President Greg Crawford
I'm not gonna call him Bob. We'll call him colonel.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Please.

President Greg Crawford
And then there's your call sign...

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Mmmhm.

President Greg Crawford
...is?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Party Bob.

President Greg Crawford
Let me ask you that. So when you introduce yourself, I'm gonna say, okay, because you're a navigator, right?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Yep. And it doesn't have to do with partying or not partying. So you can know ahead of time, right?

President Greg Crawford
Hello. I'm Greg Crawford, president of Miami University, and welcome to "In Such a Place," the Podcast where we explore the future of higher education and the vital role colleges and universities play in shaping our world. Leadership today demands more than just skills or knowledge. It calls for character resilience and the ability to navigate a rapidly changing global landscape. Joining us for this episode is Colonel Bob Umholz, Chair of Aerospace Studies and commander of the United States Air Force, ROTC at Miami University. Today we'll explore the characteristics of effective leadership in higher education and why cultivating leaders of character matters now more than ever. Welcome to the podcast Colonel Umholtz, it's great to have you here.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Good afternoon, sir. It's a pleasure to be here, and thank you for the invitation. And please call me Bob, or Party Bob.

President Greg Crawford
We'll come back to that in a minute. All right, we're going to call you a colonel today. Let's begin with an introduction. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career, how you got interested in the Air Force, and a little bit about your educational background, because we heard you went to our really great university.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
That's right. So my career started here at Miami University, and during a Make it Miami event, I was informed that I needed to walk up to a tent. Get involved when you're at Miami. Don't waste your time. Make sure that you do other things. And so I walked in and saw the Air Force ROTC tent, and I thought my dad did the Air Force in 1969 Why shouldn't I say hi to the people at the tent? No desire to join the Air Force. Well, they were friendly and they were kind, and they told me that I could show up to their new summer orientation program, which I thought would be like boot camp. I'll say I wasn't as hard as a boot camp, but it was definitely enjoyable. Met some great people, majored in history, and pretty much decided the rest of my life at a Make it Miami event hanging out with some really great people. So graduated four years later, had a great time while I was here, met wonderful people that are still in my life today. From there, I went down to San Antonio, where I went to combat system operator school. From there, I went to Offutt Air Force Base, and I flew on the OCWC and RC 135 so I got to travel the world. Met more amazing people. It's kind of funny how wherever you go in the Air Force, you just continually meet more and more amazing people with value, with character, and you can't ever seem to say goodbye to them. And then from there, I got a chance to go up to grad school to study Russian history in University of New Hampshire. And from there, I went back, and I had my first command opportunity for the Air Force Technical Application Center. After that, I got picked up to go to Air Command and Staff College, where I got a master's in military arts and operational science. And from there, I went to Germany to work on staff at USAFI Africa. Then I went off and taught history at the Air Force Academy, and finally got the dream job of Commander of the Air Force ROTC unit here at Miami University, where it all started.

President Greg Crawford
And how do you like it so far, coming back home?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
It's amazing, in my first day, going for a run in the morning on campus, looking around and all the memories that flood you when you're back on campus, and the look of the leaves and the trees and the people and the excitement and people are phenomenal the faculty and, of course, university leadership that is so supportive of the ROTC program and the cadets here, and we're very thankful for that.

President Greg Crawford
It's great to have you back home. And just a question, you brought it up, Party, Bob, is that a call sign as a navigator? Or what is that all about?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
That is a call sign. My community doesn't really have call signs, but it was a nickname. And of course, the story behind it, like any good call sign, doesn't have anything to do with the name. So I can tell you that partying is not in or out of the name. It has to do with a completely different scenario. But from that point when I went off the staff, my boss was an F22 pilot and his boss and A10 pilot and his boss and F15 pilot, his boss an F22 pilot. And from that point on, they all started calling me Party Bob. And I think the legend of Party Bob has now grown beyond what I am, and that includes when I got to meet the President of the United States, when I was running the Air Force Academy graduation, and I was introduced to the President as Robert "Party Bob" Umholtz. So I think that makes it an official call sign.

