Citizens exec relishes Providence School Board work

Citizens Exec Katherine Ferguson McKenzie says getting a business perspective on issues is helpful to the school board. /
Citizens Exec Katherine Ferguson McKenzie says getting a business perspective on issues is helpful to the school board. /

Katherine Ferguson McKenzie
Position: Group executive vice president of human resources, Citizens Financial Group; Providence School Board member
Background: Katherine McKenzie joined Citizens in September 1996 from
Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., where she ran the human resources, community relations and communications departments. She began her banking career at Wachovia Bank in Winston-Salem, N.C. Before joining the Providence School Board in January 2006, she had never served on a school committee.
McKenzie is also vice chairman of the board of trustees and chair of the planning committee of Women & Infants Hospital and trustee and former chair of The Metropolitan YMCA.
Education: B.A. in secondary education English, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, N.C.; Young Executive Institute, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flager Business School
Residence: Providence
Age: 60

With the Providence School Department facing a $6.2-million shortfall, school leaders are desperately trying to find places to cut back. Negotiations for a new teachers’ contract are under way. Test score remain low. And Katherine Ferguson McKenzie is in the middle of it. By day, she’s a senior executive in a high-powered position at the nation’s eighth-largest commercial banking company, Citizens Bank. At night, she deals with School Department issues as a member of the nine-member Providence School Board. She wasn’t asked to volunteer. Despite having no children, she sought out the job and donates the $3,500 annual stipend back to the district.

PBN: What drew you to serve on the Providence School Board?
McKENZIE: Citizens is one of the largest employers in the state of Rhode Island, and we are only as good as the applicants we hire. … I thought about what I could I do and I thought one of the best things I could do was see if I could help children get educated.
The second reason, and this one is more important than the first reason, I think every child has a God-given right to a good education. And I think without a good education, a person’s life is limited. And I wanted people to enjoy the same kind of life that I enjoyed. … The third reason is my father died when I was 5 years old, and I went into the first grade relatively traumatized and somehow didn’t manage to read in the first grade. I learned to read in the second grade because I had a wonderful teacher named Worth Landin, and she taught me how to read. More importantly, she taught me how to love to read and to love books. So I thought if I had a chance to do that for a child, I would love to do that.

PBN: Why not become a teacher?
McKENZIE: I have a degree to teach English. When I graduated from college I thought about getting a master’s in guidance because I thought my forte was working with people and helping people that way. I thought, as opposed to teaching, I would work a little bit, see if I wanted to be a guidance counselor, then go back and get a master’s. Well, I got into banking, and I loved it, and I never looked back.

- Advertisement -

PBN: When you joined the board in January 2006, what did you feel you could contribute?
McKENZIE: I thought I would bring my own perspective, my desire to help Citizens have better employees. I thought I would bring my passion for helping children learn, my desire to help other children like I was helped. And I thought I would bring a business acumen and perspective that only a senior executive can bring to the board.

PBN: What lessons from your years in banking can you apply to your work on the board?
McKENZIE: I think one of the things I bring to the table is 30 years of sitting on various boards and what the role of the board versus the role of administration, versus the role of the teachers. I’m so clear in my mind about those roles; I think for new members who haven’t sat on boards, that’s been helpful for them. The other thing I’ve brought is a real discipline around numbers and a real discipline around planning. And I, as well as other members on the board, bring a love of the children of Providence. And that is as important as anything.

PBN: You’ve been on the board for almost two years; has it been an education for you?
McKENZIE: It’s been wonderful. It’s a lot of hard work, and I would tell somebody that’s not willing to commit the time that they shouldn’t do this. … This has been a real eye-opener for me. The administration, the School Board, the teachers, and the principals are very committed to the children of Providence. That has been such a wonderful thing to find.

PBN: But is that commitment enough to save the school district?
McKENZIE: We’re not the strongest school system, but if you look at our scores, we’ve probably improved the most. And Classical has probably as good, if not better, scores of any high school in the state. Yes, there’s a lot of work ahead. … I believe it’s something like 80 percent of the children in Providence live below the poverty line, and that in itself brings its own challenges. I think almost half of the students have English as their second language, more than half of them are children of color from different ethnicities and nationalities. I don’t think the challenges are insurmountable. The superintendent is clear in his vision. He’s doing a great job, but you can’t do this overnight.

PBN: Now the school district is facing a $6.2-million budget shortfall. School officials have eliminated 26 coaching positions, along with 70 additional teaching jobs. And administrators are seeking a waiver to increase the maximum size of special education classes. Doesn’t this undermine any progress that’s been made?
McKENZIE: It’s a challenge, I won’t kid you, one we’re taking very seriously. … What are our choices? When we looked at the shortfall, we tried to pick options that were the least detrimental to the most children.

PBN: Is the situation frustrating?
McKENZIE: Sure. What if you had your rent to pay and your food to buy or your gas, and all of a sudden your employer said they have to cut your salary by $10,000 a year, wouldn’t that frustrate you? Wouldn’t you figure out how to fix it yourself? That’s what we’re trying to do.

PBN: Should more corporate leaders follow in your footsteps?
McKENZIE: Absolutely. I think they would find such richness and enjoyment. Well, I don’t know if I would use the word enjoyment. I think they would find such richness and such a sense of accomplishment, and sometimes a sense of frustration. •

No posts to display