“Our best years are in front of us”
CMU president charts path forward
Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon raises a finger while he explains all of the joys on campus that he has experienced during his time as president in the Plachta Auditorium, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. MacKinnon says he and his wife eat at Dine & Connect about three times a week and he also works out at the Student Activity Center on campus. (CMLife | Alivia Cranick)
Editor's note: Central Michigan Life staff writer Blace Carpenter wrote this story as a news reporter at WCMU. This story was first published on at WCMU.com.
Seven years of budget cuts, over a decade of enrollment decline and stress from faculty and staff due to extra workloads are some of the challenges Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon said he has noticed during his first 100 days on campus.
However, MacKinnon said he is confident in CMU's future.
“It really comes to the final question: can we turn things around?” MacKinnon said. “I’m here to tell you the answer is yes and it’s a resounding yes.”
The 16th president spoke to a room full of students, faculty and staff on Tuesday about the pros and cons his administration has noticed about CMU over the past few months, and how it hopes to resolve them.
MacKinnon said that it's OK to reflect on what CMU has accomplished in the past but to not believe “the glory days” of the university have already passed.
“I can’t guarantee today and say that enrollment is going to be 28,000 again anytime soon, but what I can tell you is I still think our best years are in front of us,” MacKinnon said. “We can create innovations, new opportunities, do novel things together.”
MacKinnon announced several initiatives his administration hopes to create to help move CMU forward:
- He said he will be creating a strategic enrollment management plan to help put the college on a path to increasing enrollment and retention rates. He says that his team are trying to identify what would, “really move the needle on enrollment.”
- Taking money from the university’s president’s strategic funds, members of the CMU community can apply for “Go Grants” that help financially support any ideas that align with the university’s strategic goals. He says the grants can range from $5,000 to $50,000.
- Pushing CMU to become an R1 Institution. One requirement to become an R1 school is to have a grant expenditure of more than $50 million. In 2023, CMU, which is an R2 university, had a grant expenditure of $25 million.
- Retaining and recruiting top faculty in the region.
- Creating a Project Management Office that can, “implement good ideas and can evaluate if those ideas are working.” MacKinnon says an office like this on campus can help the university stay financially sustainable.
- Supporting the creation of the Community Relations Committee, which aims to strengthen relationships with the City of Mount Pleasant and other community partners.
Julien Rossignol is a professor of biochemistry and neuroscience at the College of Medicine and has been at CMU for the past 17 years. He says it’s great to see MacKinnon push to better the university.
“It showed how the president really wants to be involved with the community, with the university,” Rossignol said. “I think it’s great to see him involved so far to just learn more about what we actually do and what we are at CMU.”
Associate Director of Social Media Victoria Kukla thought MacKinnon talked about, "legitimate questions that people have been asking around campus.”
As the final part of his 100-day presentation, MacKinnon invited CMU’s Student Government Associate President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz to ask him questions about campus. Hernandez Ruiz asked about possible increases in tuition costs; the future of diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and how he will increase international student enrollment.
In response to her questions, MacKinnon said:
- That the college always tries to balance the growing cost of resources needed to run the college, while also keeping tuition affordable for students
- The university created a website to keep the community updated on any major changes to federal funding or DEI programs.
- CMU will always continue to create a sense of belonging for international students and help support their needs
She said was happy to quiz MacKinnon on behalf of the student body.
“I think he answered the questions pretty well and that all the information is available,” Hernandez Ruiz said.
MacKinnon’s Presidential Investiture will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, at the Plachta Auditorium. MacKinnon says he will further explain his vision for CMU at the event in a video that was sent out to students at the beginning of the semester.