President Greg Crawford
Well, that's fantastic. Well, thanks so much for being here with us today, Colonel. We're so glad you're back here at Miami cultivating the next generation of military officers and military leaders. You've led in both military and also in academic settings. How do you define effective leadership today, and how should higher education institutions be evolving to cultivate it in their students?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Simply put, leadership is helping a team accomplish goals or tasks. But you did ask about effective leadership, and I think that there are many leaders, but not all leaders are effective. Not all leaders are transformational. In fact, the Air Force does a lot to help students understand the full range leadership model, which begins on a on a very low level of a laissez-faire leader who's not involved, doesn't do much for their people, it just lets things happen, and then you have the micro-manager on the other extreme. But somewhere in the middle, you find where all the pieces of letting people operate and knowing what's taking place come together in your transactional leadership. And that, I think, is an ideal situation where leaders are both living honorably, lifting others while elevating performance. And that's how we get ourselves to a point where leaders are making a difference improving society, not only focused on their tasks, but how they can get others to also accomplish tasks and to go on and be the next set of leaders. Because, as we both know, as time passes, we will all cycle out of the jobs that we're in, and who will take up the responsibility, who will carry the mantle of leading next and a true leader not only looks toward accomplishing today's tasks, but building the next generation of leaders. And I think higher education has a responsibility to help live by the same models that the Air Force Academy has of living honorably, lifting others, and elevating performance. So the question is, how do you get diverse faculty members, people from different backgrounds, to come together and to focus on the task of making their students leaders for the future?

President Greg Crawford
I love that definition of effective leadership, and there's something you said that I really like to think about and reflect upon, and have you talk more about it. And that is that leadership is unchanging in nature, but its application evolves. What does that evolution look like on the sort of modern college campus? And how should higher education adapt its approach to leadership development accordingly?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
From Baby Boomers to Generation X to Gen Alpha, there's changes in society, but as you said, the nature of leadership never changes. So a leader must focus on the ethics and the values that they hold, that a society holds, the morals. That's what makes this a significance of character. Of course, a leader of character has to know how to adapt and change their methods, as we do in any job, in any role, in marketing, the same marketing that worked in 1954 will not be effective in 2026, so how do leaders understand that changing nature and adapt it to their individuals, without changing the principles of the institution, the organization that they're a part of. So I think on college campuses, this evolution should focus on helping students understand what are the unchangeable characteristics of leadership, to help them know that whatever the future hands them, they can remain on their principles, that their leadership will be effective when they start altering paths, but never deviating from the true essence of leadership and the principles that they stand for.

President Greg Crawford
That's great. And you've also emphasized the importance of leaders having time for people, and I'd love for you to opine on that, especially in a world that says instant communication and digital overload that we often see and feel and how do you teach students to be present, authentic leaders in real life, in this world that we live in today?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Yeah, it can be so difficult. Leaders are, especially effective leaders, are always tasked with more goals, more jobs, to accomplish more tasks during their time. They need to remember that very little will matter when they move on in their life, other than the difference that they made in individuals' lives. A really important leader to me, whose name was Tony Holmes, said to me right after I was told that I was taking my first command. I hadn't asked for it. I didn't know it was coming. I was just told, congratulations, you are now the AFOTEC One commander. I walked out of that meeting with a group commander, and Tony Holmes pulled me aside, and all he said to me was, "Bob, leaders always have time for people." And in that moment, I thought, the best leaders I'd ever followed always had time for me. We'll always have deadlines. We'll always have goals to accomplish. But people need help. They need support. And I think that if we show people that we can listen to them, that we can hear them when we face challenges, we have to give guidance and directives that aren't favorable. People will understand that we're doing it in their best interest, or because this is what has to be accomplished. As long as you have time for people, and they know that you care for them, they know that regardless of the situation that your company, your organization, is in, that they matter and that they were taken into account when decisions were made.

