SUU Upward Bound's Leanne Maxwell Scores a Perfect 109
Posted: August 22, 2022 | Author: Jenn Stewart | Read Time: 4 minutes
The only thing more exciting than securing a $2.5 million-dollar five-year grant award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal TRIO Programs Office is doing so via a perfect 109 out of 109 score on the review panel’s rubric—and that is exactly what SUU’s Upward Bound Director Leanne Maxwell accomplished this year.
Prior to retiring and passing the torch to new Upward Bound Director Eric Fielding, Maxwell worked closely with the SPARC Office and former Upward Bound Director Bill O’Neill to produce her best grant submission yet, topping off more than 30 years of service to Upward Bound and SUU. Maxwell was previously close (within two points!) but never achieved that elusive perfect-score status—until now.
To add some perspective, there are three readers who reviewed Maxwell’s grant application. Each scored her application independently against a multi-layered rubric that produced approximately 50 pages of combined evaluation notes. Not a single weakness was noted by reviewers within those pages. This may be why Maxwell is known throughout the entire state when it comes to TRIO Programs, according to Fielding.
“She is the wise owl people come to when they have questions on TRIO policy or ideas,” said Fielding. “She keeps a level head when change pops up and works through it like she has so many times. I think that is what made her such a great boss and administrator.”
Maxwell started working as Upward Bound coordinator in 1992 and was promoted to director in February 1995. Two years after her promotion, Maxwell hired Tami Shugart as a part-time ETS (Educational Talent Search) advisor, who later became the ETS director. When prompted to recall a couple of her favorite memories with Maxwell, Shugart pointed to hiking The Incline in Colorado and riding bikes through Central Park.
“Leanne has been my biggest supporter and greatest mentor on campus,” said Shugart. “I could always turn to her for advice and assistance with any topic! I consider her a great friend. I love that Leanne is always up for an adventure and always willing to help others.”
Maxwell was such an influential Upward Bound director for so many years partly because she was also a first-generation, low-income student. During high school, she recalls having no idea how much of an impact earning a college degree would have on her life; she had the same limited viewpoint as the students she would later inspire.
“I cannot even imagine the students Leanne has influenced over the years,” said Fielding. “There are students from 15 years ago that still stop by and say hi and catch her up in their lives.”
When asked to share her favorite Upward Bound success story, Maxwell mentioned the National TRIO Achiever Awards Luncheon of 2018 in New York City, where Karletta Chief—one of the first Upward Bound students Maxwell worked with from Paige, AZ was honored. Chief graduated college with her master’s and Ph.D. and worked with the Navajo Tribe to improve the water situation on the Navajo Reservation.
“It was wonderful to see the success she made in her career,” Maxwell said. “I was so thrilled when she received the award.”
Maxwell also recalled the benefits of having female supervisors at SUU who mentored and inspired her, as they too were women working full time, balancing myriads of commitments. She remembered Lynne Brown, Georgia Beth Thompson, and now SUU President Mindy Benson as good role models and examples of compassionate but powerful leadership.
Maxwell gave additional credit to the Upward Bound advisors at each of the target high schools, whom she referred to as the “little-known heroes'' behind the success of the program. These advisors work one-on-one with their students every week and create the rapport that enables students to catch the vision that a college degree is not beyond their reach.
“Leanne has been an integral part of Upward Bound here at SUU for over 30 years,” said SUU President Mindy Benson. “In that time, she continually found ways to improve and grow the program. Her quiet service and ability to think creatively to solve problems and get things done will be greatly missed! Leanne is the best!”
Since her retirement on August 1, 2022, Maxwell confessed she can’t seem to stay away from the office. She misses the camaraderie of Fielding and Shugart and the energy of the campus setting where she was fortunate to work with so many great colleagues and students. However, she still looks forward to the future and knows the program will continue to go well under Eric’s competent leadership. Fielding appreciates Maxwell’s confidence and promises to support the strong tradition and legacy she worked so hard to build.
Maxwell was kind enough to offer some final words of advice. First, to students: “Getting knowledge is expensive, but not seeking and earning knowledge is even more expensive.” Second, to staff: “Enjoy your time at SUU because it can be a wonderful place to spend 30 years of your life!” Last, to everyone, the legacy Maxwell hopes to leave behind is this: “Knowledge, teamwork, and vision will take us to places we can’t imagine until we end up there.”
For more information on the Upward Bound program at SUU, visit suu.edu/trioub.
Produced by the SPARC Office
SUU’s SPARC Office provides assistance to faculty, staff, and administrators seeking external funding for their projects and programs, from concept development and planning through implementation and management of the funded projects.
