Students, faculty members and alumni are still surprised about Friday’s announcement that MSU President Robert “Doc” Foglesong will resign his post no later than June 30.As provost Peter Rabideau confirmed Foglesong’s resignation in the faculty senate meeting on Friday through a brief statement, many senators appeared stunned.
“We’re going to have to let the dust settle and reassemble,” Rabideau said.
Cody Coyne, a senator representing the vet school, and Tom Matney, a senator representing the college of forest resources, both said that Foglesong’s reaction caught them and many other senators completely off guard.
“I don’t know what to say; this just hit us hard,” Coyne said.
Robert Wolverton, president of the faculty senate, said Doc’s hiring and subsequent resignation were both unfair to Foglesong.
“Doc came into this position with one hand tied behind his back,” Wolverton said. “He never had a chance to talk to the students, faculty or alumni.”
Wolverton says Foglesong’s resignation is a losing situation for Foglesong, his family and MSU.
“This is sad because it forces Doc and his wife, Mary, to change all of the plans that they had here,” Wolverton said. “What Doc has tried to do for MSU has been very commendable; we needed the vision of the future that he put together.”
George Adebiyi, a senator from the college of engineering, displayed his appreciation for Foglesong’s tenure during the meeting.
“For what its worth, I’d like to place on record our appreciation for the services of Foglesong over the past two years,” Adebiyi said. “Nobody is perfect and I do not agree with everything he did, but it was an honor for us to have worked with him.”
Word quickly spread like a wildfire and soon students and alumni were informed of Doc’s decision to step down.
Kristen Cother, an alumni of MSU’s communication department, said that her experiences with Foglesong were limited to his interaction with students at the MSU television center.
“He seemed pretty controlling,” Cother said. “When we were filming at the tv center, or if we ever needed to try to interview him for a project, it was always about him and his schedule.”
Cother jokingly said that although Foglesong’s tenure was brief, he did at least give MSU a face-lift.
Stephen Ward, a senior art student majoring in sculpture, says that Foglesong was out of his element in the academic world and his resignation should be beneficial for both MSU and Foglesong.
“I’m happy that he’s going to retire,” Ward said. “The guy has been ridiculously shady for no real reason and he’s been unable to take criticism. He’s been trying to run the university like an Air Force base; you just can’t do that.”
Despite the allusion that most of the student body was ready to see Foglesong leave MSU, many students feel that Foglesong’s resignation should not have been tendered.
Owen McGuire, a junior majoring in communication, says that Foglesong was doing an excellent job as MSU president.
“I was totally surprised by his resignation,” McGuire said. “The timing is good though; it allows him to get some of his business on campus finished by the summer.”
McGuire was part of a group of students who met and dined with Foglesong off and on through the semesters.
“Doc and his wife are really nice people,” McGuire said. “We were invited to come to his house anytime we wanted.”
McGuire said that although he doesn’t want to see Foglesong leave, he understands why Doc is resigning.
“The faculty and the students have opposed him since the very beginning,” McGuire said. “The only thing I’ve been seeing recently in the newspaper has been everyone’s distaste with Doc. He’s got the university’s best interests in mind.