What's in a president?

Town hall on U of M’s presidential search reveals the need for a closer-knit community

JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF

The University of Manitoba has officially started its search for a new president and vice-chancellor. The first of two public town-hall meetings took place on the Fort Garry campus on March 22 in the senate chambers, and students and faculty were able to voice their opinions on who the next president should be.

Topics of importance included whether or not the new president should come from a strong academic background, as well as how he or she would handle issues such as international relations, student apathy, competition with other universities (particularly the U of W), the U of M’s reputation, sustainability and teaching.

Alexander Ashton, a civil engineering student, arrived at the meeting with a prepared speech on the state of the U of M to share with the presidential search committee and other participants in the meeting.

“As a student and future alumni, I care about the University of Manitoba greatly and would like to see it do much better in the immediate future,” he said. “I’d like to know where we fit in the city, the province, the country and the world.”

This vision of the university was a popular topic for many speakers at the meeting, who insisted the new president must have a proper vision for all of the different sectors of community from local issues to global issues.

The question of how important funding is was also brought up during the meeting. University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) vice-president (advocacy), Christian Butera said that although funding is important, it is not the only thing people should be concerned about when selecting a president.

“We need a university where people are empowered to speak. We need a president who can respond to criticism . . . someone who can look beyond the money,” he said, joking that if money is all the university needs, they should just recruit Bill Gates as president.

Head of physics and astronomy Peter Blunden said he thought the ability to get funding for the U of M is important in a candidate.

“We need a president that is going to champion the university in terms of asking the province and the federal government for adequate funding for the institution,” he said.

Another vastly talked about topic was the relationship between the president and students. Memories of the ’70s and touch-football games between the administration and the students were discussed, while one student, Matt Soprovich, claimed, “Maybe the president should be the type of person you could sit down and have a beer with.”

“We need a president that can clearly communicate and be involved with student life on a regular basis. This university and Manitoba itself desperately need a stronger youth to have a future,” said Ashton.

The presidential search is closed: all discussions about hiring a new president, with the exception of the two town hall meetings, will be held privately, and the names of all applicants and recruits for the position will be kept confidential — though the search committee will report regularly to the Board of Governors.

Blunden strongly urged the committee to perform an open search that would include public presentations from the candidates.

Terry Sargeant, head of the presidential search committee, explained that one of the reasons for having a closed search is to allow applicants to apply without their current employer knowing, and therefore without jeopardizing their current positions.

“A lot of people are reluctant to have it known that they’re searching to leave their current establishment and as others have found in Canada in recent years is that it’s hard enough to get people to even apply to be president without perhaps threatening their current positions,” said Sargeant, adding that public presentations would have been valuable.

The second town hall meeting will take place at the Bannatyne campus on April 2. It is open to the public and people are encouraged to attend with recommendations as to what the search committee should be looking for in a president.

The committee is composed of 17 members including search consultants, student representatives, members of senate and members of the Board of Governors. The new president will be announced in November 2007, and assume office on July 1, 2008.