but also scholars in their field. The scholarly training I received in the IHE added a new layer of thinking processes for me. Everyday, it pushes me to examine situations more closely and be more reflective in decision making. In the long-term, I think my IHE training has greatly strengthened my analytical skills. What’s your favorite memory of IHE? I remember one day in class, several years into the program, I just “got it.” I struggled as a part-time student reading, preparing for class, writing papers and trying to engage in classroom discussions, but it all seemed so disconnected and vague. One day, it just all clicked. There was nothing magical that happened on that day, but everything seemed to come together and ideas made sense. I realized then that it was OK for me to be uncomfortable and not fully understand–eventually, the pieces would come together if I persevered. What do you consider IHE’s best asset? In the Institute, there is a wonderful combination of gentle, supportive faculty and scholarly rigor. This is just the combination I needed. As a part-time student with a full-time job and a family, I needed the support to know that my professors would help me be successful. If you could sum up your IHE experience in three words, what would you say? “I can soar." Type of News/Audience: Alumni 2014 IHE Report