President Greg Crawford
And being in the military, and being a military officer, a career officer, you know, you have decisions that are truly life or death and and just curious when you teach your cadets, how do you train them to develop the skills and the courage to lead in moments of that kind of uncertainty and absolute failure as well that can happen, and when does the path ahead isn't so clear. How do you train them up to think that way in a really complex, dynamic environment where these decisions have really deep meaning and also tremendous consequences?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Our whole program is focused on helping students understand this way of thinking, much like a college program, you don't walk out of a university with a job in hand. You work out with a degree, and what the degree is stating is this student has proven to the best of the university's requirements that they are ready to take on whatever task they can be given in the same way ROTC prepares officers, so when they walk out into the air force or the Space Force that they can handle these ambiguous situations during our training, we put them through leadership laboratories every Thursday where students are given not enough time and not enough information to accomplish their tasks. Often we don't care if they accomplish the task that we've given them. What we're watching is to see, how do they handle the people that are put underneath them? How do they lead What questions do they ask? How do they bring a group together to face an ambiguous situation? And the Russians might call it presvoy, or it might seem presvoy arbitrary and capricious, but it's not. What we're doing is putting them into situations as best we can, while in a safe environment. So when they do find themselves in harm's way, and they know they have to make a decision, and there's rarely one right way, right decision. There's one not one right way to act. Sometimes there is no right way. There's only the way that we can get through this together as a team to be safe. So we put them into situations as uncomfortable as possible. Their whole summer in between their sophomore and junior year is spent at field training, where they have the opportunity to be put in new groups with people they haven't known for years, individuals they've never met. And they're forced to come together as a team, and in the same way, face these ambiguous situations without time, without information, and they're told, Go act, and they're judged on how they performed, not necessarily on did they fulfill the goal that was required, because any plan that you have is sure to fail first contact with the enemy. And I'm sure you've heard that many times, but when you're in the military, you don't know what you're going to face. I can't tell you what will happen next. I don't know what technology or software or capability will grow, will be developed. I don't know what kind of world event will take place, but what I can do is help instill the ability to make decisions in uncomfortable situations so that our students, who become officers can keep the American people safe.

President Greg Crawford
What do you think the role is of universities like a Miami University that they need to play in helping students develop not just job skills, but the moral and civic foundation to lead with integrity in any profession they choose.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Right as children grow, they're often put in situations where they're protected, where they are safe, and in some ways, they become the center of the world that they're involved in. This is obvious when you watch a toddler walk around and parents are hovering and making sure they don't trip or bruise their knee when they fall you put a baby gates to make sure they don't fall down stairs, and it kind of develops a self worth and a self value that, if not realized later, can be unhealthy. And of course, that's what's needed at that time. And as children grow, you hope that they start to interact with others, they learn how to play well, and they share their toys. And then when they come to college, I think it's the university that has another role, the next step of helping them understand their role in society, that if you act as an individual only toward your self interest, you are not going to help society progress. Society will fall apart. Individuals coming together are what make a society, and I think that's the role that the university has, is taking what the parent the base and the background the parents have provided, and helping students, realizing, all right, how do I take this to the next level where I can be effective, productive, help others, and still enjoy the life that I'm living?

President Greg Crawford
Yeah, that's a great answer. I want to sort of pivot Miami University. Miami is known for its leadership, CEOs, entrepreneurs, government elected officials, fantastic military officers, the Cradle of Coaches, and you experienced the Miami education in addition to your ROTC training. But what do you think it was about Miami that brought out leadership in you that then you reinforced your willingness and to go off and lead in the United States military?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
When I was here, I was amazed at the number of events that took place, the effort that the faculty put into making sure that students had opportunities. And it wasn't maybe, till a little later, when I looked back and I thought, how many people dedicate themselves on an annual cycle to helping students have an amazing experience where they can study abroad, they can volunteer, they can join an honors program, they can go to conferences. The effort that the faculty from at every level put into the individual was amazing. And I think here in Miami, that ability to operate safely, to know that the people around me cared, to know the professors were there if I ever went to their door, of course, I might not have been the best student. So I tried to avoid the professors because I thought that only the people who were in trouble went there. Let me tell anybody listening, having taught now, please talk to your professors. They want to be there for you. I think that that's what helped me recognize my opportunities in the future were that Miami faculty members were there for me, dedicating their lives to the development of students.

