Five people hoping to be the next president of Emporia State University will come to Emporia over the next two weeks. The visits will be quick ones — two days each — but will include an on-campus presentation that is open to the public and a reception afterward.
Each of the five was briefly interviewed by The Gazette this week, using an identical set of questions. Their answers, along with some basic information and the times when they will meet the public, are published here. They are listed in the order in which they will visit Emporia. The series continues on Pages 3 and 10.
Sharon K. Hahs
Position: Director of special projects and former provost at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
Education: Bachelor’s in chemistry (Illinois Wesleyan), master’s in inorganic chemistry (University of New Mexico), doctorate in inorganic chemistry (University of New Mexico).
Coming to Emporia: Tuesday and Wednesday.
Public appearances: Campus presentation 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Memorial Union ballroom, followed by a 5 p.m. reception. There will also be a community and chamber breakfast 7 a.m. Wednesday at the chamber of commerce offices, 719 Commercial St.
What interested you in Emporia?
“I think the nature of the campus. Emporia is a very good small-to-mid-sized campus in the middle of the country, so that’s where I started. As I found out more about it, it seemed like a very good place.”
Where do you think universities in general, and ESU in particular, need to be over the next few years?
“I think they need to focus on the students and what do the students need to have in the 21st century, in a technology and information-based economy. I think universities will work even harder for the resources to provide students with what they need, but I think higher education will thrive. I’m an optimist. We’ll do what needs to be done on behalf of the students.”
What brought you into higher education to begin with?
“I think teaching is where it began, a love of teaching and a love of students. Then I got interested in the bigger picture, helping schools work with teachers to produce the best students they can.”
Because of Kansas’ demographics, the state’s universities are competing for a tight pool of students. How can Emporia stand out?
“Emporia needs to stay with the high quality programs they are offering and make sure the message is out. But we need to remember our students are a lot of different folks, not just 18-year-old graduates from high school.”
Tell me what makes you a good fit for ESU?
“I have lots of experience. ... I’ve worked with facilities, with fundraising, with student affairs and academics. Also, I think Emporia’s a very collegial campus and I have spent my career creating a culture of collegiality, where everyone is committed to the mission of the university and is of like-mind in going that direction. The campus that’s in line with that is student-centered — everything is committed to being student-centered and having good student success.”
Tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your resume?
“I’ve traveled to 31 countries in my adult life, partly for pleasure, partly for university exchanges. Every time we travel, we can’t decide whether to go back to somewhere we love or go somewhere completely new. And we chase solar eclipses. Our most recent was last March in Libya, but our next one won’t be until August 2008, in either Russia, China or Mongolia.”
John William Folkins
Position: Provost and vice-president for academic affairs at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Education: Bachelor’s in speech (University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif.), master’s in speech (University of Redlands), doctorate in speech and hearing sciences (University of Washington, Seattle), postdoctoral work in orthodontics and in physiology (University of Washington).
Coming to Emporia: Thursday and Friday.
Public appearances: Campus presentation at 4:15 p.m. Thursday in the Memorial Union ballroom, followed by a 5 p.m. reception. There will also be a community and chamber breakfast 7 a.m. Friday at the Sauder Alumni Center, 1500 Highland St.
What interested you in Emporia?
“There are a lot of similarities between Emporia State and Bowling Green State here in Ohio. They both began as teacher colleges, they both are heavily residential, they both are oriented on the success of the individual student. Emporia provides a lot of opportunities and I think I could make a lot of difference, especially in the lives of the students.”
Where do you think universities in general, and ESU in particular, need to be over the next few years?
“Emporia, I think, has a lot of opportunities. It’s agile. I spent 23 years at the University of Iowa, and as great as the University of Iowa is, it’s hard for a university that size to grab opportunities as they come up. There are opportunities now for developing student success and connections with the community, something that ESU has and can do even better in. If you want a catchy phrase, Emporia State could be even more like Emporia State.”
What brought you into higher education to begin with?
It started, he said, with a passion for research that eventually got him working with doctoral students. He gradually progressed from teaching to administration as a way of affecting more students.
“As provost, I have had a passion for undergraduates, for teaching them to lead more educated, principled lives and contribute to the community. These are our citizens of today and our citizens of tomorrow.”
Because of Kansas’ demographics, the state’s universities are competing for a tight pool of students. How can Emporia stand out?
“By developing signature programs — something you get if you come to Emporia State that you won’t get anywhere else.
