: UCM News
Presidential Timeline: Podolefsky speaks on importance of well-trained replacement
Nov 5, 2009, 11:12 AM
By TERRAH BAKER, The Muleskinner
WARRENSBURG, Mo.-- University President Aaron Podolefsky said there is no set timeline for training a university president. But the question on many people’s minds, and on some lips, is how long does it take to find and train a president, and will the next president be able to handle the challenges facing this University in a timely manner?
To know what the new president will have to learn and concentrate on is an impossible task Podolefsky said, because his or her skills greatly depend on their previous experiences.
“There was nobody who said ‘This is what you need to know about this.’ Now if you get a president in, depending on his or her background, they’re going to have much different things to know. I’d been a vice president of academic affairs before that, so I’d never overseen certain things,” Podolefsky said.
When Podolefsky began his term as president of the University, July 1, 2005, the Board of Governors had been through almost an 11-month search, according to Jeff Murphy, assistant director of media relations.
“Bobby Patton, the former president, announced in March 2004 that he would be retiring and the first discussions by our Board about beginning a presidential search took place in April 2004,” Murphy explained. “Dr. Podolefsky was hired February 2005 and he actually began work July 1, 2005. Bobby Patton finished his term of service June 30, 2005. Even though he announced [his retirement], he still served until the end of his contract.”
Podolefsky’s contract expires June 30, 2010, which is almost eight months away.
When his contract first began, one of the first things Podolefsky did as president was gain background on each college by acquiring briefing books.
“I asked them to put together a loose-leaf binder, as thin or as thick as they wish, that would give me the background on their college. I sat down with each of the vice presidents and asked them what was going on in their areas,” Podolefsky said.
Familiarity with academic issues will not be the next president’s most challenging issue, however. What will be, according to Podolefsky and Vice President of Administration and Finance Betty Roberts, is the University’s budget and how they will handle a possible shortfall for the coming years.
“I think there’s challenges in the current economic climate whether you are new or not new,” Podolefsky said. “The next president will have to deal with coming in very quickly with budget challenges and what we’re working on right now is trying to mitigate some of those challenges...so maybe the next president won’t have so much to deal with.”
Becoming comfortable enough with a budget that is specific to the University to make important decisions may also come as a challenge to the next president, Podolefsky and Roberts said.
“I spent probably the first year—at least—meeting one day a week for several hours with the chief budget officer of the University. And we sat down and went over how to read the budget book, understanding what it means. Different universities design the layout of their budget book differently, so what really lies under the numbers is different to different institutions. That took a long time. [The budget’s] not something that can easily be summed up,” Podolefsky said. “The next president might be a lot smarter than I am and might come in and figure out what to do right away, so it might not even be a challenge for her or him.”
Roberts specified the University is possibly looking at some tough financial times and important decisions, because of certain state budget cuts and the possibility of decreased high school graduation rates.
“The possibility is that some tough decisions will have to be made as to what to reduce without jeopardizing the academic quality and mission of the institution,” Roberts said. “If you want to function as an independent in getting the details of each line item in order to grasp the whole, it could take several months. It is the nuances that have to be understood.”
With the negative financial climate, neither Podolefsky nor Roberts is worried about the future of the large projects taking place on campus, like the energy saving project (ESCO) or the building of the student activities center, which were both initiated and started during Podolefsky’s term.
“I guess a new person could say they don’t like having all these new light bulbs and take them out, but I think that’ll go forward. I think Dr. Roberts is committed to staying here and finishing that project up. It’s a wonderful project that will be a transformation for the University,” Podolefsky said.
Although there are no rules set out for the next president, Podolefsky said if he had to make one, it would be for the new president to work on building their base.
“That is to establish credibility with those people he or she thinks is critical. To me it was everybody,” Podolefsky said. “In the course of the day, I’m on the phone with donors, legislators. I’m going to committee meetings, making a decision about anything that’s managing the campus; sitting down with vice presidents who are having problems. You have to enjoy doing all those things.”
