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Dan Koehler doesn鈥檛 remember all of the details鈥攊t was more than a decade ago鈥攂ut he does remember the questions: How will your film impact the people involved? How do you package it in a way that鈥檚 accessible, interesting, and impactful?

They are questions asked by Brooke Barnett, his honors thesis advisor, during one of their many brisk walks across Elon University鈥檚 campus in spring 2012 as they discussed his documentary about a Zambian farmer. They鈥檙e the same questions Koehler, an Emmy-nominated, Oscar-winning documentary editor, still asks himself today.

Those walks were and are a hallmark of their relationship. For Barnett, then an associate professor of communication and associate provost, they were a way to maximize time between meetings and events. For Koehler, they were formative.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e proper New York walks, where you鈥檙e moving fast and covering a lot of ground but also really digging into interesting topics,鈥� says Koehler. 鈥淭hey really get your brain going. They鈥檙e the classic Brooke walks. They are definitely a fixture of our relationship.鈥�

Ask anyone who鈥檚 met Barnett, who began her tenure as Rollins鈥� 16th president on July 1, and three qualities stand out. She鈥檚 dynamic鈥攕he talks fast, walks fast, thinks fast. She asks a lot of questions. And she genuinely cares. All three attributes are rooted in her training as a journalist and time spent as a reporter, host, and news director at a PBS station, where deadlines, information, and relationships are not optional鈥攖hey鈥檙e essential.

This dynamic mix has led many who have met her to describe her, admiringly, as a dynamo. And it is this energy, inquisitiveness, and authenticity鈥攁longside a deep passion for students, the liberal arts, and Rollins and its mission鈥攖hat she brings to leading the College into its next era of growth.

Seeking Possibilities

One of Barnett鈥檚 most important questions鈥�What鈥檚 possible?鈥攑erhaps came from her time as a student at Georgetown College, a liberal arts school in Kentucky. At the time, she hadn鈥檛 imagined becoming a journalist, professor, or college administrator. She was toying with the idea of pursuing politics but knew only three things for sure: She wanted to help people, she liked writing, and she loved reading. Growing up before the Internet, smartphones, and social media, she didn鈥檛 have many opportunities to experience life outside of the tiny, historical town of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where she lived. But she did have books.

鈥淲hether fiction or nonfiction, books help you better understand lives that you haven鈥檛 lived,鈥� says Barnett.

And so she majored in English, and like many liberal arts students, branched out from there鈥攁dding a communication major and diving into theater, playwriting, philosophy, and journalism. She served as editor of the student newspaper and met professors who became mentors.

It was English professor and newspaper advisor Rosemary Allen, now president of Georgetown College, who encouraged her potential as a journalist. Earlier this year, Allen shared why. She recalled a moment overhearing Barnett talking with a source and witnessing how natural she was at asking the right questions.

鈥淸Allen] felt that being a journalist was in my blood, and I will say questioning things really still is,鈥� says Barnett. 鈥淣ot in a dogged, let鈥檚-get-down-to-the-bottom-of-this kind of way, but in a this-is-how-we-learn-from-each-other-as-humans kind of way. That鈥檚 still how I seek to understand.鈥�

Pursuing Passion

Another key question Barnett asked herself鈥攁nd encourages students to ask鈥攊s, What鈥檚 my passion?

With Allen鈥檚 encouragement, Barnett earned a master鈥檚 in journalism followed by a PhD in communication, both from Indiana University Bloomington. There, while working at local PBS affiliate WTIU, she found two new loves: documentary filmmaking for its ability to amplify different voices and would-be husband Tom Mould, who joins Rollins as a faculty member in the anthropology department. She also discovered a new passion: teaching.

鈥淚 loved the scholarship, the collaboration, the energy in the classroom,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what drew me to academic life.鈥�

In 2001, Barnett joined Elon University as an assistant professor of communication. Kenn Gaither, now dean of Elon鈥檚 School of Communications, recalls meeting Barnett for the first time in 2004 when he joined the faculty.

