The path to university provost and executive vice president for academic affairs was not originally where Ronald Chenail, Ph.D., thought he was heading. In 1988, Chenail was working toward his doctorate degree in family therapy at Texas Tech University, focusing his research on families whose children had been referred to pediatric cardiologists. When Bradford Keeney, Ph.D., the professor who brought Chenail to Texas, accepted a position at NSU (then Nova University), he invited Chenail and a few other doctoral students to South Florida to start a Ph.D. program in family therapy. A long road trip and a few classes later, Chenail earned his degree, in 1989, and was given the opportunity to direct the fledgling family therapy program when his mentor decided to make another move.

“I’m the worst person to talk about career planning,” Chenail said. “When I’ve been asked to help and to take a leadership role, I’ve said yes.”

More than 35 years later, Chenail’s résumé includes helping to launch the conflict resolution program, serving as dean, accepting a position in academic affairs, and then moving into the provost’s office. He continues to serve as a professor of family therapy in the NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is also the editor in chief of The Qualitative Report  and has published more than 130 publications, including nine books. In addition, Chenail and his wife Paula are members of NSU’s Fellows Society and have established scholarship funds for NSU students and researchers in the field of family therapy.

Chenail’s loyalty to NSU stems back to his time as a graduate student when Kenney invited Chenail and his classmates to share their experiences and become engaged in the process of creating a graduate program at NSU.

“Rather than just the accrual of credit hours, we felt very much empowered to be a voice,” Chenail said. “I try to keep that spirit alive—that’s what our students expect.”

“I got my degree here, and the better this place is, the better my degree is,” he added. “As long as I keep learning, I keep having fun. I’m a proud alumnus of the university, and I feel that it’s always in my best interest and the university’s best interest to help us be better.”

The opportunities to see the university improve and grow came early in Chenail’s career. He credits the merger of Nova University with Southeastern University of Health Sciences in 1994 with helping change the institution for the better by expanding the health care curricula, embracing technology, and establishing clear career pathways.

“Southeastern joining Nova really helped to build a foundation from which we benefit to today.”

In addition, this fall, the university will welcome its largest incoming class of freshmen to date.

“Years ago, students talked about their major. Now they talk about their profession,” Chenail said. “I think a lot of universities focus on the degree at hand, but if a student feels that they have a good idea of their career goal, then I think we’re the place to be for that.”

NSU dedicates resources to help students learn about their career choices, but also adds a critical piece in its efforts to incorporate experiential learning. That positions students well to go right into the profession, or to venture into advanced learning. Chenail’s job is to ensure that the colleges dedicate their resources effectively for student success.

He hopes to continue building on NSU’s commitment to preparing students for professions by expanding the university’s relationships with organizations in fields like healthcare. The goal is to provide students with direct pathways from the university into the community.

“We did that for many years with school districts, community colleges, and businesses,” Chenail said.  “Now we are looking at how to create those kinds of pathways for medical students. Just as the Southeastern relationship did, NSU’s relationships to these larger organizations will take us to the next step.”

“William Gibson, who coined the term ‘cyberspace,’ has my favorite saying. He says, ‘the future has already arrived. It’s just not evenly distributed yet,’” Chenail noted. “I think if our readers take a close look at the university, they’ll see the future’s already here and that it’s exciting. Stay tuned.”