There is no bottom line for the next president, and what’s left for the president’s constituents (faculty, students and even legislators) is the hope that the timeline for the next president’s term is long enough to make important and educated decisions.
To know what the new president will have to learn and concentrate on is an impossible task Podolefsky said, because his or her skills greatly depend on their previous experiences.
“There was nobody who said ‘This is what you need to know about this.’ Now if you get a president in, depending on his or her background, they’re going to have much different things to know. I’d been a vice president of academic affairs before that, so I’d never overseen certain things,” Podolefsky said.
When Podolefsky began his term as president of the University, July 1, 2005, the Board of Governors had been through almost an 11-month search, according to Jeff Murphy, assistant director of media relations.
“Bobby Patton, the former president, announced in March 2004 that he would be retiring and the first discussions by our Board about beginning a presidential search took place in April 2004,” Murphy explained. “Dr. Podolefsky was hired February 2005 and he actually began work July 1, 2005. Bobby Patton finished his term of service June 30, 2005. Even though he announced [his retirement], he still served until the end of his contract.”
Podolefsky’s contract expires June 30, 2010, which is almost eight months away.
When his contract first began, one of the first things Podolefsky did as president was gain background on each college by acquiring briefing books.
“I asked them to put together a loose-leaf binder, as thin or as thick as they wish, that would give me the background on their college. I sat down with each of the vice presidents and asked them what was going on in their areas,” Podolefsky said.
Familiarity with academic issues will not be the next president’s most challenging issue, however. What will be, according to Podolefsky and Vice President of Administration and Finance Betty Roberts, is the University’s budget and how they will handle a possible shortfall for the coming years.
“I think there’s challenges in the current economic climate whether you are new or not new,” Podolefsky said. “The next president will have to deal with coming in very quickly with budget challenges and what we’re working on right now is trying to mitigate some of those challenges...so maybe the next president won’t have so much to deal with.”
Becoming comfortable enough with a budget that is specific to the University to make important decisions may also come as a challenge to the next president, Podolefsky and Roberts said.
“I spent probably the first year—at least—meeting one day a week for several hours with the chief budget officer of the University. And we sat down and went over how to read the budget book, understanding what it means. Different universities design the layout of their budget book differently, so what really lies under the numbers is different to different institutions. That took a long time. [The budget’s] not something that can easily be summed up,” Podolefsky said. “The next president might be a lot smarter than I am and might come in and figure out what to do right away, so it might not even be a challenge for her or him.”
Roberts specified the University is possibly looking at some tough financial times and important decisions, because of certain state budget cuts and the possibility of decreased high school graduation rates.
“The possibility is that some tough decisions will have to be made as to what to reduce without jeopardizing the academic quality and mission of the institution,” Roberts said. “If you want to function as an independent in getting the details of each line item in order to grasp the whole, it could take several months. It is the nuances that have to be understood.”
With the negative financial climate, neither Podolefsky nor Roberts is worried about the future of the large projects taking place on campus, like the energy saving project (ESCO) or the building of the student activities center, which were both initiated and started during Podolefsky’s term.
“I guess a new person could say they don’t like having all these new light bulbs and take them out, but I think that’ll go forward. I think Dr. Roberts is committed to staying here and finishing that project up. It’s a wonderful project that will be a transformation for the University,” Podolefsky said.
Although there are no rules set out for the next president, Podolefsky said if he had to make one, it would be for the new president to work on building their base.
“That is to establish credibility with those people he or she thinks is critical. To me it was everybody,” Podolefsky said. “In the course of the day, I’m on the phone with donors, legislators. I’m going to committee meetings, making a decision about anything that’s managing the campus; sitting down with vice presidents who are having problems. You have to enjoy doing all those things.”
There is no bottom line for the next president, and what’s left for the president’s constituents (faculty, students and even legislators) is the hope that the timeline for the next president’s term is long enough to make important and educated decisions.