鈥淪he was the kind of faculty member who reached out to me and introduced herself and made herself a resource to me,鈥� says Gaither. 鈥淎nd over time, that very professional relationship turned into a friendship. My first impression was 鈥榳hat a dynamo and what a welcoming presence to Elon and the School of Communications.鈥欌��

When asked about Barnett鈥檚 biggest legacy at Elon, Gaither has a hard time narrowing down his response to just one聽thing.

鈥淭here was a time when, if you looked at the priorities at Elon, Brooke was involved in all of them,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hether we were talking about the campus climate, student belonging, student media, or under小猪视频 research鈥攕he was involved in those conversations, and she was one of the people who helped move all of those little things forward to the extent that they鈥檙e not so little anymore. They鈥檙e part of the institutional fabric of Elon.鈥�

Barnett is especially proud of co-creating the Center for Access and Success, helping students from all backgrounds thrive in higher education. She quickly caught the attention of Jeff Stein, who served as chief of staff at Elon.

鈥淚 learned a lot from working with Brooke,鈥� says Stein, now president of Mary Baldwin University in Virginia. 鈥淲henever there was a really challenging problem, she was one of the first people I wanted to talk with because she thinks broadly, has vast experience, and rarely, if ever, gets boxed in by challenges. She鈥檚 just really聽nimble.鈥�

That mindset earned her the dean role at the College of Communication at Butler University in 2019. She rose to provost only two years later. As Butler provost and executive vice president, Barnett developed new programs, including a codified first-year experience and a two-year college, integrated well-being into the core curriculum, and worked alongside faculty to create a robust suite of faculty support initiatives, including the creation of the Center for Faculty Excellence.

In this role, Barnett worked closely with Melissa Beckwith, Butler鈥檚 chief strategy officer, who describes Barnett as 鈥渁 blend of energetic, collaborative, and聽fun.鈥�

鈥淪he cheers people on,鈥� says Beckwith, 鈥渂ut also pushes us to ask: Is this the best way? Can we do it聽differently?鈥�

Prioritizing Purpose

It鈥檚 not surprising then that people鈥攁nd specifically students鈥攁re the answer to another one of her favorite questions: What鈥檚 my purpose?

鈥淎t her core, Brooke is teaching and mentoring and helping others reach their potential, and so when she sits down with a group or has an issue to deal with, it鈥檚 less about her and more about where you鈥檙e trying to go and how the whole group can get there,鈥� says Stein, who regularly welcomed Barnett and her family to Passover Seder. 鈥淪he balances intelligence with kindness, authenticity, and a whole lot of creativity. And she brings that together in a way that makes it exciting for people to take on challenges, even the hardest聽ones.鈥�

It鈥檚 not only the big issues, though, where Barnett shows up. It鈥檚 also the small moments. Gaither recalls Easter a decade ago. His eldest daughter, Ellie, was 2, and he and his wife had recently welcomed twins. They were exhausted and didn鈥檛 have the energy to think about Easter, let alone decorating or celebrating. Without being asked, Barnett and her family showed up with a bucket of eggs and began hiding them in his backyard.

鈥淪he gave Ellie the Easter experience we wanted her to have but couldn鈥檛 manage ourselves,鈥� says Gaither. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just who Brooke is.鈥�

As faculty leaders for study abroad trips, Barnett and Mould have likewise provided numerous students with experiences they wouldn鈥檛 otherwise have. In May, Mould, a professor of anthropology at Butler, led an honors class to Italy to explore Tuscan culture and cuisine, while Barnett went to London, overseeing an international internship program in media and culture that she developed as a dean.

Barnett considers these experiences a way to stay connected with students as she moves into higher leadership positions, where time is quickly filled up with meetings with donors, faculty, administrators, alumni, staff, and community members.

鈥淎s provost and executive vice president, I could go every day the whole entire year and not really interact with students in direct ways in my job,鈥� she says. 鈥淭o me, that felt like an impoverished existence, so I manufactured ways to make sure I didn鈥檛 lose that connection.鈥�

That includes attending student events, sending check-in notes, and scheduling the kinds of walk-and-talks that were commonplace with Koehler, her documentary mentee. The structure has changed somewhat鈥攕he lets students choose the topic of conversation鈥攂ut she always ends with three questions: What brought you to Butler? What could we do to be better? What faculty or staff member made a difference during your time here?

