The Daily Signal - Diversity Makes Us Stronger As A Nation, Army Lieutenant General Says

Episode Date: January 31, 2020

Today we have exclusive interviews with Roslyn Clark Artis, president of Benedict College, and Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, a retired chief of staff for installation management at the United States Department of the Army. They share their personal stories and how they have shattered glass ceilings in their perspective careers, as well as their ideas for reform for higher education and the military. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, January 31st. I'm Kate Trincoe. And I'm Rachel Dahl Judis. On today's show, we share my interviews with Rosalind Clark Artists, President of Benedict College, and Lieutenant General Gwen Bingham, a retired chief of staff for installation management at the United States Department of the Army. We discussed their stories and how they have shattered glass ceilings in their respective careers, as well as their thoughts on education, the military, and more.

And if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. And please encourage others to subscribe. Now, on to our top news. The Senate impeachment trial continued on Thursday with both sides making arguments in response to questions from senators. Here's House manager, Representative Adam Schiff, via CNN. Our common sense as well as our morality tells us what the president did was wrong when a the president sacrifices the national security interests of the country. It's not only wrong, but it's dangerous.

When the president says, as we saw just a moment again, over and over again, he will continue to do it if left into office. It is dangerous. The framers provided a remedy, and we urge you to use it. Meanwhile, one of Trump's lawyers, Patrick Philbin, argued that the Democrats case against Trump has significant holes via PBS. I think that we've gone through the evidence. that makes it quite clear that both with respect to an office meeting with the president,

a bilateral meeting, and with respect to the temporary pause on the security assistance, the evidence just doesn't stack up to show that President Trump linked either of those. Both took place the meeting and the release of the aid without Ukrainians doing anything, announcing or beginning any investigations. There's nothing in the transcript linking them as a quid pro quo. The Ukrainians didn't even know that there had been a temporary pause on the aid. And I could go on with the list of points on that. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told media on Thursday that President Donald Trump won't be vindicated in his Senate trial if senators don't call witnesses.

Here's what she had to say via C-SPAN. When this is over the Washington, do you think that President Trump will be chastened and understand that he's got to, of Congress watching him, or will he be emboldened because the Senate will have acquitted them? Well, he will not be acquitted. You cannot be acquitted if you don't have a trial. And you don't have a trial if you don't have witnesses and documentation and that. I would hope that the senators, if it comes to a tie or if there's a question of hearing testimony or receiving documents, would leave it up to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Republican appointed in a Republican majority court, I would think that they would have confidence

in the Chief Justice of the United States. That is really his title. And that's interesting to me that they're afraid of breaking a tie with the Chief Justice of the United States. Does the President know right from wrong? I don't think so. There is a new twist in the legal fight over the Equal Rights Amendment. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment.

month, but opponents say that the amendment has already expired, and it's irrelevant the Virginia ratified it. Now, three Democrat attorneys general from Virginia, Illinois, and Nevada, are suing to force the archivist of the United States to recognize the ERA as a new constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, the forces that have tried to deny women equal protection under the law for centuries have not yet been fully vanquished, said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and a call with reporters per CNN. The South Dakota House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday by a margin of 46 to 23 that would criminalize doctors for facilitating gender reassignment surgery for minors who

believe themselves to be transgender. The legislation, which would be the first of its kind if it passes the South Dakota Senate, and assigned into law by Republican Governor Christy Noem, would, per CNN, make it a misdemeanor for physicians or any other medical professionals to perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors or to provide patients 16 and younger with hormones? The Trump administration announced a new funding model for Medicaid that states could choose to opt into. The new model would allow states to take a set amount of money from the federal government when it comes to the care of able-bodied adults on Medicaid. and then in exchange have more flexibility on how they spend the money, according to the Hill. The new program is called the Healthy Adult Opportunity. In a letter to State Medicaid Directors, an official with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wrote,

