April Mason is living proof, If you love what you're doing, the journey never ends. (Photo by Charles Jischke).
When she joined Purdue as a professor after earning a master's degree in plant physiology from the University in 1980 and a PhD in foods and nutrition in 1984, April Mason never expected to become a higher education administrator. Now, 31 years later, she's provost and senior vice president of Kansas State University — a job she owes, in part, to her former Purdue colleagues.
Mason counts Avanelle Kirksey, who became the second female distinguished professor at Purdue and is honored each spring through the Department of Nutrition Sciences' Kirksey Lecture Series, among her earliest mentors. Kirksey, who retired in 1994 after 33 years on the faculty, encouraged Mason to attend the 1989 HERS (Higher Education Resource Services) Summit. The annual event — dedicated to the creation of women leaders in higher education — altered Mason's career path.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to go into administration, but that experience convinced me," she recalls. "One of the exercises was to fill out a map that tracks your career until the age of 65, and mine led to being a provost. I'm already here!"
Still, Mason's transition began at Purdue, where she served on the faculty for 20 years and became associate dean for discovery and engagement in the former College of Consumer and Family Sciences (CFS). She joined Colorado State University in 2004 as dean of its College of Applied Human Sciences, which recently followed Purdue's lead and renamed it the College of Health and Human Sciences.
Mason, who accepted her current position at Kansas State in 2010, thrives on the variety of challenges and experiences that come with being a university administrator. "Beyond my primary responsibilities as provost, I get the opportunity to broaden my appreciation of so many other things," she says.
Appreciating a variety of learning experiences is a theme that resonates across Mason's life. She was born in Ohio and attended the Overseas School of Rome in Italy before returning to her home state to earn a bachelor's degree in biology from Mount Union College. With degrees in three different fields of study, Mason is as versatile in an administrative role as she is in her academic disciplines.
Although there are days she misses her faculty roles, Mason says that being provost allows her more freedom to interact with students in an advisory role, particularly those who hold leadership positions in student organizations. She also enjoys thinking about and planning for the future of higher education. "Post-secondary education is so important to the future of our world," she says.
Mason returns to the Lafayette-West Lafayette area frequently and was most recently on campus in February to be recognized as one of Purdue's 2015 Distinguished Women Scholars. "It was a very special, happy day," she says fondly.
With her 25-year career map already completed, Mason could be poised to advance even farther than originally planned. For now, though, she continues to make the most of the trajectory she began at Purdue. "I love what I'm doing and where I am in my life," Mason says. "It's been an exciting journey."
