HomeNEWSFinal Presidential Candidates Visit

Final Presidential Candidates Visit

f The College of Saint Rose continues, and that search has taken the College out to the Midwest. W. Richard Merriman visited campus on April 1 and 2 as one of the four finalists for the position. His trip included interviews with faculty and staff, as well as an open session in which the campus community could participate.
Merriman comes to Albany from Southwestern College in Wichita, K.S. He has been the institution’s president since 1998. During his time there, he worked to improve the quality of the college’s academic programs, strengthening the school’s focus on liberal arts.
The college’s advancement programs also grew under his leadership; total giving and unrestricted giving have doubled. He also led initiatives to update campus facilities and technology. Southwestern was able to add a new sports stadium complex, a renovation of their performing arts center, renovations to the library, as well as residence halls and the dining hall.
As a smaller liberal arts school, Southwestern has faced similar issues that Saint Rose is currently dealing with.
“I’m really familiar with struggle,” Merriman said. “We’ve done a lot of things that make us more like this school. We’ve grown our pre-professional programs, as well as our online programs.”
At Southwestern, it was important to grow online programs because of its more remote location. For those who do not live on campus, commuting around two hours was not at all feasible. “Online learning has to be done strategically. It’s not new anymore,” Merriman said.
During his open session with the campus community, Merriman stressed that online learning is not the wave of the future, but rather something that should only be implemented if it can truly benefit the students, and not just a substitute for a physical classroom. This meshes with the College’s flirtation with hybrid and strictly online courses. It depends on how students respond and whether or not there is a need.
Merriman’s commitment to innovation is clear to Aideen Hanlon, student association director of activities. “He’s got a lot of great experience with smaller schools and he’s great with communication. [Southwestern] had a thousand online students, so he knows how to make students feel like a part of the community,” Hanlon said.
Student Jacob Barkman was also impressed with Merriman’s credentials. “Student engagement is really important to him and it’s important at Saint Rose,” he said.
Merriman, although he is currently president at Southwestern, has served at other institutions. From 1989 to 1998, Merriman served as vice president at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. Le Moyne enrolls a similar amount of students and shares similar beliefs and values with Saint Rose, so such a transition would not be as difficult.
While it would be a change, Dr. Joanne Powers of the math department observed Merriman’s self-assured demeanor.
“I think he’s very confident and has a lot of experience. He’s very personable and seems very low-key. He’s had experience at Le Moyne, a comparable college to Saint Rose in many ways. He worked as a grant writer and for the National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities. He’ll help the college focus on things that are important,” Powers said.
Whatever the outcome of the presidential search, Merriman knows that it is his duty to serve the students.
“My role is to make the experience between faculty and students a fruitful encounter,” Merriman said. “My job is to create a productive experience.”

 

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