CMS recognizes that states, as administrators of the program, are in the best position to assess the needs of their respective Medicaid-eligible populations and to drive reforms that result in better health outcomes. One possible downside of the new plan is it offers nothing for states that didn't expand Medicaid under Obamacare and are looking to develop innovative ways to help their uninsured. The coronavirus has spread for the first time in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday. A woman who lives with someone who is infected with the virus following a trip to Wuhan, China,

where the virus originated, is now also infected with the virus. Per CNN, six people in the United States have coronavirus. Two each in Illinois and California, and one in Arizona and one in Washington State. Life expectancy crept up in 2018, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It went up to 78.7 years. There was also a decline in the number of drug overdoses, going from over 70,000 in 2020. 2017 to 67,000 in 2018. Unfortunately, suicide, one of the top 10 causes of death, had an increase going up 1.4% in 2018.

USA Today reported, since 1999, the suicide rate has climbed 35%. Next up, we'll feature Rachel's interview with the president of a historically black college and university, Benedict College. Do conversations about the Supreme Court leave you scratching your head? If you want to understand what's happening at the court, subscribe to SCOTUS 101, a Heritage Foundation podcast, breaking down the cases, personalities, and gossip at the Supreme Court. We are joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Dr. Rosalindler, artist, president of Benedict College. Dr. Artis, thank you so much for being with us today. Thank you for having me. My pleasure.

So you were the first female president in the 147-year history of Benedict College since 1870. What was it like to be the first woman to hold that title? I feel tremendously honored, as you might imagine. Benedict College was actually founded by a woman, Bathsheba Benedict in 1870, and so it only took us 147 years to bring it full circle and to allow the institution founded by a woman to actually be led by a woman. Well, that's incredible. And you definitely seem to have a history and legacy of shattering glass ceilings as you previously served at Florida Memorial University in Miami for four years as the 13th president and first female president in their 138 year history. What did you learn about education during your time there?

I think the biggest lesson that I learned is that it's fluid. It is not consistent. It is not predictable. It is entirely fluid almost as much as the students are individuals that we serve. Every day is a different experience. Never, ever get bored. There's opportunity everywhere to continue to expand and grow. It's an evolutionary process, no institution or at least none that are effective, are static.

We have to continue to grow at the same pace that our learners grow in this country. How did you first get interested in higher education? So I took a circuitous route, actually. I practiced law for a little over a decade with no interest in higher education at all, perfectly content. And then a friend asked me to teach an adjunct class. And I initially said, oh, no, I'm not interested. That's not really something I would be good at. And she pushed and pushed, and so I finally agreed to do it, and it was an absolutely exhilarating experience for me.

The students were very much like a jury. They're stuck in the box, except they're not there by virtue of a subpoena. They're there because they choose. They choose to be there to hear what you have to say and to try to learn and to grow and to advance themselves in their educational goals. And so I caught the education bug, as it were. One of my students left me a note at the end of one of my first classes that said, you changed my life. I still have it. And I didn't get those kind of notes practicing law, interestingly.

And so the rewarding value of having the opportunity to really touch the future through the young people that we educate was completely intoxicating. And so I continued to do more and more work in higher education. Ultimately went back to school for another degree. The Jurisdoctrine, the law degree is not necessarily considered an earned doctorate, which I find somewhat amusing. but I went back to school to earn a doctorate so that I could advance in higher education and came back faculty chair, dean, vice president, provost, and ultimately president. Well, in your bio, it talks about your time at Florida Memorial University, and it notes that among a lot of different achievements there were significant technology enhancement on campus,

new faculty construction, partnerships, increased national exposure, and resource development for the areas of STEM, cybersecurity, and social justice. Looking back, what were some of the best parts of accomplishing those achievements? And how did you even go about accomplishing them? I'll answer the last question first. We went about achieving them by partnering with other institutions, with private sector,

with governmental entities. We really scoured our environment to find people who had a common interest, for example, in the cybersecurity industry, Northropan and some of the providers there of high-tech equipment were interested in investing to ensure that we had students that would graduate capable of going to work in those high-tech industries. And so we found partners, we found friends, we found collaborators, you know, Florida International

and University of Miami, and we sort of plugged in and connected and really decided that we had some unique space. We were educating a group of overwhelmingly low-wealth, first-generation kids of color, who had not had access to the same opportunities that those other institutions and their young people had had. And so by partnering and connecting and engaging, we were able to strengthen our own programs, grow our own programs,

and produce a well-trained, highly skilled workforce. Well, you're speaking today at the Heritage Foundation on a panel talking about historically black colleges and universities, American assets, the value propositions, and opportunities to leverage HBCU programs. What are some of these opportunities that you see to propel HBCUs to be more competitive? So I think there is strength and collaboration, as you heard from the response to the last question. I am in South Carolina.

