Persistence, relationship-building skills push Purdue Global’s chief administrative officer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When she was 18, Carolyn Nordstrom had her life planned out: finish high school and get a job.

The native Chicago Southsider was savvy and street smart. The oldest of nine knew one had to do something to make a living, so she was ready to join a secretarial pool somewhere in Chicago, until her family got a phone call presenting another idea.

That call was from a high school counselor who told Carolyn’s parents that she should go to college.

The next thing she knew, she was enrolled across town at Northwestern University in Evanston. She admits she wasn’t very happy about it at first, as it took some time for her to understand the power of why her family was making her continue her education.

“I admire our Purdue Global students who know education can change their future and go after it. I’d like to think I would have figured it out and gone to school on my own at some point. Our students need us to be their advocates,” Nordstrom said.  

“I’ve come full circle,” Nordstrom said. “I started my education and had my first job at a Big Ten university, and I’m back at a Big Ten university.”

Nordstrom, who serves as Purdue Global’s chief administrative officer and interim provost, knows from her experience as a working adult what it takes to provide a quality online education to Purdue Global’s 35,000-plus students.

The road to Purdue Global and the importance of relationship building

Nordstrom’s journey from Chicago’s South Side to Evanston was a quick decision, upending her plans.

She is a proud first-generation college student — something that she has in common with 50% of Purdue Global students. She admits that she struggled for the first year of college, but once she got going, there was no turning back.

Nordstrom finished her Bachelor of Science in secondary education — and then earned a Master of Science in counseling psychology and a doctorate in educational administration and policy analysis — all from Northwestern. She taught in what was then the School of Education and managed student-teacher placements for Northwestern.

“I worked full time through undergrad and graduate school at several different jobs,” she said. “A major theme in all of them was administrative and organizational roles, with a premium on relationship building.  When the time came to run a program and work with school districts, I was ready to juggle student schedules and supervising instructors and school district bureaucracies.”

Those administrative and relationship-building skills have been used frequently in all her subsequent roles, helping her and her organizations achieve successful milestones and goals.

Following her time at Northwestern, she was appointed academic dean at an institution that taught working adult learners.

“The job was appealing to me because I had to recruit executive practitioners in finance, marketing, human resources and accounting as adjunct faculty,” she said. “I then trained and supported them in classroom practices, including instructional techniques, lesson planning and assessment. I was able to use my education skills.”

Nordstrom also took on more responsibilities, including scheduling and observing faculty, student academic advising and grade appeals.

She continued working with adult learners, taking on a larger role as director of academic operations and assessment for five years with an organization that operated 11 institutes of higher learning across the U.S. and Canada.

Her next opportunity shifted to a nonprofit civic leadership group — serving at Chicago United, an organization established in the 1960s to bring together CEOs from the Black, Hispanic, Asian and white corporate communities to address various issues across the city. Following four years as a vice president, Nordstrom was named president — the first woman to be appointed to that role. She served as president for 10 years, using political, civic and corporate resources to promote business race relations.  Some of that work involved Illinois education policy and Chicago workforce and community development investments.

“At Chicago United I learned a lot about advocacy and the legislative process, and was able to observe city, state and corporate governance as a bit of an ‘insider,’” she said.

After taking some time off, Nordstrom began consulting, eventually serving as a senior vice president, associate provost and provost for an online higher education institution.

And she’s gone full circle again, being named interim provost, working closely with deans and leadership. As chief administrative officer, she oversees Title IV administration, compliance, accreditation, student relations, accessibility services, faculty operations, human resources, alumni engagement, tutoring, cocurricular activities, research and assessment.

As she navigates the various roles and policies she oversees, it all comes down to helping students, faculty and staff succeed.

“We understand the power of education to change lives and know, often from our own life experiences, that the path to achieving life goals is not easy for most and takes lots of twists and turns,” Nordstrom said. “I love working with people who want to create credentials that represent substantive knowledge, plus practical problem-solving skills, with the ability to think critically and make compassionate judgments.”

Continually improving online education with a human touch

Nordstrom believes the best way to enhance Purdue Global’s online education experience is by investing in and supporting faculty and staff. They are the real power.

That includes rolling up her sleeves and working with deans and department heads, making sure they have all the tools and resources they need to help students succeed as well as navigate a fast-changing online world.

“Nothing stays the same if it is to grow and thrive,” she said. “Being well-educated implies a preparation to welcome new thinking and the ability to recognize new or alternative ways of achieving core goals. Purdue Global has always done that, and we must continue to be in that mindset. No matter what our daily responsibilities may be, all of us need to be focused on how we are contributing directly or indirectly to student persistence.”

Nordstrom knows change will accelerate with the expansion of technology, new software tools and the integration of AI in both obvious and unexpected places.

To keep up with routine change, Nordstrom interacts with people across Purdue Global and Purdue University, as well as government higher education agencies and education partners. That includes working with university governance committees, 17 direct reports and nearly 2,700 faculty and staff members.

“My most interesting conversations are about decisions to improve and align processes and practices across the schools and departments to enhance the student experience and improve persistence to graduation, or help our faculty and staff,” she said. “It’s true that often small changes make a big difference.”

The success of Purdue Global’s difference can be seen across all the graduation ceremonies. For years, Nordstrom has had a front-row seat at commencement, serving as a ceremony name reader.

“I love seeing students with their families who achieved their goal and see the future differently,” she said. “Sometimes I see students who participated on one of our committees and know the confidence they developed over time to engage and share their views. I know their time with us changed them. Commencement allows me the opportunity to share their victory.”

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://www.purdueglobal.edu.