It's never too early to mull a smart decision. On June 3, the MSU Board of Trustees will meet to begin the long-term - and, most likely, arduous - process of choosing a candidate to replace the departing President M. Peter McPherson. The search process will begin less than one month after McPherson announced his departure, and we applaud the trustees' expedience in finding the best replacement. But just as quickly as the board has moved, we feel it's prudent for East Lansing officials, MSU faculty, students and residents at large to offer their guidance in the search as quickly and as often as possible.
The greatest mistake the university could commit, however, in replacing McPherson is turning a deaf ear to student demands. The search for MSU's 20th president comes on the coat tails of a semester plagued with poor student-faculty-administration communication. Be it miscommunication, outright barriers or otherwise, though, is moot. If the students feel ignored in the selection process, there's little doubt MSU's next president will be returned the favor.
That said, we've culled a list of attributes and actions that we feel our next president should embody.
• Keep the office door open. Find a candidate that is accessible professionally and personally to as many people as possible. It's absolutely paramount to consider our next president the representative of some 45,000 people, and to bring detachment to the office is a grave mistake. Appearances shouldn't be reserved to the Homecoming parade and home football games.
• Understand the university. MSU is unique from every other university or college in the nation. Understand how important agriculture is to the university, and how it fits into our vision for the future. Understand our progress in raising the academic bar, and never put our most vested interests on the back burner to buck the direction we're headed in.
• Establish a solid rapport with local government. The East Lansing City Council already has offered its services to ensure this attribute, a commendable action. The political connections utilized by McPherson in a variety of situations to improve MSU was one of his strongest talents. We don't expect a politician, but being political never hurts.
• Be more involved in student groups. Student groups on campus are not limited to student government. McPherson could have done a better job at recognizing ethnic and social minority groups on campus, and our next president needs to improve this facet of the office. Of course, it should go without saying that a candidate willing to infiltrate student groups as McPherson did - is completely unacceptable.
• Hit the ground running. Select a person ready and prepared to enter the office on Jan. 1, 2005 with sleeves rolled up. Nurture our growing Study Abroad program, keep athletics on par with reputation and above all, know this job is neither stepping stone, nor golden parachute. Be here to work.
A brief list, to be sure. But every character charm or character flaw listed above needs to be in line with the reputation our university is working harder than ever to achieve. Oh, and bringing beer back to Munn Field, giving Tom Izzo a lifetime contract and building a big statue of Steve Smith wouldn't hurt, either.
