To: wsa@wesleyan.edu
Subject: Search committee position
We would like to nominate ourselves, The Argus editorial staff, to the Presidential Search Committee. As you requested, we have answered the following questions:
1) Why are you interested in serving on this committee?
We have a sincere interest in the future of the University. We want the chance to influence our school, and to exercise that power responsibly and for positive change.
2) What are qualities you believe are important in a University President?
The president should share our pride in the University’s culture. We are open-minded and we want to change the world for the better. Our president should share our ideals and lead us as we make them reality.
The president should be available to us, the students. We want someone who sticks his or her head in during improv performances, volleyball games, and lunches at Mocon. Surprise us. It may sound trite, but we want a personal leader, not a man behind a curtain.
We need a practical president; someone who can get this school what it needs, when it needs it. Not just a fund-raiser either, but a spirit-raiser, and a community-raiser.
Lastly, we would like an intellectual leader. Wesleyan is a house of learning, and the top administrator here should pull his or her own weight academically. Let’s find someone with a voice. Instead of a CEO, perhaps there is a qualified sociologist or physicist out there who meets our criteria.
3) What, in your opinion, are the best aspects of the University? The worst?
The faculty is the University’s only indispensable resource. They teach and shape us, and they provide the structure and know-how for many of our endeavors, from research to rallies to concerts. Our president should fully appreciate their importance.
As we have mentioned in this space before, ResLife needs to be more flexible and accommodating to student needs. Their current operating procedure causes stress and headaches to far too many students. The housing crunch must be permanently and fairly resolved, and communication with the student body must improve.
4) What, in your opinion, are the best aspects of Doug Bennet as a President or Wesleyan? The Worst?
The University needed a strategic plan and Bennet gave us one. We now have a clear direction and objectives to the future, and the school’s long-term interests have been successfully laid out. President Bennet was hired in part for his fund-raising ability. From a financial standpoint, Bennet’s presidency has been one of the most successful in University history.
As President Bennet leaves, we lament seeing him so little around campus. Despite the student body’s apprehension, the current administration prioritized prestige as a commodity, illustrated best in the “Independent Ivy” controversy several years ago. We are not Williams or Amherst, but we wonder if President Bennet wanted to keep it that way.
Please get back to us if we qualify for the position.
Sincerely,
The Argus Editorial Staff
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