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Kyle Hansen
'Fighting Insanity'
Next university president,
don't mess up
By: Kyle Hansen
Posted: 5/8/08
Dear Elizabeth Grobsmith, Jon Whitmore and Eduardo Ochoa:
Welcome to SJSU. I hope you have enjoyed your visits this week. One of you will, we assume, be the next president of this university.
I am graduating in two weeks, so I won't be here to see how things turn out. But I am still concerned about who the president is going to be. Plus, I have learned a few things during my five years on this campus. Maybe I can share some things that will help you adjust to life at SJSU.
The new president will be the key figure in maintaining the image and perception of the university. He or she needs to be able to keep the institution on track so that SJSU remains a quality university. Of course, the better the university is, the better the education section of my resume will look to future employers. In other words, I am counting on one of you to help me get a good job in the future.
One of the obvious concerns the SJSU community has right now is about the search for a new president - not just who the new president is going to be, but also how the search itself will go.
The last time we needed a new president, the whole thing collapsed and none of the finalists were selected. That led to another search, after which Paul Yu was selected to lead the university. But things fell apart once again when Yu abruptly left after only two weeks on the job - we trust that this isn't going to happen again with one of you.
Luckily, Don Kassing was around to take the reins. Although he has made some mistakes during his tenure (like banning blood drives), he can be credited with saving the football program, overseeing the completion of major construction projects and fostering our close relationship with the city. You will have big shoes to fill, so please continue to build on Kassing's success in all of these areas.
I am not a huge sports fan, and honestly have not been to many sporting events, but I still believe that sports - especially football, baseball and basketball - are important to the university. Just a few years ago, people were calling on SJSU to abandon its football program. Kassing came in, hired Tom Bowen and Dick Tomey, and we even won a bowl game. We are counting on you to be the cheerleader-in-chief for our sports teams.
The SJSU campus itself has improved dramatically in the past couple of years. When I became a Spartan in 2001, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library was under construction and there were still three ugly brick buildings where Campus Village now stands. We need a president who will continue to aggressively build and improve our campus.Our little group of city blocks is an attractive oasis in the middle of downtown, but we need a new science building and an additional parking garage, just to name a few things.
We have also enjoyed a strong relationship between the city and the university. Kassing has been a strong advocate for the university and has fostered connections with Mayor Reed and other community leaders. There are still areas for more collaboration, especially to improve the South Campus area.
One of the things we have especially enjoyed under Kassing's lead has been his openness with the school media. He met with the Spartan Daily every month so reporters could ask him questions, and he has gotten to know some of us personally. He was also willing to let us try new things, such as doing a live video and a live blog of these media conferences for theSpartanDaily.com. This openness is important for the entire university, as the media keep the students informed about what you are doing and why. They will also try to keep you up to date on how the students feel about your decisions.
Another major source of pride for our campus is our great diversity. In fact, as a white male, I am a minority here. And although diversity is a major source of our strength as a university, it isn't a big deal. We enjoy the diversity of the people here; we learn from each other and work together. We don't always agree on everything, but we get along. We need to be sure the next president understands our variety as well as our common traits. He or she needs to be able to build on these strengths.
Now for some specific concerns for each of you:
Elizabeth Grobsmith: I am a little worried about your history with the student newspaper at Northern Arizona University. Of course, you should feel free to disagree with views expressed in the paper, and the adviser there said you did not censor them. But please don't think that the media will let you influence them in any way. As long as you are accessible to them, the reporters should be kind to you or whoever the president is. Of course, if you mess up, they will call you on it, but they should treat you with respect just as the Daily has with Kassing. Just don't try to control them.
Jon Whitmore: I'm a little nervous about your track record in Texas. If you resigned from your position there because they wanted to make the school bigger, why do you think you will do well at a larger university like SJSU?
Eduardo Ochoa: You are the only candidate we have not heard from in person yet. That will happen today. But I am a little puzzled over how you ended up in the running. Currently, you are the provost at Sonoma State, which means that your boss, the president of Sonoma State, is on the search committee for our new president. You might be a good candidate based on your qualifications, but that association raises some questions. Even if there is no funny business, just the appearance of a conflict of interest should be avoided.
All of you seem like outstanding people and have good qualifications to be our next president. Actually, I think the choice will be a decision of who is the best among three excellent options. Just keep your focus on the students and improving our experience on this campus and you'll be fine.
Sincerely,
Kyle Hansen
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