There are eight historically black colleges and universities in South Carolina. We are stronger if we are collaborating, engaging, sharing resources, ideas. We don't need to reinvent the wheel to be great at this. Engaging in our communities, Benedict is very active in the workforce development space, in the small business development space. We're trying to teach kids to create jobs, not just to go out and look for jobs, but to actually build the economy

by creating small businesses. And so by collaborating with the Small Business Association and other partners, we're able to amplify Benedict and we're able to provide more opportunities for our students to grow. Your bio also mentions a lot your work with mentoring young people,

obviously teaching you around them all the time. What is your perspective on, I guess, young people today? in, I guess, any encouragement you would give to people who are trying to discern what to do, what to study, maybe different obstacles they have to overcome, and looking at all of that and still trying to make good decisions and do their best with what they're given in life where they're at. So I think mentors are incredibly important to young people, and I think most young people, particularly those from a disadvantaged background, lack the confidence to go out and seek those mentorship relationships. So I would encourage our students to really put themselves out there.

The worst thing someone can say is no. Most often they will say yes. Most often people want to see you succeed. People want to help you be successful. And so if we can encourage young people to engage people in the industries they're interested in going into, faculty members who are in a position to enhance their learning experiences, friends who will be part of a study group. Everything is built on relationships.

And so if we can help these kids develop the cultural capital and the connectivity, one to another, we can help them be stronger and grow and have better outcomes. You mentioned earlier the note that a student had given you saying that you changed their life. Are there any other stories looking back on your time in education in teaching where students have stood out or where you've learned something that has impacted your career by your own students? Every interaction with a student is a potentially life-changing interaction. People always ask me, you know, what's your greatest achievement? And I said, you know, I don't measure achievement in the context of a new program or a big gift for the college, although those are wonderful.

I measured in terms of the individual successes on the part of an individual student, right? It's a bad day for me if a student is upset by something, wasn't successful at something, hasn't been successful academically, didn't get the job that they were looking for. That's a tough day. When a student trust you enough, I know there are people in administration that are a little less open to engage. young people directly. We get to be in the office with, you know, three layers of secretaries that stop students from coming to visit us. I actually prefer to get out and engage my students because it helps me remember what we do this work for, why we're here in the first place. If we're disconnected from the students, it's easy to forget that. So I have lots of little

moments every day, lots of great stories of young people for whom the light bulb has just come on and the world looks a little different for them and opportunities suddenly have opened up in ways they never imagined. Thank you so much for sharing that. Given your vast experience in higher education, what are some ways you think higher education is doing well? And then what are some ways you see room for improvement? So I think, you know, the United States of America has the most diverse higher education ecosystem in the world. It's no secret that people are clamoring for the opportunity to come and study in the United States of America from a multitude of other countries. And so clearly the diversity of institutional type, community colleges, major universities,

small private liberal arts institutions, historically black colleges, historically Hispanic serving institutions, the mere diversity of the offerings in the United States really is, I think, our greatest strength. I think where we have an opportunity to improve is really increasing the connectivity among institutions. So the very thing that would tend to divide. us, the diversity of the institutions. There are community colleges and universities. The extent to which we can find common ground to think about advancing the disciplines, the extent to which we can connect to our communities, not just at the community college level, but liberal arts, for example. I read a study the other day that said more engineering firms are led by liberal arts majors

than by engineering majors. So I think it's incumbent upon us to really rethink everything, to question everything, to think about whether there's a different way to do. do something, a different way to attack a problem and to seek a solution. And I think if we can be agile and nimble, which are not necessarily characteristics that are typical in higher education, we tend to have, be known as moving at a glacial pace, you know, with the turn radius of the Titanic or something. But I think if we can get out of our comfort zone, move a little quicker, think a little more critically about how to solve problems. We have opportunity for growth. Well, Dr. Artis, thank you so much for being with us on the Daily Signal podcast.

It's my pleasure. Next up, we'll have Rachel's interview with Lieutenant General Gwen Bingham. If you're tired of high taxes, fewer health care choices, and bigger and bigger government, it's time to partner with the most impactful conservative organization in America. We're the Heritage Foundation, and we're committed to solving the issues America faces. Together, we'll fight back against the rising tide of homegrown social social. And we'll fight four conservative solutions that are making families more free and more prosperous. But we can't do it without you.

Please join us at heritage.org. We're joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Lieutenant General Gwen Bingham. She's the retired chief of staff for installation management at the United States Department of the Army. Gwen, thank you so much for being with us today. My privilege. Thank you for having me here, Rachel. Well, it's great to have you with us. Just to start off, can you tell us about what drew you. to be interested in military service and how you ended up in the U.S. Army?

Great question, and certainly one I'm excited to talk about. I am the daughter, proud daughter, I have an Army First Sergeant and his wife, my mom. My father was an Army medic for 20 years, and quite frankly, I had been an Army brat for my first 13 years in the Army. So the notion of Army service really shouldn't have been any stranger for me. What happened was, though, I received a four-year Army RLTC scholarship, and so I went to school in Alabama. My mantra then was four years and not a day longer. And, of course, as time would tell, that four years has become 38 plus years before I retired just recently.

That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. What was it in particular? Maybe it was a couple of different things. What drew you in to stay longer than those four years? Great question, too. I consider myself a people person. And so inside the Army, it provided me the opportunity to meet so many people of different cultures, background, races, ethnicities.

And I was very drawn to that. The other side was I really found it to be very gratifying work fulfilling. I was challenged doing new missions all over the United States and abroad. And so at the time when I was saying four years and not a day longer, I found my myself at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and I told my husband, I said, well, I'm not quite ready to get out just yet, because I'm having fun. And so, as I said, four years became 10 and more. And so it had really been a laborable love for me. Well, you were the 51st quartermaster general of the United States Army and commandant of the U.S. Army Cornermaster School at Fort Lee in

Virginia. The first female officer to hold both of these positions, what was it like to be the first woman to basically chart those waters. Yeah. When you're going through it, you're just not focused on that aspect of it. However, I understood that I was the first woman to have that positioning. And honestly, they haven't had another woman. Since that time, I'm the first woman in the history of the Army to have held that position. Certainly don't want to be the last.

So I'm looking forward to the second quartermaster general in our army. but I'm very grateful for the opportunity to serve in that capacity and to fulfill our Army's mission. What was it like coming in as the first woman? Did you notice there being any kind of things that you ran up against that you kind of had to just work with and move on? Or was it an easy transition? Being the first woman, you hear different things. Everyone has a different experience. I'm just curious what you're doing. So at Fort Lee, I also commend my battalion there as a lieutenant colonel probably about 10 years earlier. And so Fort Lee is sort of my Army home. I did my basic course as an officer training there. So it's really familiar territory, and I kind of get my energy when I go back to Fort Lee. Now, what I will tell you when I went and became the commanding general at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the day of my change of command, I had a gentleman come up to me after the ceremony.

He says, General Bingham, I just need to tell you. something. He says, when I first heard you were coming here two years ago, he says, I didn't like it one bit. I know I shouldn't feel that way about it, but when I found out you were a woman, I didn't want you here. He says, but since you've been here, you've probably been the best commander we've ever had, and I just want to shake your hand. And so I thanked him for his honesty and told him that I had hoped that we had made a difference there on the range. And so you know there are factions anywhere you go of people who may or may not want you there. But in spite of all of that, you continue to, as we call it, soldier on and do the best job that you can possibly do. And that's

what I did. Well, thank you so much for sharing that. So during your time in military service, you've been the recipient of numerous military awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal. Looking back at all the honors you have received, can you talk about some of the lessons that your time serving in the military has taught you? Lesson number one, keep a positive attitude and all that you do. And I would say, not even secondly, but just as important, remember that you didn't do it by yourself. I'm very grateful to have received awards and occulates, but I am only one person, and there's a lot of people who really share in any awards that I was given. And so I like to thank the people who team with

me along the way I consider every award or Occulate to be really a team award. And so I like to thank a team award. And so I tell young people, you know, never forget, so to speak, the people who work with you who make it happen for you because they really are the unsonged heroes, and I'm grateful to have team with them. Well, you're here today at the Heritage Foundation talking about historically black colleges and universities and helping them be more globally competitive, more globally competitive and aware. What are some strategies you think that could be positively used toward that goal? Yeah. I absolutely believe that historically black colleges and universities are not only an American asset, but they're a national treasure.

I stand on the shoulders of many leaders who are products of HBCUs. In my last two assignments, my four-star boss was General Dennis Fye. He was the Commanding General of Army Materiel Command. He penned not only my third star, but he also penned my second star. I had the opportunity to really be mentored, coached, and trained by him over the years and just look at him as an example. I think partnerships are a difference makers, partnerships at every level with HBCUs will take us to the next level of success. I've been able to see partnerships in the assignments that I've had, both as the TACOM commander in Detroit, as well as the commanding general at White Sands. missile range where we had partnerships with HBCUs specifically to bring them on to our range

at White Sands to learn from us and us to learn from them. Incredible talented young men and women who are involved in science, technology, engineering, and math, I believe that it's that diversity that really makes us stronger as a nation. With every fiber in me, I've seen it, And I know that being able to link arms and partnerships with not only service members from around the globe, but also with industry, academia, profit and nonprofit organizations will help take us to the next level. I think education and awareness about our HBCUs is vitally important. Well, you just mentioned academia. And I'm curious what your thoughts are, looking at the state of education in our country as a whole. What do you think is being done well?

and the more do you see also room for improvement when it comes to education? I think that there are a lot of things that are doing well. As with anything, though, we can't rest on our laurels. And so every young boy or girl who wants to go to college should have the opportunity to go to college. I think the student loan debt is a problem that we need to work on because no one should be strapped with a lot of bills and not be able to look forward to positive contributions.

that they can make, but that debt is something that we really need to look into or continually work on as a nation to see where we can take that to where our young graduates don't have to shoulder so much burden associated with obtaining those degrees that we vitally want them to obtain. So that would be one area that I know we can do better and focus on. Well, at the beginning of our discussion, you had mentioned the story of the man that came up to you and basically said he had, you know, he was wrong and you actually did a really good job. Looking back at your years of service, are there any other stories like that where people have come up to you and been thankful for your leadership or your mentorship or even in your own

life, people that have mentored or helped lead you to the next step? Yeah. I don't take for granted my service nor the fact of people who have encouraged me. You know, when I travel, particularly when I was still on active duty and I wore my uniforms through the airport. There's probably never a time when I had my uniform on that someone didn't walk up to me, extend their hand in gratitude, and tell me thank you for your service. That means so much. To many, it might feel or seem like a small gesture, but to our service members, it means a lot. And I really have appreciated that over the years. But as you indicated, Rachel, so many people have

poured into me from grade school, my parents, my siblings, relatives, all of that, you know, you've heard the cliche, it takes a village. And I honestly can tell you that that village has been far reaching. And so I owe a debt of gratitude to all of those men and women and families who have poured into me and invested in me to help me become where I am today. Well, Lieutenant General Gwen Bingham, thank you so much for your service. And thank you so much for being with us on the Daily Signal podcast. My privilege. Thank you. And that'll do it for today's episode.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal Podcast, brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce radio studio at the Heritage Foundation. And if you haven't already, please be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. And please leave us a review or a rating on Apple Podcasts to give us any feedback. Rob and Virginia, we'll see you Monday. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, the Leah Rampersad, and Mark Geine. For more information, visitdailysignal.com.