Vance Roley: The Leadership Secrets Behind 21 Years at UH Shidler College
For more than two decades, Vance Roley led the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business through growth, reinvention, and global recognition. In this wide-ranging Greater Good Radio conversation with host Evan Leong, Roley opens up about the habits, decisions, and values that sustained his tenure—and what they mean for leaders, students, and Hawaiʻi’s business community today.
The Quiet Architecture of Long-Term Leadership
Roley’s approach is deceptively simple: put people first, tell the truth, and play the long game. That meant recruiting and supporting great faculty, sharing data and decisions transparently, and aligning donors and alumni behind a clear mission: elevate opportunities for Hawaiʻi’s students and strengthen the local economy. Over time, those “boring” fundamentals stacked up into something extraordinary—expanded scholarships and endowments, stronger career outcomes, and a global footprint that reaches well beyond the islands.
Faculty First: How Excellence Compounds
Top programs are built on top people. Roley’s first priority was talent density—attracting and retaining faculty who publish, teach, mentor, and serve. Two supporting moves made that sustainable:
- Resources with purpose: Pairing philanthropy and budget with specific academic priorities (strategic hires, endowed chairs, program enhancements) so dollars translated directly into classroom and research impact.
- Clear incentives: Rewarding teaching excellence and student engagement alongside researchoutput to keep the culture balanced and mission-aligned.
The lesson for any leader: resource what you say you value—and do it consistently for years.
Transparency as a Trust Engine
Roley emphasizes radical clarity about goals, constraints, and progress. That looked like open communication with faculty and staff, data-driven planning, and honest updates to alumni and partners. Transparency didn’t just reduce friction—it created shared ownership, inviting stakeholders to lean in with time, networks, and philanthropy because they could see exactly how their support mattered.
Pipeline to Impact: Direct Admit, Study Abroad, and Career Services
Three program choices formed the backbone of Shidler’s student experience under Roley:
- Direct Admit (Freshman Entry): High-potential students get an early start with advising, community, and professional development from day one.
- Study Abroad as Growth Catalyst: International exposure stretches comfort zones and builds cultural and leadership fluency—skill sets Hawaiʻi’s employers increasingly prize.
- Career Services as a Strategic Function: Dedicated coaching, internship pipelines, and employer partnerships improved placement rates and career readiness, turning classroom learning into real-world momentum.
Together, these pillars bridged education to employability, a throughline in Roley’s philosophy.
Donor Partnerships Done Right
A distinctive hallmark of Roley’s tenure is how thoughtfully he worked with alumni and donors. Rather than one-off gifts, he cultivated multi-year, mission-anchored partnerships that built permanent capacity: scholarships, faculty endowments, modernized facilities, and global programs. The magic wasn’t in fundraising alone—it was in stewardship: detailed reporting, visible outcomes, and a steady drumbeat of student and community wins that reinforced donor confidence.
Takeaway for leaders: Stewardship is strategy. When supporters see their impact, they become long-term partners, not just patrons.
Global Mindset from Hawaiʻi
Shidler’s international orientation isn’t cosmetic. From Asia-Pacific partnerships to executive programs abroad, Roley championed a worldview where Hawaiʻi is both local and global—a bridge for commerce, culture, and talent. That perspective gave students a competitive edge: they learned to think across borders while staying rooted in island values like aloha and kuleana (responsibility).
Navigating the Next Wave: AI in Business Education
Roley sees AI as augmentation, not replacement. The mandate for business schools: teach students to frame problems, question assumptions, and apply tools with judgment. In practice, that means:
- Embedding analytics and AI fluency across disciplines (finance, marketing, operations), not in a silo.
- Elevating ethics, critical thinking, and communication so graduates can lead responsibly with powerful technologies.
- Partnering with employers to keep curricula synced with real-world workflows.
Leaders everywhere can borrow the principle: pair new tools with timeless skills.
Personal Roots, Local Commitment
Roley’s story includes early lessons in grit and a deepening connection to Hawaiʻi—relationships that shaped how he led. The throughline is humility: listen carefully, keep learning, and let results speak. That mindset set the tone for a college culture that is ambitious yet grounded, global yet committed to the community it serves.
Practical Advice for Students (and Parents)
- Choose environments, not just majors. Look for programs with strong advising, internships, and employer engagement.
- Go abroad if you can. The perspective shift pays dividends in confidence and adaptability.
- Stack experiences. Join clubs, compete in case challenges, volunteer—each layer compounds your story and skills.
- Build relationships early. Meet faculty, alumni, and career coaches in your first year, not your last.
- Learn how to learn. Tools change fast; curiosity and critical thinking don’t.
Lessons Any Leader Can Use
- Align money with mission. Tie resources directly to outcomes you can measure.
- Hire well, then support relentlessly. Talent thrives with clear expectations and real backing.
- Communicate like a ledger. Share numbers, trade-offs, and progress; invite accountability.
- Design the pipeline. From recruitment to placement, map the entire journey and remove friction.
- Think in decades, act this quarter. Keep a durable strategy while executing visible wins now.
What’s Next
As Roley transitions from the dean’s office back to the classroom, his focus returns to the heart of the work: teaching and mentorship. For the Shidler College of Business—and for Hawaiʻi—the blueprint he leaves behind is clear: invest in people, steward trust, and lead with purpose.
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