The final two provost candidates spent Monday meeting with campus constituents and discussing their leadership styles and philosophies.

In an active day filled with back-to-back meetings with various campus groups, Vicki Golich, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at California State University San Marcos, and Peter E. Millet, dean of the College of Education at Tennessee State University (a Historically Black College), described the strengths that they would bring to the position of provost. Following last week’s visit by the first two provost finalists (see http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/provost_twv6042909.shtml), Monday’s visit by Golich and Millet concluded the candidate visits.

Each finalist met separately with vice presidents, faculty senators and department chairs, administrators and classified staff, academic affairs staff, and other faculty and student groups; they also presented their overall ideas and strategic approach in an open forum.

In separate meetings with the Faculty Senate and the Council of Chairs, Matthews and Millet described their academic and administrative experiences.

Vicki Golich worked on the initiative to achieve HSI status at Cal State San Marcos. Photos by Jason Andrade

Golich: “Getting the community on campus and the campus out into the community”
Golich, who had been a political science professor, chaired the Political Science Department at California State University San Marcos before becoming interim dean, then permanent dean, of the College of Arts and Sciences. Golich described her work on initiatives at CSUSM that were directly relevant to undertakings at Metro State, including working toward achieving Hispanic Serving Institution status, which CSUSM just recently attained.

Golich described her involvement with fundraising, and spoke of the importance of outreach, both “getting the community on campus and the campus out into the community.” She described convening an advisory board of people from outside the university, and bringing people to tour the CSUSM campus and arranging for them to sit in on interesting classes.

Asked by Faculty Senate President Lynn Kaersvang what she saw as the key duties of the provost and what skills she would bring to the position, Golich cited her extensive experience in the tenure review process, and her willingness to work with Institutional Advancement on bringing in funding.

Describing budget cuts she has faced as an administrator, Golich said, “First we trimmed the fat, then we had to cut into the muscle, and finally we had to ask ourselves, ‘What kind of bones can we take out of the body?’” She also praised Metro State’s “transparency” in posting online the three tiers of budget cuts under consideration.

Peter Millet says you must "“stay in the trenches to realize what you are asking others to do.”

Millet: A “servant leader” with perspective from the trenches
Millet described his years in academia as having followed a traditional path; he taught at a community college and at a private liberal arts college before arriving at Tennessee State University as an assistant professor in 1997. Licensed as a clinical psychologist, he served as Psychology Department head before becoming dean of the College of Education.

Millet stated his belief that the provost position is a “critical role at a critical time” for Metro State. “You are poised for greatness,” he said, but lack consistency in the provost role. He described himself as a leader who would work to push Metro State toward the next level. “To maintain the status quo is to go backward,” he said, “as everyone else moves ahead.”

Millet described his leadership style as one of a “servant leader… I never ask anyone to do work I don’t do myself,” he said, including painting walls or whatever needs to be done. He cited his belief for the need for leaders to “stay in the trenches to realize what you are asking others to do.”

Asked how he would resolve issues on which faculty might have a significant difference of opinion, Millet said, “All schools have that sometimes. The specifics change but the dynamics are the same.” He described his experience with crafting an “academic master plan,” which would differ from a strategic plan in that it would be longer term and more representative of the campus community rather than coming from leadership.

Next steps
Carrie Besnette, who chairs the provost search committee, said she was impressed with the finalists. “Vicki Golich and Peter Millet round out a full roster off four qualified, highly motivated candidates,” Besnette said. “Their enthusiasm for the position, evidenced in their meetings with campus constituents today, is palpable. Metro State is fortunate to have a group of talented and qualified candidates.”

Besnette praised the work of the provost search committee in bringing such excellent candidates to campus, and thanked committee members for their time and commitment. She encourages everyone to fill out the feedback form that is available on the search Web site: http://www.mscd.edu/committees/provost_search/candidates.shtml. The forms are due this Friday, May 8, at 4 p.m. in President Jordan's office.

Next steps
Next in the process, President Jordan will be briefed by the search committee and will review the feedback on the four candidates from the campus community. The field will be narrowed further to one or two candidates, for whom references and background checks will be conducted. The finalist(s) will be invited back to Metro State for a second visit, to deepen their understanding of the College and to hold further conversations with President Stephen Jordan and the Board of Trustees. The process is expected to be completed within the next several weeks.