For the last one, she loves passing along responses to colleagues鈥攎inus the student鈥檚 name, of course.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those small things that make a difference in exemplifying the relationship-rich environments any leader hopes to cultivate,鈥� she says.

The first two, however, are critical for Barnett to ensure she makes informed, student-centered decisions.

鈥淏rooke understands deep in her heart that our work is about the students, that we need to be student-centered, that we can鈥檛 just say that we are student-centered, but that has to drive every aspect of what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� says Stein. 鈥淎nd because she has spent so much time with students, and believes in students and their potential, it sort of makes it a no-brainer that they would naturally be involved in the聽process.鈥�

Leading Rollins

With all of the questions Barnett has at the ready, a natural one for her at this juncture is: Why Rollins?

The first answer is simple. She believes in the College鈥檚 mission.

鈥淚鈥檓 really bullish on Rollins,鈥� she says. 鈥淒uring the interview process when people talked about what is special about Rollins, I bought in 100 percent. I鈥檓 optimistic about all the good things that are happening and how we鈥檒l work together to face whatever comes next.鈥�

But as with so much of what you find with Barnett, there鈥檚 always more bubbling just under the surface. She鈥檒l tell you that she鈥檚 known about Rollins ever since she worked at Elon鈥攖hey often benchmarked what they were doing against what the College was doing. She likes the feel, ethos, and approach of Rollins, and she loves the connection with Mister Rogers. She fell in love with the campus and the people while facilitating a training for Rollins staff one fall. And Florida itself is a bonus. Her parents and two of her siblings live in the state, meaning that for the first time since she left home for college, she鈥檒l live near her family.

Still, she turns the spotlight outward.

鈥淲e will always want to keep answering the question, 鈥榃hy Rollins?,鈥� for students,鈥� she says. 鈥淒o we have the right answer to that question? Are we paying attention to and evolving the student experience to meet their needs and aspirations?鈥�

During the 30 years she鈥檚 spent in higher education, Barnett has seen constant change鈥攆rom mental health to evolving technologies. She knows there will be challenges and unknowns, such as the role of artificial intelligence, making college affordable, and public perceptions of higher education and the value of a liberal arts degree. She鈥檚 eager to push forward on all of them, but right now her top priority is listening.

She hasn鈥檛 mapped out her first 90 days. A transition committee of trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and Winter Park community members are shaping what that looks like, and she wants them to have the space to do their work and to hear their findings. She doesn鈥檛 have a five-year plan either. That, she says, will come through collaboration.

So maybe the better question is: Why Barnett?

The answer is an inevitability to the people who know her. Stein confesses he thought she鈥檇 become a college president before he did. Beckwith notes that Rollins is lucky to gain a president with Barnett鈥檚 energy, passion, and spirit. Gaither, with more than 20 years in higher ed, says, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of anybody better positioned to be a college president.鈥�

As for Koehler, far removed from higher education, if he鈥檚 being honest, he doesn鈥檛 exactly know what a college president does.

鈥淏ut if it鈥檚 anything related to the way she mentored me and how I鈥檝e seen her handle other positions in her past,鈥� he says, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no better person for the聽role.鈥�

In Her Words

Incoming Rollins President Brooke Barnett lets us in on a few things that inspire, ground, and motivate her every day.

A book she loves: Sula by Toni Morrison

Can鈥檛 live without: My family

First job: Beaumont Inn gift shop

Favorite place she's traveled: Istanbul, Turkey

Something she won鈥檛聽miss: A morning commute. I鈥檓 so excited about being able to walk to work and connect with students and colleagues along the way.

A favorite college聽memory: Spending a long night finishing the college newspaper

Guaranteed to make her聽smile: Babies

Hidden talent: I listen to podcasts at double聽speed.

Best advice she鈥檚聽received: Be present.

Biggest professional accomplishment: Becoming the 16th president of 小猪视频