President Greg Crawford
Yeah, I've always found that too, just the heart and soul of our faculty, staff, and students and how much they put into it. And no matter what your role is here at Miami, it's always been students first, and I think that leads to great leaders. So let's pivot a little bit to institutions. And we live in an era where institutions, higher education, government, military, are oftentimes the confidence in them is declining. And what kind of leadership do you think is needed to restore that confidence and relevance, both within a university and even society at large?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
When students can see leaders living out the values that help build society, it will remind them of what they need to become in the future. It will help them see where they need to go. I think too often we see that trust in institutions, including higher education, is declining. I think our leaders in institutions need to show their values, to show the morality within their lives, to show that they are living by a standard that all of society can get behind, to remember that it's not that life isn't about the individual, but about a group of people coming together, and that's how we find fulfillment. We're creatures of comfort, but we also need society and focusing on that, as I mentioned before, and I think I'll just keep circling back to that need for coming together in an era of isolationism, it's really important to focus on setting an example and letting people see your mistakes, also, because it's easy to cover a mistake up to make sure that you're putting forth the best image you can, but not an authentic image. So we don't want to encourage mistakes. We don't want to tell people it's okay to break rules, to break laws. But what we need to do is make sure that students see that we are imperfect, but we strive for perfection at all times. Once we stop striving for perfection, then we find ourselves kind of like Are you familiar with the term dynastic cycle? And this is where a ruler comes to power, does a great job of ruling, and then multiple generations of children later, they take for granted the position they're in. And then another ruler comes along, because they've lost their mandate of heaven. And that's why new rulers shows up, because the old ones have stopped caring for society and started living lavish lives.

President Greg Crawford
You've mentioned also about social media and also isolation. We just talked a little bit about that, and despite the promise of connectivity that social media offers us all and the benefits of it, how do you see that tension affecting young leaders today, especially in how they form identity and confidence and also resilience.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
I think the biggest problem we face with social media is the ability to avoid conflict. And I don't mean conflict in a physical manner, but the conflict that comes from interacting with people that don't see eye to eye with you. One of my favorite dining halls when I was here was Bell Tower, because you could pick all the cart food and sit at a bunch of tables, and everybody from around campus showed up there. It wasn't near the dorms as well as you could say Harris Dining Hall was. But anybody showed up, anybody sat down. The number of new friends that I made there was phenomenal, but I had to have conversations with people that didn't have the same values that I have. And I think it's important to stick to your values. I bring that up a lot, but it's also okay to talk with other people to see where they stand, where they come from, and to figure out how to communicate and to move forward with individuals that don't necessarily share your values and critical to the foundations of a society. Group dynamic is easy to fall into, and if you don't know how to get out of that group dynamic, because you're stuck in an echo chamber of Instagram feeds that reinforce your wants and desires how you go in to handle a situation in the workforce where somebody doesn't see eye to eye with you, and that's okay, because we need those varying opinions to make sure that any organization thrives, but you're not going to be able to handle the differing views if you haven't dealt with it at a university.

President Greg Crawford
I'm so glad you had that experience when you're here at Miami, and I think we really emphasize that today, particularly well here, through our for through many of our efforts that we do through leadership or our democracy center and so forth. So ROTC emphasizes character and responsibility and a mission driven service. How can these values inform how universities teach leadership outside of the military context?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
When you join the military, in many ways, so much of your individuality, in some ways, is stripped away. You're put into a uniform. And you know the I don't know how to say the root word of uniform is uniform, but uni being one and that you're all the same. Of course, we still want individuals to maintain their personalities and some of that individuality, but you have to understand that you're coming together as a group. So you have to start by putting in those building blocks of responsibility and mission driven service. The Air Force core values are integrity first service before self and excellence in all we do. And I constantly remind our cadets that service before self means you can't put yourself before your teammates, and I think that that's important for universities as well. In order to thrive, any organization, whether it's Starbucks or Key Bank, if leaders are not looking out for their people and people are not looking out for one another, an organization doesn't end up thriving. It can work for a while, but without a foundation. You know, the house that's built on sand is going to fall.

