Pam Shockley-Zalabak didn't aspire to become chancellor of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, but business associates say it's a good thing she took the job: Her talents and tenacity have been just what was needed to pull the campus out of a significant slump.

"Problems don't seem to faze Pam. She's an educator with a business sense and has taken UCCS to the next level," said Jerry Rutledge, a Colorado Springs business owner who served from 1994 to 2007 as a member of the university system's board of regents, which governs the three CU campuses and their chancellors.

Among the major hurdles Shockley-Zalabak has faced during her six-year tenure: the worst financial crisis since the campus started in 1965. State funding cuts slashed UCCS' base budget by 40 percent from 2002 to 2005, and state lawmakers de-appropriated $100 million that had been earmarked for capital construction.

But an explosion in enrollment necessitated new buildings and programs, and Shockley-Zalabak wasn't about to concede defeat. "Alternative strategies" became her operating phrase. She and her executive team focused on elements they could control, including recruitment, retention, fundraising, philanthropy, faculty research and securing contracts with local businesses for entrepreneurial deals.

The strategy worked: "We increased revenue in the last five years in all of those sectors we could control," she said.

Shockley-Zalabak also appealed to state lawmakers and was able to regain $42 million of the lost $100 million for construction projects, such as a new science and engineering building. The remaining dollars needed to build a new event center and a recreation center, purchase property for a nursing school and remodel several old buildings at the former tuberculosis sanatorium came from businesses, individuals, foundations, alumni and creative financing.

"Some people could say you didn't have to build them. But we've grown 23 percent since the downturn, and we need them. We are out of space," Shockley-Zalabak said.

Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed.

"She's managed to grow that campus and meet the needs of this community with minimal resources, passion and perseverance," Rutledge said.

Communication and tenacity

Shockley-Zalabak, an Oklahoma native, had earned a doctoral degree in organizational communication from CU-Boulder, and was perfectly content as a UCCS communication professor and vice chancellor.

Then, in 2001, the previous chancellor abruptly resigned, and Shockley-Zalabak was the only executive available to step in as interim chancellor.

"I had no intention of applying for the job permanently," she said. "It was right after 9/11, and I knew the nation would be entering a difficult time."

Seven weeks into her temporary position, her husband unexpectedly died. The blow made her rethink her career. She said she surprised herself by adding her name to the pool of national applicants vying for the job in 2002.

The next thing she knew, she was accepting accolades for her promotion.

At the time, colleagues noted her experience, long service, familiarity with UCCS and respect among her peers as attributes that earned her the job.

Six years later, as head of the state's fastest-growing university campus, Shockley-Zalabak says she has no regrets and no doubts that the job is a good fit.

"It is challenging. It has been both better and more difficult than I expected. But I think UCCS is really poised to be a strong part of the future of our community, and I'm happy to be a part of that," she said.

Those who work with her say Shockley-Zalabak, 64, has become a noteworthy, high-profile figure who has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges with creativity and conviction.

"She has all the qualities you look for in a leader. She's highly intelligent and extremely hard-working. She has vision, and knows what she wants to accomplish and does a good job of getting it," said state Sen. Andy McElhany of Colorado Springs.

Even a bad economy doesn't deter her. This year's $127 million budget is balanced, she said, and she's optimistic she can keep the university on sound financial footing.

"We do not have excess money, but we're able to operate in a stable environment," Shockley-Zalabak said. "And we're better positioned to come through this economic downturn than we were in 2001."

One of her attributes, Rutledge said, is that she doesn't know the meaning of the word "no."

"From time to time, I'd hear former CU President (Hank) Brown say Pam may have her Ph.D. in communication, but she doesn't understand ‘no.' It's true. She won't hear of it."

Students, teaching motivate her

Shockley-Zalabak has worked at UCCS for 32 years.

She helped form the department of communication and continues to maintain a high level of energy and enthusiasm for UCCS, and its importance not only to students and faculty, but also local industry.

"I think the community understands that UCCS must thrive in order to attract and retain quality jobs in this region," she said. "We were founded to be engaged with the community, and we continue to work with the business community, nonprofits, the sports and leisure industries and the military to identify their needs and evaluate whether our programs meet those needs."

UCCS, which Hewlett-Packard co-founder Dave Packard helped create to train engineers and other employees for local companies, recently added a bachelor of criminal justice program because of the need, as well as doctorates in nursing practice and educational leadership, and a homeland security program.

Shockley-Zalabak also has pushed faculty members to increase their research to elevate the status of the school and has increased commitment from local businesses to use UCCS as a training ground for their work forces, as well as use intellectual capital generated from UCCS for business pursuits.

"You see leaders that are all about their career, and Pam is totally all about UCCS and the community," Rutledge said.

Unlike many other university administrators at her level, she has continued to teach classes in her specialty, organizational communication, and is writing her eighth book.

"I fundamentally love our students and teaching. Also, being an organizational communication professor, I know how easy it is to be isolated in leadership," Shockley-Zalabak said.

"Teaching is one of the ways I avoid that isolation. Only when you interact regularly with students do you see their needs and perspectives - and that's important to me," she said.

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Contact the writer: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com