“They’re all fine institutions in Kansas. I also want KU to become a lot more like KU and K-State to become a lot more like K-State. Each has a different mission. It’s a matter of understanding that mission and taking it as far as you can.”
Tell me what makes you a good fit for ESU?
“I think I bring a broad depth of experience. I’ve been at different institutions and have a good idea of what works and doesn’t work. I think there’s a match between the standards and values I have and what ESU has.”
Tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your resume?
“My wife and I like to entertain. We really enjoy just having people over and socializing with them.”
Joseph C. Rallo
Position: Provost and academic vice-president at Western Illinois University, Macomb.
Education: Bachelor’s in Russian history (Lafayette College), law degree in international trade and commercial policy (Western New England College), master’s in international trade policy focusing on Western Europe (Syracuse University), doctorate in international trade policy, focusing on Western Europe (Syracuse University), fellow in comparative law and European trade policy (European University Institute, Florence, Italy).
Coming to Emporia: Sept. 11 and 12.
Public appearances: Campus presentation at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Memorial Union ballroom, followed by a 5 p.m. reception. There will also be a community and chamber breakfast 7 a.m. Sept. 12 at the chamber of commerce offices, 719 Commercial St.
What interested you in Emporia?
“I’ve been a provost for three and a half years, a dean for eight years, so this is a time in your career when you start to look at the next step. Emporia’s location was important, along with its size, its academic reputation, its fine arts program ... Emporia just fit all those parameters. I was glad there was an opening.”
Where do you think universities in general, and ESU in particular, need to be over the next few years?
“Public higher education is increasingly getting compressed with regard to funding. How do we maintain a quality education for our students?”
Among other things, he said, universities had to look beyond the usual alumni connections and seek out foundations and other means of reaching students, such as the distance education program. “You can reach out more to the site-bound student and reach out in a way that the university could not have before.”
“When the students we have now are 57, what will the employment field look like? Students say that half the jobs that will be around don’t even exist yet. So we need to help students develop skills for life-long learning, not just the skills for their first job.”
What brought you into higher education to begin with?
“I’m originally from New York City, from Manhattan, and when I got out of college in ‘71, I went west for six months on a motorcycle to the Grand Canyon and got rid of all my mid-life crises. I got a degree in Russian history, but there weren’t a lot of jobs in Russian history, so I ended up becoming a buyer at Bloomingdale’s.” He was good at it, he said, but he also realized it wasn’t something he wanted to do forever, so “graduate school beckoned.”
In the course of his teaching career, he found himself getting drawn toward the administrative side of the campus. “I started getting involved with a lot of international grants. You take on more and more administrative roles and I found I liked it. I found I was actually good at it.”
Because of Kansas’ demographics, the state’s universities are competing for a tight pool of students. How can Emporia stand out?
“One of the nice things about Kansas is there are not a lot of institutions. Illinois has 12, Colorado has 15. The question I always ask is why would a student come here, beyond the programmatic piece and the faculty. I think it’s got to be the holistic experience. Emporia is wonderfully positioned to take a whole approach to its students, give them more one-on-one attention, and it can give students from smaller communities an opportunity to succeed.”
Tell me what makes you a good fit for ESU?
“I have experience at different levels and different institutions, I’ve been at different size institutions and different locations. And as a former business dean, I’ve done a lot of economic development and town-gown relations. We redeveloped a lot of things and attracted Pella Corp. They selected Macomb in part because of what we had done with our economic development efforts. That resulted in 315 high-end jobs coming to town.”
Tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your resume?
“I collect Monopoly sets from the countries I’ve been in or worked in. I have 51 so far. The most recent one is from Russia.”
Michael Robert Lane
Position: Provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at University of Arkansas, Ft. Smith.
Education: Bachelor’s in finance (Lowell Technological Institute, now University of Massachusetts at Lowell), master’s in accounting (Northeastern University), doctorate in accounting (Texas A&M University).
Coming to Emporia: Sept. 12 and 13.
Public appearances: Campus presentation at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Memorial Union ballroom, followed by a 5 p.m. reception. There will also be a community and chamber breakfast 7 a.m. Sept. 13 at the chamber of commerce offices, 719 Commercial St.
What interested you in Emporia?
“Partly the reputation of the institution. It has a very fine reputation as a regional state institution. Having lived in Illinois for a number of years, I knew of it. ... Dr. Schallenkamp really moved things forward and it’s positioned to continue to be a player. That’s always a strong position to be in.”
