An Interview with Stony Brook Alumnus Nichole Prescott
Dr. Nichole S. Prescott, History,’15, joined the University of Texas System in December 2016 as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, P16 Initiatives. In this capacity, she frames and implements the Texas Prospect Initiative, the Chancellor’s Quantum Leap designed to strengthen the preK-16 pipeline and enhance college readiness for Texas students. To this end, she works to expand and deepen collaboration among the UT System, UT institutions, public preK-12 partners, and other entities. Current initiatives include Dual Credit Study and Policy Research, P16 Statewide Summit, Student Success, Curricular Alignment, and Educator Preparation.
In this interview with recent Stony Brook graduate Dr. Francisco Delgado, Dr. Prescott discusses the day-to-day responsibilities of her job, how her training at Stony Brook University helped prepare her, and her transition away from the traditional academic career path.
As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, what does your day-to-day look like?
The nature of my work is research and development on the one side and collective impact on the other. Collective impact means bringing together diverse stakeholders to create and implement a common agenda and plan of action rooted in collaboration and built on data. Both aspects of my work are geared toward facilitating positive student outcomes leading to social change through education.
So, what does that entail? Data. Understanding what data I need and how to use it. Understanding where to get that data if I don’t have it. And, finally, how to draw out the appropriate actions using that data. It also entails convening stakeholders regularly. For example, along with my boss, the Associate Vice Chancellor, I convene the Deans of the Colleges of Education monthly to build relationships, collectively tackle challenges, celebrate successes and to work together to reimagine educator preparation for UT System institutions.
I also do a great deal of research. I have to be up on the latest high-yield, evidenced-based best practices in the field. From there, I assess our needs and, working with stakeholders, I develop a system or approach that addresses gap areas in the topic of study. Essentially, I facilitate the process of collective problem solving. It involves a great deal of research, data analysis, and creative problem solving. That can mean convening stakeholders, writing proposals, looking at spreadsheets, examining data and extrapolating on what the issue is and how to solve it.
I employ a systems approach to most things. Usually I lay the groundwork, work with stakeholders to build a common agenda and a plan of action, and then work to implement that plan of action with the community of stakeholders by putting in place solid systems. It has to be a collective endeavor or else folks won’t take ownership of the problem or the solution. And, it has to be systemic for it to be sustainable and effective.
This means that we are working toward ongoing, continuous improvement beyond the scope of one specific issue. As a system, we have struggled in the past with producing college-ready students when they come out of the Pre-K to twelfth grade system. In other words, there seems to be a gap as to how the state is defining college readiness. Part of what I do is build up relationships throughout the UT system to discuss this issue and work toward a systematic solution. We need our students to be as prepared as possible to go out in an unscripted, unknown world.
How do you feel your graduate studies at Stony Brook prepared you for this work?
Much of the success of my work depends on my ability to synthesize large amounts of data and research, pulling out and prioritizing the relevant portions, and creating action plans based upon data and evidence-based research in order to achieve strategic goals. This process almost parallels what I learned and practiced while engaged in coursework and then what I did later on during my dissertation research in the history department. I am currently responsible for reading highly complex material, contextualizing it, understanding the historiography, and then making programmatic and/or policy recommendations based upon my close reading of the material and my overall understanding of the broader conversations. Again, this parallels much of what historians do. All that is different now is the content. Now I’m focused on education rather than 17th century Spanish women.
My graduate work also made comfortable in the role of perpetual learner. While I am expected to be an expert in a certain area, I am just as comfortable admitting when I don’t know something and learned never to tie that lack of knowledge to my worth as an individual or to my intelligence level.
When did you know that you did not want to pursue a traditional academic career?
I’ve always wanted a traditional academic career. In some ways, I want it still. I love researching and teaching. Adore it, in fact.
But when I moved back to Austin from New York and started teaching at Austin Community College (ACC) while writing my dissertation, for the first time in my career I taught students from all over the education spectrum. ACC did not have the kind of educational baseline for entrance that Stony Brook has, for example. There were students who barely graduated high school, students who had a GED, and of course students who from some other school taking classes over the summer. This is when I really started to think about how powerful education is and how too many students don’t have access to the opportunities they needed to transform their lives and the lives of their families for the better.
I began to reflect on the education pipeline. I got certified to teach and moved to San Antonio to help start a high-performing charter school that focused on underserved populations. After three years there, I wanted to move back to Austin and to also move my focus from an individual school to an entire region. While in San Antonio I came to realize that I was adept at applying a systems approach to the transformation of education. I’m a system-builder. A system-aligner. I’m a systems-thinker.
So, now I get to do that work at the state level through the UT System. It was never a conscious decision on my part to “leave” academia. I was pulled to complete this work through a strong social justice commitment and a realization that in all humility, I’m pretty good at it.
I still dream about being a history professor. I read about history all the time. I think about it. It’s definitely in my blood. But, for now, I have work to do that takes me away from that reality. It is also work that I love and am fiercely dedicated to accomplishing. I feel like I owe it to our students.
Could you speak a little bit more about how you made the transition into your current position? Is there anything that you wish you knew looking back now?
Prescott: I did not end up being a traditional grad student. After becoming ABD and moving back to write my dissertation in Austin, I ended up leaving the program for a variety of reasons. Thankfully, when I decided I wanted to come back, the department supported my reentry and did all it could to help me make that a reality. The support of my dissertation advisor Alix Cooper was nothing short of heroic. I owe her so much and am thankful not only for her guidance, but also her friendship. My pathway has been circuitous. I do know that had I not finished my PhD, I wouldn’t have landed this job. I am sure – and I’m not saying that this is the right way to think – that the PhD gave me instant credibility in some people’s eyes. That said, without my extensive experience in PK-12 school systems, education policy, data analysis, etc., I also wouldn’t have landed this job. It was a perfect marriage between these two strands in my life.
What have you gained – personally, professionally, intellectually – from this career transition? What, if anything, do you miss from the traditional academic career?
Prescott: I dearly miss teaching. I miss my students. I miss working in the archives. I miss my research. Though I still work on side projects, it is getting much harder to do timewise with my new position. I’m working on a history project on my tribe and I’m always writing an article of some sort on education and Natives. I hope to get back to it all at some point. I’d love to adjunct when I retire.
As for what I’ve gained, I have a great job with a clear career pathway. I get to effect positive change in Texas’ educational systems and improve outcomes for Texas students. I get to live in a city I love. I have financial security and a sense of mission.
How supportive was your department regarding your decision to pursue what is increasingly being called an “alt-ac” career?
Prescott: My department has been very supportive, particularly my dissertation advisor Alix Cooper and committee member Joel Rosenthal. They were two of my biggest cheerleaders. They believed in me knowing full well that I already had gainful employment and that a traditional tenure-track career was not probably going to happen, at least right away.
Any final advice you wish to offer graduate students looking to make the transition into alt-ac?
Prescott: I would start by saying that you need follow your passion. However, just because you’re passionate about something does not mean you will automatically be hired. I encourage you to forge relationships in communities that you care about. My most recent professional opportunities developed because someone had seen me doing the work I love, recognized my skill sets and decided to take a chance on me.
Volunteering is a great way to get real-life experience under your belt, even if you’re ‘just’ volunteering. There are many ways to volunteer. You can be hands-on or volunteer in an advisory capacity. And you don’t need to go far to volunteer, either. You can certainly volunteer right on campus.
Lastly, if you don’t end up staying on the traditional academic career pathway, it doesn’t mean that you failed. There are numerous paths to finding rewarding work. It’s most important that we keep an open mind on what that means and how we go about achieving it.
This article was originally written for and published on Stony Brook University’s website here.
