Dr. Rhonda Butler has been a member of the HPU family for seven years. She started at HPU in 1997 as an adjunct instructor. She loved her experience teaching at the university, so after acquiring more teaching and leadership skills, and pursuing a PhD, she came back to HPU in 2018. Butler is an assistant professor of management, and the director of the Strickland Women’s L.I.F.T. (Leading & Inspiring Female Trailblazers) Fellowship Program and SWIM (Sompo Women in Insurance Management) Program.
What do you do in this role?
As a faculty member, I teach various undergraduate and graduate courses in management and leadership in the Phillips School of Business, the MBA Program, and the Master’s in Communication and Business Leadership (CBL) Program. As the Director of the L.I.F.T. Fellowship, I provide networking, leadership development, mentorship and coaching for female students aspiring to become CEOs, leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and trailblazers in their chosen career paths. One of my favorite things is connect students with exceptional leaders for inspiration, practical leadership knowledge, mentoring and internship opportunities. I am also developing a formal mentoring program for incoming students in the L.I.F.T. Fellowship Program. This year, we will be working on a national service project, and I look forward to developing a service project along with the Strickland Women’s Leadership Council as we plan our second annual Strickland Women’s Leadership Summit at High Point University.
How do you help students develop life skills that they will use to achieve lives of success and significance after they graduate from HPU?
I care deeply about people and believe students can create positive change in their industry, community and world. With this in mind and heart, I strive diligently to equip and empower students with knowledge and resources to lead effectively inside and outside the classroom. Students say I am an enthusiastic professor, and I have become a mentor to many students who visit my office for professional and personal development advice. I value getting to know my students.
In class, I incorporate a number of methods to encourage learning, critical thinking, skill building and leadership development. Every semester, it is my hope to inspire students with three customary E’s in my classes: Expertise, Examples and Experience. Students are encouraged to learn from experts, to read great material all around us — in our management books, business articles, and even leaders’ engagement in media — and to lean in, ask questions, and network with the many experts that come to campus and generously share what they know. I use several illustrations and examples of the management concepts we are learning via real-world case studies, which we discuss and create. To sharpen our management and leadership skills, we continually develop our oral presentation skills, written communication abilities and executive presence. The highlight of my classes is a creative, experiential learning project that provides hands-on experience, resume and interview talking points, and builds students’ confidence.
What is a way that you provide students with experiential learning opportunities?
I love using simulations and novel projects in class. Students strengthen their knowledge of management and leadership principles with firsthand experience running simulated businesses in my class. These digital simulations provide opportunities for students to make strategic decisions, solve problems, and observe how their actions impact employees and organizational performance. One creative experiential learning project I incorporated in the classroom was a semester-long, in-class internship. Each week, a member of the executive leadership team of well-known companies met with students in my leadership classes. Students collaborated with members of the companies to re-envision part of its business. At the end of the semester, student groups presented recommendations to company executives. It is thrilling to see students hone their technical, interpersonal, conceptual and communication skills, and their executive presence in such a meaningful way. Some students even received paid summer internship offers.
What are you looking forward to most for this academic year?
Welcoming and working with the first full cohort of Strickland Women’s L.I.F.T. Fellowship scholars! I can hardly wait for this group of trailblazing young female leaders to meet one another, the L.I.F.T. seniors, the Strickland Women’s Leadership Council members who will mentor them and the executives who will visit. I am also looking forward to the service projects we will develop that will impact lives for the better.
What’s one thing you want students and parents to know about HPU?
It is more than a saying, it’s true: High Point University does provide an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.
What’s one way you generate creativity or productivity?
In addition to the three E’s in my classes and novel experiential learning opportunities, I generate creativity and productivity with stretch goals and collaboration. Although I have high expectations for my students, I am committed to modeling success, coaching them and making connections that inspire them. I encourage students to value different perspectives and participative decision making. They hear from all kinds of people, and I often reach out to faculty and staff members in other departments on campus to collaborate on a new opportunity I am dreaming up. This way, students witness how teamwork produces creativity and productivity.
What is your favorite quote?
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love.” – Coretta Scott King
What is your favorite place on campus?
In the late afternoon, a seat near the fireplace inside the R.G. Wanek Center, close enough to hear the piano playing, is one of my favorite spots. It’s the perfect setting to have a cozy conversation with a delightful student or colleague, or to relax and think.
What do you love most about working at HPU?
I love connecting with amazing leaders, on and off campus, who are committed to making HPU an extraordinary place.