Listening, learning, leading

Arriving at Michigan State University just before the temperatures began to fall and campus filled with the colors of autumn, Laura Lee McIntyre was welcomed by the energy and excitement of a new semester. It’s one of her favorite times of year.

Since starting as MSU’s provost in August, McIntyre has prioritized listening, connecting, and learning from faculty, staff and students across disciplines, hearing their stories and ideas for the future.

That spirit of listening and collaboration is grounded in empathy and evidence-based decision-making — the same principles that have guided her career.

“The start of the semester is probably one of my favorite times of year,” McIntyre said. “We welcomed almost 52,000 students back to our campus, and the excitement of move-in and welcoming new faculty and staff, new academic leaders, and really engaging with many of our community members, alumni at athletic events and other cultural events. It's been fantastic and very, very busy, but I love experiencing MSU, particularly in the fall.”

Looking out her office window, McIntyre sees the thousands of students, faculty and staff who call MSU home. Her approach to leadership, though, didn’t begin in an administrative building — it's rooted in decades of teaching, scholarship and service dedicated to helping others thrive.

Before becoming MSU’s newest provost, McIntyre built her career as a scholar and advocate for children’s mental and behavioral health, special education, and intervention for vulnerable populations — work that continues to influence how she leads today.

Putting research into practice

McIntyre’s passion for education began in the classroom supporting students in preschool, K-12 and special education. Even with a master’s degree in special education from the University of California, Riverside, she realized she needed to expand her knowledge and skills to solve some of the most pressing problems in education. That realization led her to earn a doctorate in School Psychology, also from UC Riverside, deepening her understanding of the intersection of disability, psychology, and mental and behavioral health. Her drive to study children’s mental and behavioral health was shaped by watching a family member navigate an educational system that didn’t provide the support that was needed.

“My passion for pursuing behavioral health and mental health education was ignited by a very personal experience in my past,” she said. “When I got my Ph.D. and was fully immersed in research — much of it tied to healthcare, education and family experiences — I realized that I could make an impact at a different level by moving into higher education.”

McIntyre’s higher education journey began at Syracuse University, where she served as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. Her passion for community engagement led her to also work as a staff psychologist at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, where she worked in a developmental and behavioral pediatric clinic. She not only saw patients but also consulted with area school districts, translating her research on children with disabilities and behavioral health challenges into practice.

When McIntyre had the chance to move to the University of Oregon, she saw an opportunity to make an impact at a greater level, not only as a faculty member but also in a leadership role, as the director of graduate studies in School Psychology. Her journey at the University of Oregon continued to evolve, with appointments as associate director of the Child and Family Center in the Prevention Science Institute, department head of special education and clinical sciences, faculty member of the Board of Trustees, director of the Prevention Science Institute, and dean of the College of Education, among others.

“It's both serendipitous and fortuitous that I have this background that I bring to bear in my academic leadership,” McIntyre said. “It was never necessarily a dream of mine to be provost or to be a senior academic administrator. But I bring the values of centering students, promoting behavioral and mental health wellness, and focusing on student success and academic success, and that translates very well to an institution of higher education.”

Those same values now guide her as she leads MSU’s academic enterprise — where collaboration and partnership are central to her approach.

Curiosity, collaboration, communication and care

For McIntyre, higher education is a team sport — one where the provost, president and campus leaders collaborate and “play well with others in the sandbox” to address the issues of the day.

As provost, she works with faculty, staff, students, and leaders to advance MSU’s mission, using collaboration to tackle complex challenges and build a sense of shared purpose.

“Collaboration requires good communication, requires perspective-taking and requires leadership to bring various constituents with maybe slightly different issues or needs together,” she said. “My background and training, I think, have served me well in that area.”

A significant achievement during her time at the University of Oregon shows McIntyre’s values of curiosity, collaboration, communication and care in action.

Faculty from the College of Education, Department of Psychology and Prevention Science Institute came together to address a pressing challenge — the nationwide shortage of behavioral and mental healthcare workers. They believed an institution of higher education, like the University of Oregon, could play a role in addressing that shortage and finding a solution to the problem that led to escalating youth mental health crises.

As part of a small group of faculty and leaders, McIntyre proposed what she called a “moonshot” idea of developing an institute focused on child behavioral health that would drive the creation of a new pathway for bachelor’s degree-level trained child behavioral health specialists, while providing opportunities for interdisciplinary, community-engaged research to reduce health disparities in access to care.

McIntyre’s team collaborated with the university’s development office, worked with key donors, and ultimately secured a $425 million donation that brought the Ballmer Institute of Child Behavioral Health to the University of Oregon.

“I believe in the power of collaboration, because it introduces varying perspectives and opportunities for tapping into our respective strengths,” she said. “We are stronger when we come together, but that coming together requires leadership and alignment with what our common goals are. Collaboration really suggests that we coordinate and we communicate, and I believe so strongly in those values, but oftentimes, due to day-to-day constraints and scheduling, people are not always on campus and available, so we don't do it frequently enough. Collaboration and communication are intentional. It's important for building communities that trust one another and that ultimately can result in greater impact for the common good.”

Promise of promoting public good

In the spirit of communication and collaboration, McIntyre has embarked on a listening and learning tour that began this fall, featuring more than 40 stops across colleges, units and special interest groups at MSU.

The tour reflects her intentional approach of including and hearing voices in conversations that might not always be heard. Even as chief academic officer, McIntyre rarely works directly with students, yet she prioritizes hearing from them and faculty to guide decisions on academic excellence and student success.

“We have to be intentional about including voices in our conversations, because if we're not intentional, we can make a decision based on the loudest voices or the voices of the people who show up, and that would be a mistake,” she said. “It would provide an incomplete picture of who we are, and it would provide an incomplete picture of the needs of the communities that we're working with and serving. Intentionality is critical so that we ensure that individuals who are not already at the table have an invitation to be at the table.”

McIntyre looks forward to meeting and collaborating with people from across campus as she continues her time at MSU, celebrating achievements and success while learning about challenges and barriers.

As she explores the massive institution that is MSU, McIntyre seeks to build a spirit of community and trust.

“Ultimately, my goals really focus on ensuring that Michigan State is the premier destination for students to pursue excellent academic programming, that we have the resources in place for our faculty and our staff to thrive, and that we are coordinated in our One Team approach,” she said. “The goals for this first semester are really an extension of my long-term goals: to work alongside our incredible group of leaders, faculty, staff and students, to make good on our promise of promoting public good.”