Public meets two Southeast president finalists

Two of four presidential candidates at Southeast Missouri State University on Wednesday participated in open forums, where the public, staff and students had an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the finalists.

Paul D. Plotkowski and Margaret E. Madden were the first candidates to visit campus and meet with university officials and other administrators for in-person interviews.

Plotkowski, a founding dean and professor at Padnos College of Engineering and Computing at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, began his one-hour public forum by sharing details about his background.

Plotkowski was a first-generation college student, he said, and it was his parents' life dream to send all four of their children to college.

He earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1981 at Oakland University, and in 1984, he earned a doctorate in systems engineering.

Margaret Madden

Plotkowski began working for Grand Valley State University in 1991 and said he was tasked with building a high-quality college of engineering.

Since then, he has helped the college expand from one general engineering program to five accredited majors and was involved in the development of a masters programs.

"I'm thinking I got to the point where I finally did the job that I was told to do, and maybe it's time for another challenge, another opportunity," he said.

Being president of a university demands several roles, Plotkowski said.

"All of them require a really strong dedication to building relationships," he said. "In today's world, we can't be looking to the state to provide funding for everything we need to do. ... It's a big part for a president to provide those relationships, those linkages, with the outside and inside."

When asked what opportunities he sees for growth and change at the university, Plotkowski said he sees an institution that has done a remarkable job of maintaining a great culture.

"One big difference between Grand Valley and Southeast is about 100 years," he said, adding Grand Valley was founded in 1960. "We're still busy making culture. You have built one. You have alumni, you have community that are all involved and engaged."

An opportunity Plotkowski sees for growth, he said, is to take that culture to another level in terms engaging the community.

"The more we can have students in the community, be it through paid internships or community service-based experiential learning, or whatever the case may be, the more not only is it going to benefit the students, it's going to engage the broader community."

Madden, who has served as provost and vice president of academic affairs for the State University of New York at Potsdam since 2002, said she's had the opportunity to explore many of the facets of the president's job.

"I've really come to value the role of the public regional campus," she said. "The education that happens here probably more uniformly changes students' lives in more significant ways than what happens at some other kinds of institutions."

Madden earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1975, then earned a master's degree and doctorate in psychology from the University of Massachusetts in 1979 and 1982.

She said the need to find additional resources and to rely on things such as fundraising has become more important, so presidents are now engaged in more external activities in public campuses than they have been in the past.

"That's a part of the role I find particularly appealing and attractive," she said. "Advocacy for the campus is something that is, for me, fairly easy to do. It's really easy for me to be passionate for the value of education."

Madden said one way she would improve campus for students is by providing more access to more experiences that are meaningful and individualized, such as research, internships and studying abroad.

"I'm very student-centered," she said. "The main criteria I use for most decisions is whether or not there will be impacts on students and trying to support those activities and support the faculty and staff who are going to help them."

The remaining candidates, Carlos Vargas-Aburto and Benjamin Ola. Akande, will begin their campus visits next week. More information on the candidates can be found at semo.edu/presidentialsearch.

klamb@semissourian.com

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