Upfront: A Renewed Commitment to John Hannah's First Commandment
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT: A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO HANNAH'S FIRST COMMANDMENT
I am pleased to report that the search for the 19th President of Michigan State University is on target. I have full confidence that the Board of Trustees, the Presidential Search Committee, and the total MSU community will come together to select a man or woman who will boldly and creatively lead our university into the 21st century.
We deserve the best. We will get the best. I am especially pleased that Bob Schultz (former vice chairman of General Motors, Inc.--Ed.) is the formal representative of MSU alumni on the search committee. His insight, commitment, and knowledge are crucial. I have been thinking a lot about my obligations to the next president. I accepted the presidency because I thought I could help prepare MSU for the more permanent leadership the next president will provide. But I was not interested in a non-activist's, caretaker's role. We are making decisions, then, that assure excellence and quality, not decisions that merely address short-term problems. We owe this type of commitment to my successor.
The 19th president of MSU -- the president we hope will be with us into the new century -- will assume leadership of the model land-grant university at a challenging and exciting time. She or he will confront some problems and opportunities, both related to our land-grant heritage. Central to the problems facing our new leader will be a budget situation that will force him or her to continue recent reprioritization efforts. Very frankly, we-- and all of higher education--have grown in scope to the point where activities and expectations have outstripped available resources. Expectations of the pioneering land-grant university are especially high since we are mandated to serve 'all the people.' But we must honestly state that we simply cannot afford to promise all things to all people. And we should not welcome a new president by demanding that we can be everything to everyone. There is not adequate space here for me to discuss what I think we should be in areas ranging from economic development to outreach, from access to quality. Yet there is one commitment I think is paramount. It was John Hannah's oft-stated commitment for MSU. And, like most things the great Dr. Hannah said, it will be just as relevant in the 21st century as the 20th: 'Our FIRST obligation is to the sons and daughters of the taxpayers of Michigan.'
No, I am not on the search committee for my successor, but I am making it known that any president should consider 'Hannah's First Commandment' sacrosanct. As president, I have made it a point to emphasize the primacy of our students, the sons and daughters of taxpayers. They deserve the best classroom instruction, the best facilities, the best counseling, the best residence halls, and the best activities we can provide. No matter what decisions we make, no matter what area we are addressing, we must ask ourselves: How will this affect our students?
I am aware that in some higher education circles it might not seem sophisticated to declare that students and taxpayers are our first responsibility. But those circles cannot have sway along the banks of the Red Cedar at John Hannah's university. Yes, we will continue to reprioritize and we will continue to refocus, rebalance, and refine MSU. Our topics will range from extension to athletics, from research to infrastructure. Excellence will be our guide. Always, though, our students must come first.
Therefore, as my singular involvement in the presidential search, I am asking the trustees and other members of the search committee to pose this question to candidates: 'Do you agree with Hannah's First Commandment?' In my mind, and I hope in yours, the responses to that basic question will determine how our beloved university enters the next millennium.
