When there are eight brothers, the oldest inherits the family farm. The youngest opens the only movie house in town. That's where President Jon Whitmore's road to San José State began -- on a farm and in a movie house in Stanley, North Dakota.
The youngest of eight sons, Jon Whitmore's father introduced two vast worlds to him. One where working hard and working together are as natural as the annual harvest. Another where cowboys like Audie Murphy and John Wayne lived larger than life on the silver screen. Add to these Whitmore's parents' insistence on a college education and the rest is, well, theater history.
"My parents had a vision of my brother and me going to college," says Whitmore, who along with his older brother, Terry, is a first-generation college graduate. A professor of theatre history, Whitmore has built a career in higher education firmly rooted in the values of his parents. His steadfast work ethic fuels his belief that education can change lives and helps to build a better society. "If you can get a child from a family that's never had the opportunity to go to college and have them not just go, but graduate, it transforms their life and trickles back to the whole family."
San José State's 27th president is an example of the transformative power of education, and the importance of public higher education. He received all three of his degrees from public universities -- bachelor's and master's degrees from Washington State University and a doctorate from University of California, Santa Barbara. And he has worked at public universities in New York, Texas and now California.
Before getting married, Whitmore's mother was a primary school teacher in rural Montana on the border of Native American reservations. With just a year of college and no formal teaching degree, she shared her knowledge where it was needed, because it was needed. But Whitmore says that people nowadays don't always place that same value on education.
"The country is shifting away from seeing public higher education as a public good," says Whitmore. "We need to remind everyone that the invaluable public good we contribute is turning out a better trained work force and more civically engaged community members."
When public education is rightly seen as a public good, Whitmore says the public then has a responsibility to fund it at a high level. Without sufficient state funding, public universities in California and all over the country are facing what he says is their biggest challenge -- getting enough funding to create the best educational environment for students.
Without strong state support, Whitmore explains, public universities are forced to raise tuition and fees, making higher education less affordable for a growing population of eligible students. Yet, San José State continues to provide the region with talented graduates.
"The university has continually adjusted itself to the needs of Silicon Valley and the community," says Whitmore. "You can go down the line in almost any discipline that's offered at San José State and see that we really are the major supplier of people in business, education -- a lot of fields, not just high-tech."
Whitmore has said that the talent and drive of a university's people is what makes the institution. And his philosophy is to put people first in order to build a strong university community.
Through the years, university communities have been like an extended family for them, says the president's wife, Jennifer. She says there are people at each of the universities where Whitmore has worked who have been like surrogate grandparents to their children, Ian and Amy. Both children are students at the University of Iowa, where Whitmore was provost for seven years. "Raising our children while traveling from university to university has been a prime example of how important community is," she says. "Family isn't necessarily where you are, but instead who you're with."
The Whitmores' university family began in Jennifer's native state at West Virginia University. Although the couple first met when she took his class in experimental theatre as a graduate student of puppetry and children's theatre, the courtship began years later when they worked together at WVU -- he as chair of the theatre department and she as manager of the Center for Performing Arts.
After 23 years of marriage, the Whitmores are now getting to know their fifth university community since leaving West Virginia. Jennifer, also a first-generation college graduate and a former public school teacher, says she and her husband have "approached this whole academic adventure as a partnership" since heading to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where Ian and Amy were born.
Where Jennifer hopes to help the president most at SJSU is in building a sense of pride in the university among alumni and the community. "It's my job to help Jon promote San José State wherever I am," she says, with the family's friendly black poodle, Toby, sitting on the couch with her.
Whether attending a Spartan football game or hosting a reception at their home in San José's Rose Garden neighborhood, the pair work together. What Jennifer especially enjoys, she says, is having students over. "I love being around college kids because when you're in college, anything's possible -- you can become president or an astronaut, or find a cure for cancer," says Jennifer. "And it's important to bring alumni back so that they can renew some of those dreams."
Perhaps watching movies in his formative years began Whitmore's own theatrical aspirations. On Saturdays, farmers and ranchers would pass by Stanley's lumberyard, Chevrolet and Ford dealerships, and farm and ranch supply companies to get what they needed -- and take in a film at the Whitmore's movie house.
He certainly saw a lot of movies before his family moved to Washington, where he went to Washington State University on tuition earned working for 75 cents an hour. His parents made him save half of everything he earned for college, probably never imagining just how far their son would go.
Whitmore has directed more than 60 theatrical performances and produced more than 80 theatrical productions, including some from the works of Anton Chekov, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams and Paul Zindel.
His textbook Directing Postmodern Theatre: Shaping Signification in Performance is widely used in university instruction, according to Jorge Huerta, chancellor's associates professor of theatre in the Department of Theatre and Dance at University of California, San Diego. Longtime friends and colleagues, Huerta and Whitmore met while pursuing doctorates in theatre at University of California, Santa Barbara. Huerta says seeing a fellow graduate student earn his stripes and become president is interesting, and that Whitmore has been a loyal friend to him and his family since they graduated in the 1970s.
"People should know that just because he's president of the university doesn't mean they can't talk to him," he says of Whitmore, whom Huerta describes as sincere, dedicated and honest. "He's approachable and he's thrilled about being in the San José State community."
Theatre encompasses all the arts, says Huerta, and its collaborative process prepares one to be a leader. Whitmore agrees. Addressing San José State faculty and staff in August, Whitmore compared leading a university to directing a play or a grand opera. What dramatic twists are in store for the university under the direction of a new president? What will the orchestra play? Who will be the actors?
Whitmore is getting to know San José State through its people. Whether spending an hour in SJSU mail services to learn about the university's communication hub, or meeting a class in the virtual world of Second Life, he is taking time to understand the university before creating a plan, something his wife Jennifer says San José State can count on.
"Jon insists on looking at all sides of an issue before he makes a decision," she says. During his first months as San José State president, Whitmore has certainly experienced the university from many perspectives -- at meetings, receptions, working as a barista in the Market Café, patrolling with the University Police Department and dedicating SJSU's new César Chávez monument.
"Leadership really means figuring out what the university can be the best at and then focusing on those things," says Whitmore. "It also means motivating people to rally around issues and then moving those issues forward."
That rally has begun. San José State's next steps will likely involve Whitmore's priority issues of information technology and sustainability. He also plans to strengthen the already close ties to the city of San José and Silicon Valley. As he has gone around the region, Whitmore says he's excited about the number of people who have either graduated from San José State or have a son or daughter studying on campus.
"The true test of a university is what's happening with its alumni," he says. "Alumni are a testament to what it means to have a college degree."
To keep the alumni pool growing, efforts are already underway to improve retention and graduation rates through increased attention on advising. Whitmore says San José State needs to raise the consciousness of the students by emphasizing that we want them to graduate and that we're here to help.
Although the Whitmores have plenty of practice adopting new universities and their communities, getting to know San José State is a big job, and they want help, too. Whitmore says he's open to feedback and suggestions from alumni and the university community.
"Come, visit, and see how things have changed on campus," says Jennifer. "Tell us about your experiences at the university and help us learn about San José State."
After 30 years in education, including five years as president of Texas Tech University, Whitmore is as comfortable leading and directing as he is around farm equipment -- like the riding mower he took for a spin in Spartan Stadium with the grounds crew. Whether holding a press conference with student media or meeting with CEOs of top companies, Whitmore will be San José State's most ardent advocate. The people in the university community are his top priority.
"People energize you," says Whitmore. "Just spend a few minutes with some San José State students and you'll realize there's an exciting job to do here, real exciting work."
-- Jody Ulate, '05
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