Section: Metro State News
Last provost finalist visits with campus stakeholders
Jun 24, 2009

Peter Millet provided a six-page list of proposed short- and long-term initiatives he would address if chosen provost.

College stakeholders have met with the last of two finalists for the provost/vice president of academic affairs position. Peter Millet, dean of the College of Education at Tennessee State University, visited campus for a second time on Monday, making the rounds with College administrators, the trustees, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Academic Affairs staff before an open session was held.

About 25 people, including faculty, staff and students, attended the afternoon session where Millet commented on the importance of shared governance, servant leadership, transparency and a campus were diversity and service initiatives are interwoven into the fabric of the College community.

One question addressed how the Hispanic Serving Institution initiative would impact other groups on and off campus, such as Native Americans and African Americans. Millet said, “If we get the designation, it would serve to strengthen the College as a whole. We would be open to funding from places such as the National Institutes for Health and we’d also have access to stimulus money.”

He emphasized the importance of “communicating that to community partners” so that they understand the true impact of the HSI designation.

During the session, Millet also provided a six-page list of proposed initiatives (from short-term to long-term) for the College that he would address if he were to become provost. Each noted which departments would be instrumental in planning and implementing the initiative. His short-term initiatives ranged from addressing the budget shortfall and increasing student retention, to creating an infrastructure for graduate programs and effective utilization of space.

Asked how he would handle the challenge of going from a smaller institution to such a large college, he said communications is key. Tennessee State University has a student population of just over 8,000 students, including undergraduates and graduates, according to fall 2008 enrollment numbers on their Web site. Metro State has nearly 22,000 undergraduates.

He said that a lot of successful communications comes down to “relationships and establishing working relationships up front.”

Go to http://www.mscd.edu/committees/provost_search/candidates.shtml to read more about Vicki Golich and Peter Millet.

Members of the campus community are encouraged to provide their feedback on the final candidate to the President’s Office (CN 315) or via e-mail to Mary Lou Lawrence at mllawren@mscd.edu no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, June 26. Please download and print the following form: http://www.mscd.edu/committees/provost_search/assets/docs/feedback_form.pdf.