By JACKSON WANG
Executive Editor
When Maggie Kirwin found out that she was going to be the interim president at The College of Saint Rose after the sudden resignation of David Szczerbacki, she said she was shocked and nervous.
“I didn’t sleep for about two weeks,” said Kirwin, who wasn’t sure how she felt at first. “I passed a faculty member and she said, ‘Oh Maggie, congratulations on assuming the role,’ and I said, ‘or condolences,’ jokingly.”
But after letting it sink in for a few days, Kirwin said she realized that it was truly an honor to be the interim president of Saint Rose.
“I realized it’s a pretty awesome reasonability,” said Kirwin, who also served as interim vice president and provost when Szczerbacki was appointed to president.
Being the face of the college also meant more responsibilities, which included meetings, dinners, events, budgeting, enrollment, and connecting with students. Most of these tasks take place in the evening or on the weekend—the time when most people are typically relaxing or taking care of personal needs.
“I was surprised at how difficult it is to juggle personal and work life,” said Kirwin. “When is there time to do grocery shopping? Sometimes I’m just like, ‘I have to get to the bank today, that’s all there is to it.’”
But sometimes she can’t even put money in her bank account because she’s too busy trying to convince alumni and donors to put their money in Saint Rose’s bank account.
“It’s an extremely different role for me,” said Kirwin. “The view of the college from the role of interim president is a much broader view. There are many more things to keep your eyes on and to attend, too. The scoop of the job is very different.”
But Kirwin said she hasn’t been alone. She has gotten a lot of help from her assistants to help deal with certain tasks, and Marcus Buckley with the budget and finances of the college.
“We work extremely close together,” said Kirwin, referring to Buckley. “We’re both very engaged. We talk to each other everyday and have formal meetings at least two or three times a week.”
Kirwin said one thing that caught her off guard when she took over the role of interim president was that fact she didn’t have voicemail. But she soon learned that it was in order to keep minor complaints at the lower level to be resolved, instead of having everyone’s complaint be sent to Kirwin’s phone.
In the 40 years that Kirwin has worked at Saint Rose, she said she always enjoyed staying in contact with students and faculty. But that became limited when she took on the role, which she said distance her from the campus community.
“It’s been tough not knowing everything that’s going on,” said Kirwin.
She joined the college as a faculty member of the school of education back in 1973. Kirwin would soon take on her first administrative role as a coordinator of graduate education later that year.
Saint Rose had about 400 students at that time, 70 sisters, and about half of the faculty staff that it has today.
“I was very, very young,” said Kirwin, who taught graduate level classes at the time. “I was scared.”
When Kirwin was teaching classes in her first five years, she would get so nervous that she would literally get sick to her stomach because she was so frightened. Kirwin was afraid that she couldn’t offer the students anything, even though she would spend nine hours preparing each lesson.
But soon Kirwin would get more comfortable as she continued to read and master the material that she was teaching. She also realized that she was helping the students and teaching them important information.
“I also understood that I didn’t have to know everything,” said Kirwin.
She said that in her 40 years here at Saint Rose, the college has made her more confident and offer her a level of security.
Several decades later, Kirwin is still teaching a class on campus—the Touhey Learning Community for urban education scholars. Next semester, she will be teaching Mark Sullivan’s institute for higher education.
As for serving her interim president role, Kirwin said she wants to see an increase for enrollment at Saint Rose, helping continue develop the branding message for the college, and bring Saint Rose its first doctorate program for communication sciences and disorders, before her time ends.
After Kirwin finishes her term as interim president next summer, she said she’s not yet sure on what’s next for her. Kirwin does have the option of returning to the dean position for the school of education.
“We’ll see,” said Kirwin.
