Spring Break
Hodge's MU view shaped by students
Chris Gardner
Issue date: 4/4/06 Section: OpEd Page
As I head into my final month at Miami, I have been struggling with myself as I vowed that I would not write a "farewell" column with parting words of wisdom gleaned from four years worth of experiences. Instead, I want to focus on the new presidential "candidate" to replace President Garland, David Hodge.
I wrote earlier in the year about some of the traits that I hoped the new president would exhibit. Without rehashing the content of that column, it seems to the best of my knowledge that Hodge measures up quite well with what I had hoped. What I want to emphasize, however, is the fact that we students still have an opportunity to play a role in the presidential process.
It's evident that though Hodge is officially a candidate, his appointment by the board of trustees April 21 is virtually a foregone conclusion. I do not mean, then, that students can necessarily change who the next president is. I mean that students have the opportunity to shape how our next president views Miami University.
Hodge has scheduled a three-day visit to Oxford from April 17-19. During this time, he will be holding a forum at which students will be welcome to come and meet him. It is important, in my opinion, that many of us avail ourselves of this opportunity. Even more telling, Hodge seems to feel this way as well based on his comments in the March 28 issue of The Student, "I'll look forward to being with the students a lot. Part of being successful is about being able to speak from the heart and to do that you have to be connected to the students and hear their stories."
It is encouraging to me that this potential president of Miami truly values the students on this campus. Many times I have heard complaints that the student voice is not heard, most recently in the wake of the recommendations released by the Presidential Task Force on Alcohol and in the dispute about the Western College Program. It seems, at least based on his public comments, that perhaps Hodge will be more open and interested in student input than the current administration.
Several of the members of the selection committee pointed out that Hodge has a firm grasp of the challenges and realities that Miami faces. It should surprise no one if he should prove capable of understanding and assimilating student concerns into his thorough knowledge of the administrative concerns with which he will be confronted.
However, it is only through active involvement in open forums and through a commitment by students that Hodge will come to get a feeling for the Miami culture and its students. During an open forum held for the presidential search committee, student attendance was sorely lacking. I hope that either as students who will spend one or more years with Hodge as Miami's president or as a soon-to-be alumni like myself, we can find the time to express our opinions about Miami in the interest of making our alma mater that much better.
I wrote earlier in the year about some of the traits that I hoped the new president would exhibit. Without rehashing the content of that column, it seems to the best of my knowledge that Hodge measures up quite well with what I had hoped. What I want to emphasize, however, is the fact that we students still have an opportunity to play a role in the presidential process.
It's evident that though Hodge is officially a candidate, his appointment by the board of trustees April 21 is virtually a foregone conclusion. I do not mean, then, that students can necessarily change who the next president is. I mean that students have the opportunity to shape how our next president views Miami University.
Hodge has scheduled a three-day visit to Oxford from April 17-19. During this time, he will be holding a forum at which students will be welcome to come and meet him. It is important, in my opinion, that many of us avail ourselves of this opportunity. Even more telling, Hodge seems to feel this way as well based on his comments in the March 28 issue of The Student, "I'll look forward to being with the students a lot. Part of being successful is about being able to speak from the heart and to do that you have to be connected to the students and hear their stories."
It is encouraging to me that this potential president of Miami truly values the students on this campus. Many times I have heard complaints that the student voice is not heard, most recently in the wake of the recommendations released by the Presidential Task Force on Alcohol and in the dispute about the Western College Program. It seems, at least based on his public comments, that perhaps Hodge will be more open and interested in student input than the current administration.
Several of the members of the selection committee pointed out that Hodge has a firm grasp of the challenges and realities that Miami faces. It should surprise no one if he should prove capable of understanding and assimilating student concerns into his thorough knowledge of the administrative concerns with which he will be confronted.
However, it is only through active involvement in open forums and through a commitment by students that Hodge will come to get a feeling for the Miami culture and its students. During an open forum held for the presidential search committee, student attendance was sorely lacking. I hope that either as students who will spend one or more years with Hodge as Miami's president or as a soon-to-be alumni like myself, we can find the time to express our opinions about Miami in the interest of making our alma mater that much better.
