If you haven’t heard, MSJ recently hired a new Chief of Mission and Belonging Officer, Joe Shadle!
Through an interview, I got to learn more about his background, his passion for education, and what he is looking forward to at Mount St. Joseph University.
Tell me a bit about your background: where are you from, where did you attend school, where does your passion for education stem from?
Joe: I was born in Canton, Ohio, at a Sisters of Mercy hospital. I went to Catholic grade school at Our Lady of Peace and Saint Paul's in North Canton, then to Central Catholic High School. I was going to be a medical doctor, but my dad smashed his thumb during my senior year of high school and I struggled with watching them remove his thumbnail and I thought well maybe I shouldn't be a medical doctor that seems like maybe a bad plan. The doctor looked at me said “maybe you should wait in the waiting room”. Instead.
I went to Walsh College which is about a mile and a half away from my mom and dad's house, got a business and psychology degree and was really active in campus ministry. I came to Cincinnati to enter seminary but later decided to not be ordained a priest. So, I became a Chaplain at Children's Hospital here in Cincinnati in the chaplain training program, and then worked in Catholic parishes for 12 years. I did all kinds of programming and I started teaching at Thomas More University and at the seminary. I really loved seeing students make connections between the things we were talking about in class and what was going on in their lives. I was also excited to help students gain a broader view of the world and expand their horizons and imagine possibilities they hadn’t considered before for themselves.
I went to Xavier and I worked in campus ministry for a number of years, again helping people connect their lives and passions with service, faith and spirituality. I worked with our Student Government Organization to create the Interfaith Prayer Chapel so that people of all faith traditions would have a place to pray and reflect. I also started some service programs for faculty and staff so they could do service in the community. The Sisters of Charity’s emphasis here at the Mount on social justice, service, charity, and simplicity really draws me here. It's just a great natural fit.
What brought you to Mount St. Joseph University?
Joe: One of the things that really attracts me to the Mount is that the role that I have is done alongside my partner, Katrice, who is the Chief Belonging Officer. I not only have a background in mission and identity work for faculty, staff, and students, but I also have a background in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. At Xavier I was asked by the President to be the first chair of the President's Diversity and Inclusion Council, and then asked to be part of the steering committee that wrote the first Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. I have this passion for caring for everyone as they are and allowing them to identify however they identify, caring for them and making sure that they have a place where they belong. Developing that sense of belonging is really important. So when I saw that this role was going to be in the Center for Mission and Belonging and that my partner would be the Chief Belonging Officer, I got really excited! I loved what I did at Xavier, the people I worked with, and the work I did and if I was going to go somewhere else I wanted to make sure it was a place that shared my values, which the Mount does.
In what ways will your experience at Xavier University help you in your role at MSJ?
Joe: I’m still learning about the Mount community. I'm glad to bring whatever experience is helpful to the Mount. I want to keep listening to and learning about the community and what's helpful to students, faculty, and staff as we support one another and partner with each other to provide for the needs of our students who are going to go forward and make the world a better place. So, I'm still learning. I'm on day 10 and I'm just enjoying meeting a lot of folks and learning from them what makes the Mount special and what I can do to add to the support of students.
My question of folks that I'm meeting with is “What do you think I need to know?” and then people will share from their own perspective what they feel like I need to know. That has taught me about the Mount’s culture, people’s experiences, the history of the place, and important events that I should have on my calendar. Last night I went to the Celebration of Student Leadership and Success Ceremony which was awesome and I'm going to go to another event tonight. Then, other folks have said you need to know about the cheesy ranch fries over at Joe Lion’s Grille, so I went over and got the cheesy ranch fries the next day for lunch. I met Ed and Otis in the 5/3 Dining Hall and I've been trying not to eat both entries every day because they both make really good food!
What are you most excited for about your new role?
Joe: I'm probably most excited about asking myself “What is it that I can do to support faculty and staff’s work with students and what can I do to support students’ experience at The Mount?” That way our student can be sent forth to make the world a better place. So, asking ourselves “What can we do to enhance your experience while you're here”.
What do you believe is the most important factor in expanding belonging at a University?
Joe: I think that representation matters. I think that people need to be able to see themselves represented in leadership roles and in various spaces. That's really important. I think we need to be authentic about who we are and let people be authentically who they are and receive them as they are. I think that's important to belonging.
How do you envision continuing the Catholic identity at MSJ?
Joe: I've been learning about the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and their incredible work in Cincinnati since they founded this place. So, for those faculty, staff, and students who are Catholic and practice their faith, I want to provide resources that support their spiritual life. That's how I would want to support anybody's spiritual life, no matter what their faith tradition. There's a breadth of people's practices within the Catholic tradition and I want to do whatever it is that supports people's spiritual lives regardless of their tradition. It's important that we support them where they're at. For some folks that'll be Mass, for some folks it will be quiet prayer and meditation, for some it will be some of the devotions of the Church. For other faith traditions, they will also have a breath of spiritual practices so whatever is lifegiving for them is what I want to support them in.
What is your favorite way to connect with a student on a college campus?
Joe: Just hang out wherever they are…..make myself available. Whether it's going to student awards or eating at Joe Lion’s Grille. I met some folks just sitting by myself eating lunch, I've met some folks through other folks. Being where folks are, asking folks who else I need to meet. So being where folks are and being available. I should be available to them there and not make them come find me.
What is one thing you wish someone had told you when you were a college student?
Joe: I think I would wish that somebody would have told me on the first day just to go have fun. To discover my passions, experiment, and do things that I had never done before. I was a pretty serious college student and since then I've been like “Ok, I need to chill a little bit and just have some fun and relax.” I've learned that. Hopefully I'm a much more engaging and involved person than my former self. I'm still pretty studious but I also like to have fun. Everyone should get out and experiment and do things [they] otherwise wouldn’t.
What is one thing about you that not many people know?
Joe: I play a lot of instruments really badly. I was trained in grade school and high school on the Alto saxophone, but then because I played that and I played it ok but not great, they asked me to play tenor saxophone for jazz band. So, I learned how to play tenor saxophone. Then they asked me to learn baritone saxophone for the brass ensemble. Then they ask me to learn the French horn for concert band so I had to learn the French horn which is very different because it's a brass instrument not a woodwind instrument, so I learned French horn and learned it well enough that I advanced a little bit because I played it for a couple of years and not just one. Next, they asked me to play trombone for a jazz competition. I was really bad on trombone to the point where the music director told me to fake it so that they could go to competition. I couldn’t just transition from French horn to trombone because it’s a very different instrument. Then I played piano for a couple of years, and then my instructor taught me a little bit of organ. So, I don't play any instruments well but I've been exposed because people were asking me to try to learn different instruments.
Brinna: Are there any instruments that you found the most enjoyment playing or that you would want to go back to learn better?
Joe: Two…..French horn – which I really enjoyed – and piano. I have a lot of theater experience too because I did community theater for about 20 years.
Brinna: What’s community theater?
Joe: Theater that is not “big time theater” but just kind of in my town. I was part of the North Canton Theater Guild and the Canton Players Guild, both in the cities in which I lived, which was a lot of fun. I tried to experiment with lots of different things to find different passions.
As you can see, Joe Shadle has explored many different passions which he uses to connect with students and help them become who they want to be. He firmly believes in the power of belonging and wants to make everyone know that they are welcome here and accepted for who they are. Feel free to chat with him and help him get to know the MSJ community better!
Welcome to the Mount, Joe Shadle