SHREVEPORT – What do Homecoming and the Quality Enhancement Plan for Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accreditation have in common?
Not much.
Except the process in which Leigh Chambers implements to serve LSUS in the broad and varied areas in which she is intimately involved.
Chambers is this year’s winner of the Sue Ann Kemp Richardson Meritorious Award which recognizes outstanding service and dedication to the LSUS students, faculty and staff.
“When people ask me what I do at LSUS, my response is that I do whatever LSUS needs me to do,” said Chambers, whose official title is executive director of events and community initiatives. “I don’t really fit into a specific department or bucket … but I define myself as a project manager or a systems control type of person.
“Anytime a skillset is needed centering around how to move a group of people from Point A to Point B, I would say that’s what I do.”
Chambers plays key roles in external areas like LSUS’s extensive summer youth camps and establishing partnerships with entities like the City of Shreveport or Barksdale Air Force Base.
But she’s also a crucial internal connector, assisting in projects like a much-expanded Homecoming week or shifting LSUS’s online education platform to LSU Online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Leigh’s work extends FAR beyond her title,” said Erin Smith, who nominated Chambers for the award. “She corralled faculty and staff to execute the first major Homecoming celebration in LSUS’s history, and she pulled together a committee that represented all areas of campus and fulfilled the mission bestowed upon her with tenacity and expertise.
“She rallied the university to support the Quality Enhancement Plan activities ahead of the SACSCOC visit, and her strong critical thinking and team-building skills played a major role in the success of the reaccreditation visit and the QEP development and dissemination to constituents.”
Chambers said while it might appear that she completes a number of vastly different tasks, the heart of what she does remains the same no matter the area.
“I don’t do a bunch of different things, it’s really the same process that’s applied in different areas,” Chambers said. “The subject matter or the goal may change, but what I do within the goal never changes.
“I have a really good support system at LSUS and have amazing staff members and team members. They allow us to do the things we’re able to do because we set goals and define objectives as a team. For the most part, people have an idea of where they want to go – the biggest deficiency for most is the planning on how to get there. That’s the biggest value I can add as a leader is to develop a stairstep plan to get there.”
Chambers added that one leadership philosophy she subscribes to is to be “team led” and not “dream led,” referencing the importance she places on development and ownership of goals by the group as opposed to employing a team to strive for her own goals.
If you’ve ever attended or hosted an event at LSUS, Chambers has her fingerprints on those as well.
From the annual Nuclear Triad Symposium that brings together U.S. military personnel with defense contractors to the Junior Achievement events that showcase how LSUS can assist local middle schoolers reach their education and career goals, Chambers is often on the frontlines of how the community interacts with the university.
She’s negotiated an agreement with the City of Shreveport to be the official workforce development partner. The first project of that partnership is a Geographic Information Systems certificate that will conclude its first cohort this week.
Talks on Tap, a series in which LSUS faculty and staff share their expertise on a subject in the relaxed setting of Great Raft Brewing Co., is in its second semester and going strong.
What’s Chambers secret weapon? She credits her undergraduate theatre degree for laying the foundation.
“People ask me if I use my theatre degree – absolutely,” Chambers said. “Because theatre is about individuals working toward a collective goal, which in this case would be a performance.
“You’ve got actors, directors, designers, technicians – all who are experts in their individual areas. They are bringing all of their talent together for something that’s produced for a whole other group of people to experience. That’s really what I do.”
The Kemp award was established by Dr. George Kemp, a psychology professor and former dean who was well known for his many contributions to LSUS.