Advisor Spotlight: Farewell to Jill Lingard

by Kari Ward

Having served the university and its students for 23 years, Jill Lingard has decided to refocus her energies and concentrate on her volunteer work with environmentally-focused, non-profit organizations.  Jill began her career here in Admissions in 1989, worked as an academic advisor in the College of Engineering from 1996 to 2001, and spent the last eleven years in the Heavener School of Business as the Associate Director for the Online Business Program. Jill, your friends at UF wish you well in your new endeavors. If you give your new career the same devotion you gave to all of us over the years, you’ll have North Florida’s waterways spic and span in no time!  Many thanks to you for being our inspiration and our champion!  [Why am I feeling the urge to sing "Happy Trails to You . . ."?]

Jill and her Dad, Bil Lingard

You hiked the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to New Hampshire.  You went skydiving with your students.   And now you’re walking away from a secure job that you enjoy.  What is it in you that makes you do such crazy things, Jill?

Something in me is attracted to the potential of experiences in which outcomes are undefined, but where my actions make a direct impact on those results.  I’m comfortable with ambiguity and enjoy not knowing from day one ‘how it will all work out.’  I also enjoy exploring my physical and mental limits.  To me, nearly all fear is of the unknown.  If I’m willing to stretch myself and get to know an unfamiliar experience, the fear nearly always dissolves.  By the way, I think this trait is what drew me to the job I‘ve had for the past decade, so it’s not just about climbing mountains or jumping out of planes.  Launching an online degree like ours had never been done before, and I was very drawn to all the possibilities of that process.

Jill at her going away party with friends from her old stomping grounds in Admissions

You’ve told us that you’ll be continuing your volunteer work with Paddle Florida and Current Problems in your new life.  Can you tell us more about these organizations and how you got involved with them?  What kind of work have you done with them in the past and what will your new role be?

When I returned from my attempted thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail with a fractured hip, my mobility was severely limited for a few months.  But paddling was something I could continue to enjoy.  When I heard about Paddle Florida’s inaugural week-long trip down the Suwannee River in 2008, I jumped at the opportunity and have been a fan ever since.  Our paddling experiences brought us into contact with folks doing cleanups of North Central Florida’s waterways, which is the focus of Current Problems.  In 2010, Paddle Florida was granted non-profit status with the mission of supporting water conservation, wildlife preservation, springs restoration, and waterways protection through paddling trips staged in each of Florida’s five water management districts.  In addition to the ongoing cleanup efforts, I will assist both groups with grant writing, marketing, and PR work.   

Jill, goofing around with longtime co-worker and friend, Joe Rojo

What are you most looking forward to in your new life?

Refining and applying my writing skills to causes I believe in and working with an amazingly talented and dedicated group of citizens who have similar interests in Florida’s ecosystems.

What will you miss the most about your old life at UF?

Whether they’re 18 or 60, in front of me or online, I will miss being able to impact college students.  What an honor it has been to be able to influence people as they’re engaged in the process of ‘becoming themselves.’  I will also miss my colleagues tremendously.  They’ve become a second family to me and I will make every effort to maintain those relationships. 

The Online Business Program is your baby.  You built it from scratch, starting in 2001, and since that time over 800 students have graduated with their business degree.  What does this mean to you? 

Due to geography, fulltime jobs, or family obligations, the vast majority of those 800 graduates are students who lacked access to a UF degree before our online program launched in 2002.  It has been deeply rewarding to open up educational access to these students.  I get to see the meaning this has written all over the faces of their family members at commencement. 

What piece of advice would you give to student affairs professionals who are responsible for creating and managing programs?

Study the market to assess potential demand for the proposed program.  Surround yourself with an excellent team of individuals who have complementary skills sets.  Build good relationships with all the external offices and institutions you’ll need to depend on to make this thing work.  Ensure students, not tuition dollars, remain the focus of why you come to work each day.  (Take care of students, and finances will fall into place.)  Cultivate a sense of humor.

Jill, with the Online Business Program Staff

In the two plus decades you’ve spent at UF, you’ve focused much of your work on building relationships with community/state college students and advisors.  Why were you drawn to this group?  Where do you see university-community/state college relations going in the future?

Florida’s community college system launched my own education and subsequent student services career.  I had a really wonderful experience at IRCC in the mid-80’s.  Having flourished in that environment, I was thrilled to work with a program in which our success depends in large part on the ability to cultivate relationships with community/state college students, advisors, faculty, and administrators.  It felt like ‘coming home’ to me. 

I believe community and state colleges will continue to play a crucial role in higher education because of their open access and affordability.  They’ve also been quick to meet the current demands for flexibility by developing online and hybrid courses and programs.  I question the viability of some of their recently developed Bachelor’s degree options, especially when they duplicate available options through Florida’s state universities.  But their role in providing lower division and technical education remains unquestionably important.

From L to R:  John Laibson, the new Director of the Online Business Program, Jill, and Dr. Albert Matheny

What do you foresee for the Online Business Program, distance learning, and higher education, in general?

Tremendous growth and increasing quality as more excellent institutions get into the game and interactive technology improves.  In another decade, I don’t think ‘going to college’ will look anything like what it did as recently as a decade ago.  We can all sit around and complain about that OR get busy shaping what the higher education experience will be.  It’s been great fun to be part of a team which has taken the latter approach.

Your love of the written word led you to a position on the Common Reading Program Book Selection Committee.  Out of the zillion or so books you've read for them, which one was your favorite?  Of the books you’ve read for your own pleasure, which one is your favorite?

I think my favorite ‘chosen’ CRP book was last year’s Outcasts United.  I’m not a team sports enthusiast, nor do I have a clue about soccer.  So my enjoyment of this book is a measure of Warren St. John’s ability to tell a much richer story.  For every year’s chosen book, the committee reads dozens more behind the scenes.  One of my favorites this past year for sheer hilarity was Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars.  Roach does a superb job in all her books of reaching non-science-types like me with her layman’s take on science topics.  Packing for Mars looks behind the curtain of what it’s really like to train for and live in space.  I enjoyed it so much, it led me to read the memoir of shuttle astronaut Mike Mullane (equally comical and engaging)—not a typical selection for this former English major!  Outside of CRP circles, my favorite author is Charles Frazier.  I loved every word of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons.   I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Frazier at a book signing once and my knees nearly buckled from star-struck awe. 

Jill and one of her favorite professors, Dr. Rich Lutz, and friend Julia Smith

Who is the person who has influenced you the most in your time here at UF?

I would have to say Brian Ray, for bringing me into a team of such innovative and dedicated individuals, giving me the opportunity to help build something very meaningful from scratch, and doing whatever was necessary to support that process along the way. 

What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve learned here at UF?

Focus on what’s working and do more of that.  Don’t dwell on the negative.  Fix it and move on.

What do you view as your greatest accomplishment?

I have stared at this question with a blank mind for several minutes now.  I guess I don’t think in terms of one greatest accomplishment or accolade.  Every student I’ve impacted who has walked across the commencement stage is a greatest accomplishment.  I’m not sure who said "You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give," but that sums it up nicely for me.

And finally, “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?”

“Finally—you’re here!  Bill Maher saved you a seat!”