President Greg Crawford
That's a great answer. And so you graduated in 2005 you come back to your home institution 20 years later. We're just curious if you reflect upon your experience as a cadet here at Miami University and now in your leadership role. What's changed? What's different about what happened when you graduated in 2005 and what you see today at Miami and also the cadets of today?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Well, first I'll say I'm impressed. I kind of feel like as I'm talking, it might sound like the conversations that I'm having make it sound like our society is falling apart. And I also believe that with every bit of negativity that grows, there's positive growth as well. In one of my classes, when I was here taking Renaissance history, there was a father who had told his son, in a book that we're reading, that his generation was the worst generation that ever existed, but the son reflected upon how his father's father had said the same thing, and he sure his father's father had said the same thing as well. So I am impressed with the students here and their leadership and the way they volunteer. I've seen in the Air Force ROTC program that we have students led by a cadet Amen that are constantly out at Matthew 25 ministries getting involved two times a month. We have cadets that go down to help others, to pay service, to make sure that others lives are benefiting from what they're getting here in Miami, they come together as a group, and they're able to use technology in so many positive ways. And when we talk about the isolationism of social media, we also had to recognize that students use it better than we do. When I was here, you were told to show up on a Tuesday, and you showed up on a Tuesday, and if anything changed, you hope that you could catch somebody in their dorm room. I don't know if we even had used voice mail that time, or if anybody checked their voicemail, but the ability to communicate, to share thoughts and opinions, to quickly rally people behind a good cause has thrived here at Miami. So the speed of communication is phenomenal. We just have to use it in a positive way, in the same way we have to think about what the cost of that communication can be. But since I've been here, the biggest change that I've seen is the increased use of technology. But I have seen it used so positively with on Miami's campus, specifically.

President Greg Crawford
Well, that's great. And you know, many of our students and parents, they're concerned with career readiness after graduation and the return on investment of a college education. How does the ROTC program address these concerns? And what unique opportunities does military service offer that's in that regard?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
I think military service begins with confidence, the ability to lead, the ability to make decisions and the ability to work with individuals. Of course, we could talk about guaranteed job upon graduation. That's always nice to know that mom and dad don't have to worry about what happens when somebody graduates, although I know when you graduate from Miami, you should get a job anyway, but the Air Force does guarantee that. So upon completion, we give you a 100% job guaranteed rate. The job experience that individuals get, the worldwide travel, the experiences, along with networking and community. Now that I'm nearing the end of my career, I'm looking at LinkedIn and the number of people that I see that have great opportunities after the Air Force, the fact that they can serve 20 years and now I can reach out to them and ask, "How do I take the next step?" I'm looking at that as a soon to be retiree. But on the other hand, this happens four years in you don't have to spend 20 years in the military. You can do a four year commitment, get out, and you're still going to have built a network of relationships and opportunities that others will never have, on top of all the other benefits you get from coming here to Miami.

President Greg Crawford
You have always been impressed with that the Air Force cadets and sort of their ambition and their leadership skills or volunteerism, and how they're always willing to raise their hand and help out. One of your cadets actually led our workouts behind Lewis place one day. He did the for the whole campus. He did the workout. It was a lot of fun. So they're always ready to help out and raise their hand whenever they can.

President Greg Crawford
And let's pivot a little bit to international. So given your background in international diplomacy and military operations, how should universities prepare students to think globally and to act ethically in an increasing complex world?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Miami has some great international programs. So there would be an easy answer, get involved, get out there and see what the world has to offer. I can say that I've traveled around the world and interact with people on most continents, and I think that when students have the chance to interact overseas or with the students that come abroad to study at Miami, that they get a little better understanding of the world, and a grander view of how they fit into what's taking place in the world. And I think a myopic view that doesn't have international relations in it is difficult to understand the history of how we got to where we are, because if you don't understand the history, and that'll be my pitch for the History Department, then it's really hard to understand why decisions are made. Why did we declare a Declaration of Independence? If you don't understand what was taking place over in France and England during the Enlightenment, it's very hard to understand why some people would get together try to kick the Brits out over some tea, and not know how we got to our foundations and our principles. So study history and travel internationally or interact with people as they come here to our country, so you can see the differences in societies and see what benefits do others have, and what can we provide for others.

