Lou Anna K. Simon has been a stable, and at times polarizing, figure at MSU for a decade.
She has brought record enrollment — and tuition hikes — with her. But overall, MSU is seemingly as desirable as it has ever been, and Simon deserves at least some of the credit.
The college has changed greatly in Simon’s 10-year tenure. When she met with several staff members of The State News earlier this week, Simon told us the university’s expansion both nationally and internationally in a time of declining state aid was one of her proudest accomplishments.
And it should be. She also said she was proud of the fact that both the university’s research, especially in the medical field, and applications received have increased during her time as president, which are a pair of significant accomplishments under her watch.
Simon has done an admirable job in 10 years.
MSU has generally stayed out of a negative spotlight, and it seems stories of our school’s success pop up more often than they used to.
That’s not to say her tenure has gone perfectly, and President Simon acknowledged as much.
She explained that one of her biggest “disappointments” is the school’s struggle to communicate social, academic and financial options to students in an efficient manner.
“We still can’t break that code,” Simon said, referring to the university’s ability, or inability, to best communicate with the student body.
Additionally, Simon wished she had seen “better progress on social justice and social issues” over the last decade.
“We’re as good as most, but still not good enough,” she said.
But it was the end of Simon’s meeting with us that we feel her best point was made.
“Other than tuition and parking, what is your biggest complaint about Michigan State?” she asked.
As a whole, our staff in attendance struggled to come up with a good answer. While there are always things to complain about, it seems our problems on campus pale in comparison to some other schools.
President Simon has been under helm during one of the most tumultuous economic times in MSU’s existence, but has managed to fight off most of the problems that come her way.
“As long as I have my health, there is no end date,” she said in reference to how long she’ll be at MSU.
And as long as the succeeding years go like the 10 that have preceded this one, there shouldn’t be.
