Following in the footsteps of presidents from Trinity College, Washington University, Townson University and Colorado College, first-year President Michael Roth debuted his blog, entitled “Roth on Wesleyan,” on Aug. 31. The blog has raised hopes of improved communication between the administration and the student body, while eliciting praise for the popular president.
Roth, who lacked prior blogging experience before coming to Wesleyan, was inspired by Jonathan Schwartz ’87, president and CEO of technology giant Sun Microsystems and a noted blogger, Beginning his blog with a reflection on the class of 2011’s arrival day, Roth posted about his experience as a new president, as well as some of his hopes for the future of the University.
Since then, Roth has updated twice more, with posts containing more of his observations, as well as updates on his work as president and on his own scholarly pursuits.
“The purpose of the blog is to communicate with Wesleyan students, alumni and parents in an informal way that lets them hear and react to the ways I’m thinking about my first year on the job,” said Roth.
The creation of Roth’s blog has generated responses ranging from hopeful to skeptical.
“The fact that the president of a university would take the time to blog gives me great excitement,” wrote Peter Hull ’10 in a comment on Roth’s first post.
Tom Roberts ’77 agreed. “This blog is [a] terrific exchange of ideas, and I applaud our new president on his smart innovation and his effort to reach out,” he posted.
Responses on Wesleying—a student-run blog with a large readership, including Roth—were more effusive. “Michael Roth is my hero,” wrote one student.
“I think I’m in love with him,” wrote another.
However, some have expressed worries that “Roth on Wesleyan,” may become impersonal, institutional and politically correct.
“The purpose of a blog is essentially to be opinionated, which is a difficult thing to do publicly as the president of a university,” wrote Jacon Mayer ’10 in a comment on the blog, “Time will tell whether it becomes a venue for the obligatory politically correct announcements/statements that must come from such an office, or if it will remain a series of more personal musings from our president.”
Noa Wotton ’10 expressed similar sentiments. “My impression is that [Roth]’s been pretty sincere and genuine in communication with students, and that’s exciting and refreshing because Wesleyan students are very used to hearing really rehearsed PR-speak from the administration,” Wotton wrote. “[But] if he stops being genuine, students will notice and won’t like it.”
Roth, however, suggested that there is no danger of this happening.
“My thinking is to write like I would write a letter or e-mail to a friend—that’s how I want the tone of these to be,” Roth said. “If it got too official, it would be boring. I hope to get a sense of people’s different reactions to Wesleyan and I’ll be able to think more clearly about them.”
Though Vice-President for Public Affairs Justin Harmon proofreads Roth’s blog entries before they are posted, he explained that the postings are still true to Roth.
“Everything he writes is his. It’s his own words,” Harmon said. “He’ll stop if it isn’t useful or compelling.”
Roth, for now, is unsure about the blog’s future.
“As I try to relate the issues that most concern me, [the blog will change],” he said. “I don’t want to plan it, [it’s] part of the beauty of the medium.”
In the meantime, both Roth and the greater University community seem to be enjoying the experience.
“The comments have been very generous and welcoming,” Roth said. “I couldn’t have predicted it would become a symbol for openness. I just thought it would be a good way to communicate.”
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