President Greg Crawford
You're helping Miami lead its first International Leadership Conference, and I remember when you joined me to my office just a few months ago with this concept that I was so excited. So why do you think you can tell us a little bit about the conference, but why do you think right now is the time for students to engage with leadership on a global stage, and what are you hoping for our students to take away from this conference experience?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
As a historian, when I look back in time, I see that the world has changed many times over. We've really benefited from the world order set at the end of World War II. We never know when that can change. Anytime a dictator rises up, somebody challenges the international norms, there could be a change. So it's important that we interact internationally with others, so that we build relationships and bonds at the individual level that you never know how they're going to influence future decisions. I can tell you that one time I met a person in Poland, and I was sitting in Qatar on a video teleconference, and at the end of the message, I couldn't see him. He was talking. He was off stage, and then he asked for permission to give a shout out. And he said, "Party Bob. It's Wojtek from Poland. I miss you." You never know when one little interaction will affect future iterations of relationships. And from that point on, everybody across a command knew who I was because of somebody that I had interacted with in Poland. And in the same way with this conference, I think we need our students to have that chance to talk to foreign partners that are coming. We have participants coming from Hungary, participants from Serbia, the Japanese Consul General is showing up. And I think that our opportunity to interact with these great leaders will give students the opportunity to be in these countries in the future and to have somebody to turn to. And in the same way, these leaders will have the ability to see Miami as a place of leadership and come back and look for leaders to help support future plans and Dynamic International Programs.

President Greg Crawford
That's fantastic. We're so excited, and we can't wait to host the conference, and I know our students are very excited about it as well. You've also noted that society is facing a technological revolution comparable to what might have happened during the Industrial Revolution. How should leadership, education and higher education as a whole, evolve to meet the societal and the cultural challenges that come with this technology change?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
If you look back to the Industrial Revolution, and lots of people think about what changed in terms of the use of coal and power and mining, and the big social changes that happened were putting children in mines. That wasn't healthy, and we know that now, but we had to go through a time where people were in unsafe environments and there were no laws protecting them, and the result was people dying, people getting injured, long term health effects and big changes within societal norms. But it took a lot of work and suffering to get there. I think, in the same way leadership in education and higher education as a whole, needs to understand the challenges that society is facing and address them, to let students bring the topics up in class with professors that have the theoretical and the historical background to have a mature, productive conversation on what the path forward looks like, and I don't get to define what our path forward should look like, but I do think that our future generation needs to recognize that society is changing and help take the steps to go on a path that will be beneficial for all.

President Greg Crawford
That's great. So I'm gonna put you on the spot here. If you could leave students with one leadership principle, one leadership value that will still matter 10 years from now. What would that be?

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
One day, your personal accomplishments will not matter. Society may or may not remember you, but people you influence will always remember how you help them and the way that you treated them. So remember that people matter and you always have time for people, and that's how I think you'll find at the end of a career, at the end of your life, the most fulfillment is knowing that you helped others and that society continued on because of what you did.

President Greg Crawford
Well, that's a fantastic response. Well, thank you, Colonel, for sharing your insights on leadership with us today. Developing and creating leaders is something Miami does at scale, and we do it well, we're so honored to have you back at campus, and in any way we can assist you in your efforts and your new role here as the ROTC commander, we'd love to help out. So just let us know. And thanks again for being on the podcast.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Well, President Crawford, thank you so much for having me, and thank you to the University for all the support that you provide for us and for our program and for our cadets.

President Greg Crawford
Thank you.

Lt. Col. Bob Umholtz
Thank you.

President Greg Crawford
Thanks for listening to this episode of in such a place, from Miami University. Stay tuned for more great episodes with more great guests wherever podcasts are found.