Southeast provost candidate makes her pitch

Bette Bergeron, who is among five candidates vying to become Southeast Missouri State University's next provost, met with faculty, staff and students Wednesday at Academic Hall and explained why she wants to be the university's next chief academic officer.

"When this position popped up, I said, 'That's home,'" she said, adding although she is from Maine, she has spent most of her professional life in the Midwest.

Bergeron has served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven since 2014. She took the position there, she said, because it was a closer drive to her mother, who was having health issues at the time.

She formerly was dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 2007 to 2014. She also was a professor of education.

She earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction (reading/language arts) from Purdue University in 1991.

Bergeron said she is passionate about her job and enjoys the opportunity to work across the campus to solve problems.

"My role now is almost identical to the role I would have here," she said.

With Carlos Vargas-Aburto as president of the university for just a few months, Bergeron said she knows the university is going through a transition.

"I know you have had leadership transitions, and you are looking for stability," she told the audience. "And I do want to express my recognition of that and acknowledge that's what I'm looking for, too -- permanency."

When asked about her strengths and weaknesses, Bergeron said her strength is her ability to work collaboratively with a variety of people.

"I enjoy conversations with people who have a different perspective than I do, because I think that's how you strengthen an institution," she said. "I really like working with people and facilitating and supporting and collaborating."

A weakness, she said, is managing her time. While she has an open-door policy and doesn't like to cut a conversation short, she's working to balance that with the time needed to do the work.

Southeast formed a provost search committee soon after April 8, when William Eddleman announced his plan to step down as the university's chief academic officer June 1 and return to the faculty until Jan. 1, when he will retire.

Gerald McDougall, associate provost for Extended Learning, dean of the Harrison College of Business and executive director of the Missouri Innovation Corporation at Southeast, is serving as interim provost.

Five candidates were selected to visit campus. Officials expect to have the position filled by January.

Candidate Robert Knight, dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts at California State University in Chico, will participate in open forums at Academic Hall Auditorium at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Each candidate's curriculum vitae can be viewed by visiting semo.edu/president/provost-search.html.

klamb@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3639

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo.