Delta State University Presidential Listening Sessions

Listening Sessions Schedule Delta State University Presidential Listening Sessions September 13, 2012 1. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, community members 9:00 a.m. 9:50 a.m. Open Meeting 9:50 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Break 10:00 a.m. 10:50 a.m. Open Meeting 10:50 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Break 11:00 a.m. 11:50 a.m. Open Meeting 11:50 a.m. 1:50 p.m. Luncheon with Campus Search Advisory Committee 2:00 p.m. 2:50 p.m. Open Meeting, with students given priority Trustee Alan Perry, chair of the Delta State University Board Search Committee, introduces members of committee and himself. He expresses his appreciation for the attendees time and views, as the information will help them determine the attributes and experience the DSU community would like to see in the next president. He introduces the search firm that will facilitate the search and the search firm representatives attending, including Laurie Wilder and Ryan Grant with Parker Executive Search. Trustee Perry introduces the Campus Search Advisory Committee, which is comprised of faculty, staff, alumni, community, and students. He recognizes that the constituents are coming together to make the best decisions for the future of DSU. Trustee Perry conveys that the Board of Trustees is looking for someone that is well-rounded, cares about everyone and everything to do with DSU and will listen to the views of the people. He informs the audience that nominations may be submitted by writing a letter to his attention or by going to the Parker Executive Search website and submitting it electronically. Session 1: Jacob Conference Center, 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Alumnus, retired faculty member Was a student from 1957-1961, a faculty member from 1966-2002. Has worked under almost every president and has a long term investment in DSU. Would like to see the next president of DSU possess the following traits: An understanding of the Mississippi Delta, the Delta at large Connected to the community and Cleveland area 1

Tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm to get out and go visit the staff, faculty, alumni, students and Cleveland community Needs to understand our enrollment needs. We need more progress in admissions and more students. Needs to promote DSU and get Involved with alumni all over the state Be a strong leader and help the foundation with support and to fund raising Community member and business owner-would like to see the next president have the following traits: Support alumni Be friendly-doesn t have to like all of us, just be friendly Support the Greek system since most of the alumni are made up of Greeks Wants presidential support in getting Greek Alumni back to campus because they are provide a lot of funding for DSU Cleveland Community member-many years ago, learned that to figure out what someone is about; you have to look at their budget. The traits the next president would need to possess would be: Strong budgetary skills and know how to allocate funds and advocate for funds for university Needs to understand the dynamics of budget--demographics, enrollment, and funding for the university Get more funds DSU Faculty member- More school spirit- get students fired up to attend school functions and games Make more of a visual presence on campus among student, faculty, staff, and with alumni Develop and nurture relations for students to stay at DSU Interest in enrollment, retention, and fund raising Build a stronger brand for the university DSU Faculty member- Strong leadership in the recruiting of students Need enrollment numbers to go up Need someone with new fresh ideas/ and input Alumnus, Faculty Emeritus- 2

Attended to support one person Trustee Perry invited all attendees to describe the traits DSU needed in the next president, not to endorse any candidate by name. This person needs to be a leader on the national scale Loves DSU Same descriptive qualities that would be used for the president of USA. Trustee Perry reminds attendees that nominations may be submitted via the Parker Executive Search website or through a letter of nomination. DSU Asked everyone to please share in this meeting what you have heard from other people that may not want to get up and speak. Community member- Be involved and energized within community--not be a closed person that just gathers friends and colleagues around them Be engaged Have more activities at the President s home; the community hasn t been invited there in over five years. Have some connection with DSU DSU Faculty member-would like to see the next president possess certain qualities and traits. Some of them would be: Capitalize on the opportunity that DSU has Needs a vision Sees the university as unique Thinks positively Recruit beyond state lines Sell the educational value DSU offers Have some imagination / vision to spark new ideas See the position as more than just a job looks at it as a calling Willing to look at possibilities and cultivate a revisioning of what we can be DSU Faculty member in College of Education-Has seen a steady decline. Some traits that are needed would be: 3

