Aiken steps down as interim provost, reflects on past
The times, they are a-changin’ for Katherine Aiken.
The line from the famous song can be found printed in the corner of the large Bob Dylan poster hanging in Aiken’s office.
“As long as Bob Dylan’s been Bob Dylan, I’ve been a fan,” Aiken said.
Courtesy | Provost Office
Katherine Aiken sits in her office in the Administration Building in 2009 as CLASS dean.
The line will ring true for Aiken this summer when she steps down from her role as interim provost and executive vice president after more than a year in the role and decade in upper administration at the University of Idaho.
“She’s just a passionate woman who has dedicated her life to the University of Idaho,” said Library Dean Lynn Baird. “She has been a terrific mentor and friend.”
Aiken enrolled at UI in 1969 and graduated three years later with a bachelor’s degree in history. She considered becoming a political scientist, a teacher and a lawyer, but never thought she would become a UI professor, Aiken said.
Like many other students, Aiken said one of the most memorable parts of her time at UI was the close relationships she developed with her professors. Aiken said her professors inspired her to pursue a career in history.
“I just fell in love with the discipline of history and figured that’s what I wanted to do,” Aiken said.
As a student, Aiken said she worked on the student committee that brought the first-ever bike racks to campus, including the rack that stands outside of the Administration Building today.
“Even now I’ll sometimes walk past one — the one right out here — and go ‘Boy, that’s really cool,'” Aiken said.
Aiken returned to UI in 1984 as an assistant professor of history and spent the following years rising through the faculty ranks, eventually becoming head of the History Department before becoming associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) in the mid-2000s.
In 2006, she became dean of CLASS at the same time her good friend Baird became dean of UI Libraries.
From road trips to figuring out the appropriate clothing to wear to a university event, Baird said having Aiken as a close friend allowed them to learn from each other and grow into their dean positions together.
As CLASS dean, Aiken found the position rewarding and said she was most proud of reaching the $10 million campaign goal set by the college, opening up the Haddock Performance Hall and establishing the Confucius Institute.
As interim provost, Aiken said she will always be associated with the Focus For the Future (FFF) program prioritization process, but she is also proud of hiring strong deans and directors.
In leaving the provost position, Aiken said she is going to miss working with the deans, hearing about the numerous faculty accomplishments and helping academic programs succeed. Baird said Aiken did an excellent job of transitioning the university between presidents and provided sound council to UI President Chuck Staben as he began his tenure.
She said having a strong female leader as interim provost was an important step for the university and sent a message of opportunity and hope to other women in higher education.
“Kathy’s courage and integrity are things that I admire tremendously,” Baird said.
Carol Padgham Albrecht, an oboe and music history professor, said she saw Aiken’s integrity firsthand when she served as an outside member on a thesis defense committee. The graduate student wasn’t well prepared, the thesis lacked depth and the advising professor had trouble working with the student, Albrecht said.
“Kathy really stood her ground on the academic rigor,” she said.
Albrecht said she was impressed at how Aiken laid out her specific concerns with the thesis and how she did not compromise the academic standards.
Albrecht said it has been nice to see a female colleague rise through the ranks to take on an important role at the university. She said Aiken assuming the position was an important sign that UI was becoming a more inclusive institution.
Aiken said she has done her best to promote diversity within the university as well as encourage other women to continue their careers in higher education and bring a different perspective to the table.
Aiken might work in the Administration Building, but as a social and cultural historian, she feels most at home in the basement of the UI Library, surrounded by historical archives, she said. The basement is usually closed off to the public, but that doesn’t stop Aiken from trying to convince library staff to let her in.
“Sometimes, if I really beg, they let me just sit down there and look … It’s really cool,” Aiken said.
In her academic career, Aiken said her focus is on 20th century American culture, which can mean everything from analyzing a Bob Dylan record to writing about superheroes.
After she steps down from her position this summer, Aiken said she is going on a six-month sabbatical and will return next spring to teach history.
During her months off, Aiken said she hopes to finish a couple of writing projects and spend some quality time in the UI Library.
After so many years having Aiken as a colleague, Baird said Aiken has opened so many doors for people across campus and seeing her leave will be a difficult transition.
“Because we’ve worked so closely together, it’s really hard for me to even get to the point of imagining her not being there,” Baird said.
Although Aiken will not be in the same upper administration circles as Baird after the summer, she said they would always be able to sing the UI Fight Song together at the Vandal football games.
For Aiken, the change is bittersweet.
“It just feels funny,” Aiken said tearing up. “It’s just a transition, and I think transitions can be hard, but I’m really looking forward to what I’m doing next.”
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ryantarinelli