Where do you think universities in general, and ESU in particular, need to be over the next few years?
“There are a variety of issues, especially for public education and the top of the list is state and federal funding, which over the last 15 years has declined substantially. The old adage is ‘We used to be state institutions. Then we became state-supported institutions. Now we’re on our way to being state-located institutions.’’
“We also need to look at accountability. ... I believe that one of the strengths of American higher education is the diversity of that education, but we have to be careful to make sure we’re accountable ... and make sure our students are provided with the skills, knowledge and training they need, and the skills they need to be a good citizen, as well.”
What brought you into higher education to begin with?
“Actually, I was recruited into the doctoral program when I was completing my master’s program at Northeastern in Boston. One thing kind of led to another and I’ve been in higher education ever since.”
Because of Kansas’ demographics, the state’s universities are competing for a tight pool of students. How can Emporia stand out?
“That’s going to take some planning in enrollment management and to some degree, a good marketing program and the development of additional programs. That’s something we will always be wrestling with, the number of students and mix of classes — and looking at the blend of in-state and out-of-state as well, along with the number of international students.”
Tell me what makes you a good fit for ESU?
“I have a variety of experiences with state systems and private education, and I’ve worked closely with developing approaches for fundraising at the private schools. That’s becoming more vital for public education every day.”
Lane added that he had worked closely with the Pennsylvania state college system and others in developing programs, including online ones.
“I’m very supportive of that endeavor, especially to meet the needs of states where there may not be a large number of programs available. Having programs online makes them available statewide, regionwide, nationwide. “
Tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your resume?
“You’d have to read it carefully to know I love music and have been involved in singing and choirs everywhere I’ve lived.”
Bernie L. Patterson
Position: Provost and vice president for academic affairs, Oklahoma City University.
Education: Bachelor of science in technology (Missouri Western State University), master of science and education specialist degree (Central Missouri State), master of arts in criminology (State University of New York at Albany), doctorate in criminology (SUNY, Albany).
Coming to Emporia: Sept. 14 and 15.
Public appearances: Campus presentation at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Memorial Union ballroom, followed by a 5 p.m. reception. There will also be a community and chamber breakfast 7 a.m. Sept. 15 at the chamber of commerce offices, 719 Commercial St.
What interested you in Emporia?
“I knew of Emporia State University by reputation, having been in this area for a long time. I was intrigued by what I thought the possibilities were, and the longer I looked at the situation, the more intrigued I became. “
Patterson was intrigued enough, he said, to spend one Saturday walking the Emporia downtown and visiting businesses.
“You can drive around a town and get a sense of what’s there, but I think you get a much better perspective if you walk it,” he said. “I think the campus’s connection with the community is in a position to go forward with great success. In fact, that’s going to be a necessary condition for the university and the downtown to thrive.”
Where do you think universities in general, and ESU in particular, need to be over the next few years?
“We’re going to have to deal with accountability. Universities must and should be accountable to themselves, to their students, to the parents, and to the community and taxpayers. If we’re accountable to ourselves, then all the others will fall into place.”
What brought you into higher education to begin with?
“I don’t know that it was a conscious decision. I was working the night shift with the police department in Independence, Mo. It was a little cold at 2 in the morning, the ink was freezing in my pen and I said, OK, maybe it’s time for something different.
“It took quite a bit of adjusting. Of course, I was teaching subjects related to what I was doing before, but I found you can’t just rely on that experience. Teaching is hard, hard work.”
Because of Kansas’ demographics, the state’s universities are competing for a tight pool of students. How can Emporia stand out?
“You have to decide what niche fits the university. The last two schools I’ve been at have been in transition, reinventing themselves. Emporia has to do the same.”
The university also has to position itself well for Hispanic students, he said.
“It’s anticipated that the number of high school graduates in Kansas is going to go down or stay level over the next 20 years. But the proportion of graduates that are Latino will increase. The university has to anticipate this and be prepared for this.”
Tell me what makes you a good fit for ESU?
“Fit is what it’s about. There are many qualified candidates, but I think that will be the ultimate decider. ... I’m pretty flexible. I’m just as much at home at the Oklahoma City country club as I am sitting on the tailgate of my pickup eating barbecue. In this kind of job, you’re going to have to have a wide range of experience ... and a lot of this job is external to the university. So I think it requires somebody who likes different kinds of people.”
Tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your resume?
“I enjoy horseback riding. I’ve ridden a bit here and there over the years. I’m not necessarily saying that I’m an expert rider, but I can get on.”