Wilbur's eight-month term as university president had its share of ups and down
Kathy Wilbur’s term as interim university president of Central Michigan University is coming to a close.
Wilbur has achieved and faltered in a few areas in her eight-month stint as president.
Hopefully, she will take her experiences from this position and apply it as she returns to her role as vice president of Governmental Relations and Public Affairs at CMU.
Wilbur’s biggest strength as president was her visibility. From visiting students in residence halls to participating in forums, Wilbur has been more accessible to the CMU community than previous president Michael Rao.
Her willingness to approach students was a fresh change, considering former University President Michael Rao hardly met with students prior to leaving for Virginia Commonwealth University last year.
Rao likely wouldn’t have held a budget forum that addressed students and faculty. University President-designate George Ross should make it a point to be just as accessible as Wilbur was, especially when there is so much uncertainty on campus.
Wilbur is not without her faults, however.
Failing to update the public about budget cuts during the last Board of Trustees meeting was a disappointment.
Weeks before the meeting, Wilbur said she would reveal budget cut suggestions at the meeting. On one hand, it is understandable that there are many people besides Wilbur involved with budget cuts and she is not entirely to blame.
But the lesson learned is not to speak of something if you can’t deliver it, especially with a subject that impacts so many people.
Another bump during Wilbur’s term was the denial of Freedom of Information Act requests. Central Michigan Life filed 14 FOIAs in February concerning the revealing of budget cut suggestions, and all of them were denied.
But voila! Today, some budget cut suggestions sent to the Senior Staff Budget Advisory Group were posted to the Web, which begs the question: Why was the FOIA asking for them rejected?
While this is not all on Wilbur, we would like to see more transparency with issues that impact thousands of people involved with the university, and we would like to see a president that advocates that.
In the end
Wilbur, despite lacking a Ph.D., became interim president because of her role as a lobbyist and her familiarity with pushing CMU’s interests forward.
Becoming president so quickly and running a university is no easy feat, especially with state appropriations dwindling and Michigan’s economy struggling.
The insider perspective and knowledge of what it takes to be a leader at CMU should help Wilbur be even more effective when working with government officials on the part of the university.
Hopefully, she will remember the pressure of tackling the university’s problems and fight in the interest of the students.
