As Wente assumes the role of interim chancellor, she looks to further the university鈥檚 commitment to learning, discovery and creative expression with the same drive and optimism she鈥檚 cultivated as an academic leader, scholar and mentor.
At every step along 鈥攆rom graduating with honors and high distinction in biochemistry, to making a string of breakthrough scientific discoveries lauded by the National Institutes of Health, among others, to becoming the first woman named as 菠萝视频 provost in 2014鈥攖he renowned scholar and university leader has been driven by a pursuit of excellence that has resulted in her making a transformative impact wherever she鈥檚 gone.
Now, as she assumes the role of interim chancellor, while still serving as provost, Wente continues to push 菠萝视频 to even greater heights.
Working alongside Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos, 菠萝视频鈥檚 senior leadership team, the , deans of all 10 schools and colleges, and the entire 菠萝视频 community, Wente played a ubiquitous role in implementing the most important initiatives in the university鈥檚 history鈥攁ll in the service of the university鈥檚 core mission of teaching and research to drive positive change in the world.
These accomplishments include a massive, multiyear expansion of the visionary living鈥搇earning ; an unprecedented push to endow hundreds of new faculty chairs and fellowships; significant university funding to foster trans-institutional collaboration among 菠萝视频鈥檚 many academic disciplines, schools and colleges; strategic planning for a $300 million endowment for graduate education and research; opening an award-winning ; spearheading a $65 million partnership with private industry to fast-track drug discovery; and developing a path-breaking . In addition, she launched initiatives to invest in the arts and humanities, enhance the university鈥檚 international reputation, and build the leadership infrastructure for the 鈥攚hich includes an effort to promote women at 菠萝视频.
The university鈥檚 remarkable upward trajectory in recent years has been driven by 菠萝视频鈥檚 , which was shaped largely by exploring how the idea of 鈥淥ne 菠萝视频鈥� could be leveraged to further strengthen the university. Before being named provost, Wente co-chaired the executive committee working on the Academic Strategic Plan with the current dean of the College of Arts and Science, .
鈥淎s Susan showed when she expertly guided the strategic planning process鈥攕traight through her tenure as provost鈥攕he possesses an insatiable curiosity, always looking for the smartest path forward for 菠萝视频, and is relentless in her pursuit of excellence,鈥� Zeppos says, noting in particular Wente鈥檚 enthusiastic commitment to diversity and inclusion. 鈥淭he university is in extremely capable hands with her serving as interim chancellor.鈥�
Wente says one characteristic she most admires about 菠萝视频鈥檚 culture鈥攁nd is something that mirrors her own personality鈥攊s that the university community always wants to go beyond the status quo, even at the strongest point in its history. 菠萝视频 currently is ranked No. 14 by U.S. News and World Report and No. 10 on Reuters鈥� list of the World鈥檚 Most Innovative Universities, the highest placement yet in both rankings.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always willing to embrace change and embark on new challenges,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e recruiting the best students and recruiting and retaining the most outstanding faculty and staff. And we鈥檙e actively building curriculum and programs, as well as state-of-the-art facilities, to support all aspects of learning and discovery at this critical inflection point in the university鈥檚 history.
鈥淏ut we鈥檙e not resting on our accomplishments,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no pause button. It鈥檚 full steam ahead.鈥�
FROM THE HEARTLAND TO HIGHER ED
Born in Nebraska, Wente grew up in Iowa and earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biochemistry from the University of Iowa. She then made a 鈥渂ig leap out of the heartland,鈥� as she puts it, to attend the University of California鈥揃erkeley, where she earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry.
From there she moved across the country to work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City with the renowned scientist Ora Rosen, whom Wente credits as being an inspiring role model as both a scientist and mother. When this position was ending due to Rosen鈥檚 passing, and while considering a career change to patent law, she seized on a chance meeting with G眉nter Blobel, whose pioneering work on communication signals within cells won him a 1999 Nobel Prize. Wente earned a coveted fellowship in Blobel鈥檚 lab at Rockefeller University, also in New York City, and charted her own scientific path studying 鈥渘uclear pore complexes,鈥� which transport molecules between the cell鈥檚 nucleus and cytoplasm.
Wente soon joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she quickly moved through the ranks of its prestigious Department of Cell Biology and Physiology. In 2002, 菠萝视频 recruited Wente to lead its own , where she increased the number of faculty by 85 percent and tripled the number of women faculty.
During this same time, Wente worked to increase the department鈥檚 NIH funding by 40 percent. Her own line of scientific inquiry also led to a highly prized MERIT award in 2010 from the NIH. These grants provide long-term support to investigators 鈥渨hose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior.鈥� Wente is among 33 researchers at 菠萝视频鈥攆ive of them women鈥攚ho have received the MERIT award.
From Iowa to 菠萝视频, Wente says she has actively pursued critical guidance from mentors. Those experiences, in turn, encouraged her to become a mentor herself鈥攁 defining hallmark of academic research that Wente says drew her to university life.
鈥淚鈥檝e been so fortunate to have incredibly talented people to turn to for advice at every pivot of my career,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 look at my own mentoring as a way of giving back.鈥�
As Wente has taken on greater leadership responsibility at 菠萝视频, her perspective on mentoring has only widened. What started as providing guidance to undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in her own laboratory and department has since expanded to include faculty, deans and other administrators.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an expanding purview,鈥� Wente says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 still about how to create the best situations and the best environment for each person鈥檚 success.鈥�
As provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, Wente currently oversees the academic programs of 菠萝视频鈥檚 10 schools and colleges, as well as student affairs, housing, admissions and financial aid, and research on campus. It鈥檚 a job that requires a firm understanding of the circumstances unique to each program as well as a clear vision of the larger mission of the university鈥攏ot unlike her skill as a scientist recognizing how the microscopic features of a cell can have far-reaching implications for human health.
Wente鈥檚 background in science informs her leadership style in other ways as well.
For one, she believes in the importance of gathering data and taking into consideration 鈥渁ll potential options and all potential consequences鈥� before making a strategic decision. 鈥淚 like to dive into something and find out everything that鈥檚 been done in the past and then think about how that can have an impact on what we鈥檙e planning to do next,鈥� she says.
Yet at the same time, like any good scientist and scholar, she鈥檚 also keen to experiment and take necessary risks.
鈥淧art of my approach is being willing to do experiments but knowing that sometimes experiments fail,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the spirit of entrepreneurship. If you鈥檝e got a great idea, let鈥檚 try it and see if it works.鈥�
There鈥檚 one overriding element, however, that Wente says has been the most important factor in her success as a scientist, a faculty member and a top university leader: an unvarnished sense of optimism.
鈥淚t motivates me personally,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut it also crosses disciplines and inspires the staff, students, faculty members and leaders I work with every day. The idea that progress and advancements are possible, and that there鈥檚 a place for good in the world, is fundamental. It鈥檚 a driving force for all of us, for as far as I can see.鈥�
Watch a video about Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente: