Justice Served

Standing in the doorway of the Office of the President inside the Hughes Administration Center, USD President James T. Harris III, DEd, and USD President for a Day Robert Justice greet each other with an enthusiastic fist bump and begin a collective debrief of their temporary role reversal.

It’s been a very busy day for both, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. 

“Your job is SO easy,” Justice says rather tongue-in-cheek, drawing a hearty laugh and a pat on the shoulder from Harris, who says he relishes the annual opportunity to switch roles with a student. It allows the student an important window into the daily decision-making process and a way to embody what it takes to run an institution. 

For Harris, it’s another opportunity to pound the pavement and spend valuable time meeting the students, faculty and staff around Alcalá Park. 

“I absolutely love being in the classroom,” says Harris, as he reflects on his day. “The two classes I had today were wonderful. I think it helps me better understand what it’s like to be a student [again]. Sometimes we can forget that as administrators. It’s a valuable lesson for me.” 

From homework assignments and class lectures to a tight schedule of meetings and other presidential duties, it’s been a whirlwind day. Nearly seven hours earlier, the men met for a morning hike in Tecolote Canyon — an area that has become the traditional early-morning kickoff event to USD President for a Day. 

From there, their paths diverge, with Harris toting a backpack to the first class on Justice’s schedule — History 340 - World War I — and Justice embarking on the president’s daily schedule, which today includes important meetings with members of USD Admissions, University Advancement, USD Alumni Relations, the Center for Inclusion and Diversity, a trusted donor and also a United States congresswoman. 

Harris, dressed in a blue USD Toreros quarter zip pullover, walks into a classroom on the second floor of the Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice and visits for a few minutes with Professor Kathryn Statler, PhD, before silencing his cell phone and settling into the desk Justice’s peers say he typically occupies. Along with engaging in the class lecture, Harris reads an original poem Justice wrote about World War I and spends a few minutes speaking to the students about his passion for history — Harris holds an undergraduate degree in secondary education/comprehensive social sciences from the University of Toledo. 

“I was teaching history for my first few years and for those of you who are history majors, I think you’ve made the right decision,” Harris tells the students. “You have a unique perspective because everything that’s going on today has some historical context. For me, history has taught me empathy and I always write from a historical perspective because that’s how I frame the world.” 

Harris’ second class was African American Music and Culture with Professor Jesse Mills, PhD. To prepare for the class, Harris was asked to listen to a mixtape of 1990s rap music. 

“Dr. Mills connected the music and what was happening in society and I thought there was a great exchange of ideas between him and the students and to connect to Black Lives Matter and some more current issues,” says Harris. 

Taking time to see the engagement between students and professors is remarkable, Harris says, and provides him firsthand knowledge of the learning taking place, a benefit when he goes to promote the institution around San Diego, the country and abroad. 

“It gives me energy to do my job on a daily basis,” he says. “To see what’s happening in our classrooms is pretty special. We are preparing the next generation of leaders no matter what they do in life.” 

Harris started President for a Day at USD in 2016 to give interested undergraduate students the opportunity to serve in his role for a day. 

“Many years ago, it was suggested that I have a student follow me for a day, and I said, ‘why don’t we let them take over for a day’? I thought it was important for them to get a sense for what a president does. It’s worked out quite well and I think the students walk away having a better understanding of the different constituents that a president has to work with — it’s an opportunity for them to step into a leadership role early in life.” 

Justice, a graduating senior History major and Ethnic Studies minor, was selected from five finalists. Throughout his undergraduate tenure, Justice has been president of both Phi Alpha Theta and the USD History Club, an Outdoor Adventures guide and treasurer of Hall Council for Camino/Founders halls. 

“I woke up today and it was very surreal, but I felt ready,” says Justice. “I got to see something completely different that no one has had the opportunity to do in my class. Getting to see the president’s role and how many different lanes he functions in was interesting.” 

Justice began his day meeting with his staff to review the agenda and other requirements. From there, he met with USD Tribal Liaison Sahmie Wytewa where the pair discussed, among other things, building bridges between the institution and local tribal nations and the importance of creating community for Indigenous students at USD.

“We are entering a new phase at USD,” Justice says. “How can we continue to make it a more inclusive and accessible place for everyone?” 

Justice, himself an Indigenous student raised around the Mohegan Reservation in southeastern Connecticut, says he has often questioned his identity. 

“Growing up in that very strong culture, I moved to California and it was quite a change of scenery and culture,” he says. “I struggled at first at USD with code switching. In Spring 2022, I took a class with Professor Angel Hinzo, PhD, who was our only Indigenous faculty member. Instantly, I bonded with her. I loved her energy and passion and she set me on this path to understand my identity.” 

Next, Justice met with Vice President of University Advancement Rick Virgin, where Virgin briefed him on his afternoon donor meeting and gave him further insight into the importance of further advancing the institutional mission. He also met with Sr. Director of Alumni Relations Charles Bass,to learn more about the importance of maintaining the ever-growing alumni base.

“Charles spoke about how at the end of this year, there will be 80,000 alumni, that’s 80,000 connections back to this university like the root of a tree,” says Justice. 

Justice next met virtually with California’s 53rd Congressional District Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), where the congresswoman generously took time to learn about Justice and offered advice on how to succeed in a leadership role. Before being elected to congress, Representative Jacobs was a Scholar in Residence at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

One perk of being President for a Day is that the student selects one nonprofit to donate $1,000 to on behalf of the university. Justice chose the Turning Wheels Project, a USD Strategic Initiative founded by Ethnic Studies Professor Alberto Pulido, PhD. The project was designed as both a classroom-on-wheels and a creative space that draws from the arts, literature, poetry, oral history and sciences to make knowledge relevant to the lives of the communities it serves. 

Justice presented the check to Pulido during a luncheon that included several USD administrators. 

“It’s amazing work Dr. Pulido is doing in Chicano Park and Logan Heights and here at USD,” Justice told everyone while presenting the oversized check. “I learned so much about how the project started and Pulido's vision for its future. I had never in my time at USD heard about the Turning Wheel Bus and I think it is something amazing that USD is working on within our own community that we should highlight more. This money would help offset some of these costs while also helping to draw attention and interest to the project.”

Another perk of the job is that the student-president gets to make one enrollment decision. Meeting with Director of Admission and Enrollment Minh-Ha Hoang, Justice methodically combed through the student’s application and engaged in meaningful conversation with Hoang about the strengths and weaknesses of the student. Ultimately, Justice signed off on the student’s acceptance. 

Additionally, Justice convinced Hoang to make the Kumeyaay Garden, located on the north edge of campus, an official part of all future campus tours. 

“As a community, we can do a better job of acknowledging the [named] spaces we do have on campus and their meaning and purpose. It’s a beautiful spot on campus and is home to an architectural sculpture by a local Kumeyaay artist and all the plants are indigenous to the canyon. To hear that now on tours, a tour guide will lead groups there, is awesome and everyone is going to learn so much about how USD is moving forward — how we are acknowledging the wrongs of the past and creating these spaces for indigenous and BIPOC communities.” 

With a win in his pocket — Justice had planned to solicit admissions for the tour addition — he then met with USD School of Law alumnus Ronson Shamoun, a generous donor to the institution, where he was able to secure a future financial commitment in support of the USD Wine Classic, an annual fundraising event Shamoun has supported in the past. 

President Justice’s final agenda item for the afternoon was a field trip to the Linda Vista Farmers Market. Accompanied by Mulvaney Center Director of Neighborhood and Community Engagement Austin Galy, the two met with community organizers instrumental in getting the market off the ground. 

From a student perspective, it’s easy to oversimplify the president’s role, Justice believes. Having the chance to embody the president’s duties truly showed him how challenging it can be. 

“Taking a role of leadership today showed how taxing this job is,” he says. “You have to manage different interests in the larger sphere of this university. In this opportunity, it was interesting to see how you perceive the president’s role before and after. It’s amazing what he does on a daily basis. I have a lot of gratitude for what he does.”

— Story and photos by Matthew Piechalak; video by Alé Delgado