Someone with political clout Someone with a sense of community DSU Student Affairs staff member-never wants to retire, loves DSU and the students. Would like to see the following in the next president: Someone who loves the students/ DSU Someone who never forgets that we are all here because of the students Someone who wants to help students with their goals, aspirations Someone who guides students and gains knowledge from them Someone who wants to be a part of student life Search Committee Advisory Committee member, Community member, Alumnus To make DSU a part of the Cleveland community To use the tourism for DSU s favor To help grow DSU in the next 10-20 years Support the arts in our community Alumnus, DSU Faculty member-what weight will these sessions have on the selections? Trustee Perry responds that all trustees might hear and react in different ways. It will be difficult to find one person that possesses all the characteristics and traits desired. While the Board members may not be able to design a perfect candidate, they are looking for someone who will be the best fit. DSU Foundation Staff-Would like to see the next president: Vision of recruitment Work with alumni at all alumni events Help get alumni involved with DSU again Work with Cleveland community and the Mississippi Delta Session 2: Jacob Conference Center, 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Trustee Perry introduces the Board Search Committee and the session begins. DSU staff member-would like to see the next president: Support the grants projects and cultivate an atmosphere of grantsmanship Be a political voice for DSU and get external funding and support Alumnus-Would like to see: 4

Good relationship/connection with federal and state workers Connections with Mississippi DSU Staff member-dsu is facing challenges, as a regional school, and we need to recognize the unique opportunity and use it to our advantage. Would like to see the next president be: Caring and compassionate to faculty and staff Involved with programs for colleges Recognize the uniqueness of DSU Be an inspirational leader Move in a positive direction, to say that even through all of our challenges, we can get this done together Grant funding involvement Warm reception / work environment Strong leadership March forward to get funding for the institution DSU Staff member-what we need is: Someone to think outside the box for external funding Help with financial challenges know where we have been and what we will face in the future Provide good educational foundation for students to be successful DSU Foundation Staff-The next president would need to be a transformational president. He would need to be ever evolving and changing as our society s and school environment changes. Community member-would like to say that Laforge is who we need as president. He grew up in Cleveland, graduated from DSU, went to Washington and now he is the expert Community member- Couple of the traits of a successful school and president would be: Passion for the university with ties and connections and to carry forth the mission IHL needs and expects Community and DSU growth Involvement with university, community, state and nation DSU student, Student Government Association member Passion for DSU and its students future Light and spark for students future Someone who attends functions where the students are 5

Someone for the students to talk to about university problems Alumnus, Campus Search Advisory Committee member, Community member-what is the timetable for the search committee and IHL on making the decision on the new president? Trustee Perry explains the process. DSU Staff member- Someone who understands our programs on campus which ones are profitable and which ones are not benefiting the university Stand up for staff and faculty budget issues, no salary increase Need other ways of making staff and faculty happy if we can t award them monetarily Audience- Something has been lost Recruiting students is a must Campus has begun to stagnate Loves area and college Needs growth Encouragement to students, staff, faculty DSU Faculty member-the new president needs to possess: New vision won t last without it Students can t afford to be students without jobs Appreciate who and where we are Support the fact that some faculty might not sit in Cleveland Support the fact that the school is moving into 21 st century Attract people back to DSU Looks to the future vision of DSU Figure out how to compete with faculty salary, to get the good ones and retain the ones we have Needs to compete with faculty salaries, how to attract minority and experienced candidates DSU staff members-to understand how to get students here and beyond the Delta Session 3: Jacob Conference Center, 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Trustee Perry introduces everyone on committee and the session begins. 6

Student-Wants to see in the next president: Genuine, visible to the students (never met president after a year on campus) Involved Personable Open door policy Student- Would like to see: Open door policy More accessible to students Student and SGA member- Portray how awesome DSU really is Closer to students More involved with students Student Can we really do this? How do we expect the next president to do this with budget cuts? Professor Emeritus Connected to DSU-past two presidents were not connected Have academic background or equivalent to Ph.D. Needs to increase enrollment numbers Wants equal weight with the search firm Wants someone who will value faculty and staff Support and allegiance Fire up the student body Commitment to community and DSU DSU Faculty member-thanks the committee for coming to DSU and conducting the listening sessions. He would like to see the next president: Have a strong presence among students, faculty, staff, community Understands the Delta and can face challenges Help with getting enrollment numbers up Question: What role do you see the president playing with enrollment at DSU? 7

Trustee Perry: Answer: Not speaking for the Board, but DSU president has to make many decisions and deal with many types of issues in order that DSU continue to provide quality education in times of declining funds availability. Creating a team that will recruit effectively is an important part of the task. DSU Faculty member-would like to see the next president: Meet all of the alumni and students Know students backgrounds Bring alumni together all over the state Student-Would like to see the next president: Serve as DSU family Treat each department all the same Stand up for DSU Student- Pay attention to non-traditional students, commuters, single mothers, Make everyone feel bonded and like family Faculty member-would like to see the next president be: Diplomatic Ambassador Cheerleader Attract more money to campus Glorify DSU campus Session 4: Luncheon with Campus Search Advisory Committee, Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni-Foundation House-11:50 a.m. 1:50 p.m. Following introductions, Trustee Perry thanks the committee members for their work and invites Parker Executive Search representative Laurie Wilder to discuss the committee s role in the search process. There is a lack of growth in enrollment, but there is an opportunity to grow with good students. We need someone to serve this area, not just the Delta, but the larger area of Southeast. 8

