Fallon Deatherage
News Editor
The final candidate for the ISU presidency has visited. Robert Marley described himself as a servant-leader who would like to help ISU reach its full potential by empowering students, faculty and staff.
Marley is currently the provost and executive vice chancellor at Missouri University of Science and Technology as well as a professor in the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department.
“I see my job as serving you to help you be successful,” he said at the student forum.
He mirrored that sentiment at the faculty and staff forum. Alan Frantz, a faculty member from the College of Education, has attended all of the faculty forums to question candidates about the AAUP sanctions against ISU. Marley was the only candidate to bring up the subject on his own, which prompted Frantz to ask his regular question about the sanctions.
“If it does concern you, to what extent and how would you work to fix it?” Frantz asked.
Marley said he was concerned about the sanctions, and the first step to improvement was to repair the relationship between administration and faculty. He cited the faculty senate’s lack of a constitution as the first thing needing to be addressed. Marley stated he would want to be involved in the process in order to be as helpful as possible.
“The base problem is not having a constitution, but it’s also the distrust,” Marley said. “Tough decisions have to be made, but I want it to be collaborative.”
Marley plans to fix the distrust by inviting faculty to his home to ensure that they know he is willing to help in any way he can and have open channels of communication. This is the same technique he plans to use to connect with community members after he was questioned by Jim DiSanza of the Communication, Media and Persuasion department, about how he planned to repair what was described as the broken relationship between the community and the university.
“The president is the embodiment of the university,” Marley said. “It is important that the president is accessible for people, because that reflects the university as a whole.”
Marley also set a goal of boosting fundraising if he were to become ISU’s president. He championed his experience at his prior institutions where he secured $114 million in outside funding. He stressed ISU’s need to reach out to donors.
“Great public universities don’t happen without private support,” Marley said. “If we can get individuals enthusiastic they will help. I see great programs, faculty, students, and facilities along with some of the most loyal alumni.”
James Yizar, of Academic Affairs, posed questions about diversity in the university, and how Marley as president would facilitate it. Marley answered by citing an example from one of his previous institutions where an incident of bigotry was used as a teaching moment for the university faculty and students.
“The university works as windows in and out to the world. They provide an opportunity to learn,” Marley said. “The president sets the tone for inclusiveness.”
With his leadership style, Marley set a goal to empower faculty and staff at ISU. He stated that he was not a micro-manager and that he believed in trusting faculty and staff to make the best choices for the university. He believes that his role is to serve those at ISU in order for them to have all they need to be successful.
“I will empower as many people as possible to make sure we have everything they need to be successful,” Marley said. “If you hire good people, let them do their job and most of the time you’ll be successful.”
