New ESU President Lays Out Plans For Semester
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Michael Lane is still the new kid on the block at Emporia State University. But he already likes what he sees.
“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that what I saw here in my two and a half days of interviewing is real,” said Lane, ESU’s newest president, after his first speech to the general assembly Tuesday. “The people here are concentrated on the students. I think that opens up opportunities for us to move in incredible directions.”
Lane’s “state of the campus” speech was full of pride in what the university has managed to do so far. That includes the rapid pace of construction work at the North and South Tower dorms, the receipt of several major grants and a scholarship campaign that has raised $14 million of its $15 million goal.
Most of this, of course, was well under way before Lane took the helm in November. But while Lane is eager to learn, he’s in no hurry to lose his title as new man on campus.
“I don’t know if you are aware that there are four stages to the presidency,” Lane told the staff and faculty of ESU gathered in Albert Taylor Hall. “First, there’s the new president. Then it’s just president. Then it’s that blank president —you can fill in the blanks with whatever expletive you want — and then there’s former president.”
“As you might guess,” he added as the audience chuckled, “ I prefer to stay in one of the first two categories as long as possible.”
Part of being the new guy, of course, is learning what the campus needs. To get a handle on that, surveys have been sent to 322 interested parties, including faculty, students and even state leaders. Several of those people will also be invited to a conference in February to discuss the transition.
As the semester goes on, 10 to 12 people will be named to a transition advisory committee — “My eyes and ears on campus and in the community,” Lane said. That group will meet for at least a year to give Lane an idea of what’s needed, how things are going and how different measures are being received. Finally, the university will begin work on a formal strategic plan this fall.
Some of the changes that are already under way have not always been comfortable, Lane acknowledged, such as the implementation of the new Banner campus-wide software system.
“I know there is and will continue to be a level of frustration during and after the implementation,” Lane said, “An MIS professional whom I respect once said that a system is never more loved than the day after it comes off line. ... However, I have worked with Banner and it is among the best of the Enterprise Resource Programs available to education.”
He also praised the “heroic” efforts of the university’s staff in getting the system up. So far, he said, the work is ahead of schedule and under budget.
Looking to the future, Lane said that ESU needs to go beyond scholarship campaigns in its fund raising and look at getting private dollars for facilities, technology, endowed chairs and other areas.
“We can’t just raise money for scholarships,” he said. “We have so many needs as an institution. You have so many needs as a staff that I can’t meet through state dollars alone.”
Today, Lane was set to make his first visit to the Legislature. Higher education funding is expected to be in the spotlight this year, particularly the need to cover $727 million of maintenance that has been postponed for lack of funds.
But if Topeka’s funding hasn’t always been what it could be, Emporia’s has come in strong. About 80 percent of the university’s employees have given to the annual fund campaign, Lane said.
“That’s unusual at a private institution,” Lane told the audience. “It’s extraordinary at a public institution and speaks mountains about your commitment to Emporia State.”