President needs to use bully pulpit to challenge people to work with industry and city to make area economically viable. We are not aggressively recruiting; others are aggressively recruiting so some of the junior colleges are getting students that could be ours. We need community to support scholarships. We need president to stand up for what is right. The community doesn t need to tell him what to do; he needs to be the boss. I would like to see another Kent Wyatt. Look at the dynamics of individuals. We need a president with an open door policy. There is a perfect person for DSU. We have great faculty, staff, students and leaders. Kent Wyatt s personality with students they saw him involved and he was also involved in community. I don t care for a textbook guy all the time. It comes down to leadership and decisions made around the cabinet table. The university and what it means to the community has not changed. We need to pull together. We need funding. President should want to do the job, not just have the job. The president has to have a good support system. We need to see productivity in recruitment, fundraising. The president should be an advocate, a cheerleader and know how to market the university. The president should roll his or her sleeves up and get the job done. The president should have high expectations and be known around the nation. The president should be versatile and establish the standards, with the idea of qualityonly. The president should be assertive and not aggressive; should be able to manage people without their knowing it and have a charismatic personality. We should have planned growth. Virtual schools are coming we don t want to get tied to one type. We want to be competitive with other schools and accept challenges. 9

With current faculty salaries, it is hard to compete. We have high turnover and it is hard to retain institutional memory. We work hard to maintain quality of students, but they are still hard to retain. We have first generation students with ACT scores of 20-21 and we work well with them. We need someone who will be an advocate for DSU. We need someone who will emphasize international recruiting and redefine the meaning of diversity. Delta State has a great potential for making a difference in wider Delta. There are lots of opportunities for students to participate. The region is wider than just Cleveland. We need a president who understands the social realities and economics of the Mississippi Delta. DSU could be a mecca for building partnerships. We need someone who is politically connected and a hard-nosed negotiator. We need someone who owns the room an alpha male. We don t think as a regional university. The president needs a buffer so he s not wasting time micromanaging. We need a president that appreciates the challenges, but doesn t come in with the attitude that we need fixing. The president should utilize people through delegation and bring out the best in everybody and develop an environment of working together. Session 5: Jacob Conference Center, 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. Following introductions, Trustee Perry explains reasons for the sessions and invites students to the microphone. Student-Would like to see the next president: 10

Concerned with budget and finances and enrollment. Needs someone to manage finances better and fix our problems. Student-Would like to see: A new president to be more sociable And available at student functions Student- Aggressive thinking Educational focus need to be more competitive academically Market liberal arts college Student- Not grumpy Improve the Delta and care about the Region Student-Would like to see the next president: Support the arts and also to financially support the arts Be more diverse/ focus on diversity more Togetherness Student, SGA member-would like to see: More liberal arts support Not focus on one place but on all things More MBA programs Student-Would like to see: Students stop dropping out of DSU to go to MSU or Ole Miss Have ground work for liberal arts Someone to fill the void at DSU Student-Would like to see someone: Not be biased No more favoritism-fund all assets of DSU More promotion of programs/ market/publicize DSU Makes appearances 11

Open door policy Creative Thinker Someone that is approachable Someone to make appearances in classrooms every so often and actually sit in on a class to be in the loop More involved on campus with students Socially involved with organizations Student, SGA member-would like to see: Big family atmosphere Know the Delta and DSU community Student-Wants to see: Someone promote and develop alumni and sustain the future of DSU Audience member-wants better prices in bookstore, and go back to student programs. Student-Wants: Upgrade in student services and admissions Changes with bringing facilities up to date Open minded More programs Student-Wants a good sense of the community with a Delta background and knowledge of the Delta. Student-Someone that is already passionate about DSU, its students and campus. DSU staff member-would like to see: More love of students An understanding of students Understanding of Delta and DSU Student-Would like to see the president be someone that is actually genuine about everything they say and do and not here just for a paycheck. Alan Perry thanks everyone for coming and adjourns the meeting Meeting Adjourned 2:50 p.m. 12