Welcome to Mississippi State. Today’s the day. After the College Board’s meeting, we will know if you will be MSU’s 18th president.
In the past few years, Mississippi State has experienced tremendous growth. We need a strong leader who will put MSU first, and we hope you are ready for this task.
It would be hard for anyone to argue against your leadership abilities. Your military background is impressive and will surely win you some support, but you will face criticism for your lack of relevant experience in higher education. Presidents with nontraditional backgrounds have proven themselves at other universities, so we hope to see the same from you.
The way we see it is that you’ve shown dedication and service to our country. Now we need you-if the College Board approves your appointment today-to show the same dedication and service to our university. We need a president who will put Mississippi State first and show us that he cares about the welfare of this university and all parties involved with it.
Some may look at your service record and fear you will take on the president’s role in the style of a rigid military dictator; we see hope in an article that you wrote in October for Today’s Officer. This article, “Character: The Link Between Intentions and Execution,” outlines qualities that you say a good leader needs. Many of these qualities are things that we need from our next president, and we expect that you possess these qualities.
In your article you write that a good leader “understands what every member of the team brings to the fight, values their inputs and creates an environment where all are welcome and comfortable.” We hope you will carry this philosophy into this new role.
We need a president who will value students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. These groups need to feel comfortable expressing concerns. You should take issues from them with equal consideration, and you will need to respect when others disagree with you. This is the “People’s University,” so you should seek input from everyone who has a stake in MSU’s future.
Our next leader will have to recognize what we need as a university. That is a lot of responsibility. Just a few of the things you will be faced with are student, faculty and athletic needs. It doesn’t stop there, though. Our leader must also express and fight for those needs-whether it be standing up to the College Board, the legislature or anyone else.
Another important point in your article is that “a leader cannot succeed if his people cannot trust him.” As you are well aware, you’ve been selected as the search committee’s “preferred candidate” in secrecy. Most people on campus didn’t know you were seeking this position until the College Board announced you were the top candidate. General knowledge about our presidential search process has been dominated by speculation and rumors.
This means few people know anything about you, so they will probably be skeptical of you. If you do take over next month, you will have to work hard to gain our trust quickly. Just as you say in your article, “People watch every move a leader makes.” The eyes of many people in Mississippi and across the nation will be on you.
You also say in your article if a “leader is not passionate about leading, then he probably should find something else to do.” Passion for MSU is the best quality we can hope for in a president. Our campus is flourishing with people who are passionate about MSU. Listen to others when you meet with them today and any other time. If you demonstrate genuine passion for our university and seek to do what is best for it, you will be welcomed as a great addition to the Bulldog family.
Congratulations on being selected as the final candidate, and good luck.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Jed Pressgrove, news editor Sara McAdory, assistant news editor Wade Patterson, sports editor Ross Dellenger, entertainment editor Tyler Stewart, managing editor Dustin Barnes and editor in chief Elizabeth Crisp.