Sam Olens has been President
of Kennesaw State University for almost a month now and I am just getting
around to welcoming him aboard. My only
excuse is that this has been a very busy political month and my attention has
been elsewhere.
In any event, I am not one
of those at the school who has misgivings about his taking over the reins of
power. So far as I am concerned, he is a
very good man who is assuming a very demanding position. I therefore wish him well and hope that he
can continue the trajectory of his predecessor.
When rumor had it that Olens
would be appointed to run KSU, gossip about what this meant ran rampant through
the faculty. Most of my colleagues knew
only that he was Georgia’s Attorney General.
They had no idea of the sort of person he was. As a result, many came to me to ask my
opinion.
As it happened, I had had
contact with Olens. Not only had I met
him, but on several occasions had long conversations with him. My take away from these was that he was a
smart and decent human being who was concerned with doing the best he could for
the community.
Let me explain a bit further. First, I found Olens to be a good
listener. He did not seem to have an
agenda that he was waiting to foist on me.
Instead, he paid attention to what I said and responded appropriately.
Second, he impressed me as a
pragmatist. He evidently wanted to do
the right thing, but, at least as importantly, he wanted to do what
worked. This meant that he considered a
variety of options and contemplated their implications. The objective was not merely to address a
problem, but to solve it.
Third, this was a man who
was obviously respectful of others.
There was no bragging, no bullying, no holier than thou posturing. From what I knew about his earlier tenure on
Cobb County’s Board of Commissioners, I understood why he had not alienated his
associates. No doubt, he showed them the
same consideration he did me.
From my perspective, there
was consequently no reason that such a person could not work well as an
academic administrator. Some KSU
professors, as is widely known, did not come to this conclusion. They were especially upset with the way Olens
had been selected. As they saw it, this
was a violation of shared governance.
Although I am not exactly
sure about the nature of the behind the scenes maneuvering that produced Olens’
appointment, the scuttlebutt is that Governor Deal orchestrated it. He is said to have wanted one of his own men
to succeed him in office.
Whatever the truth, Olens is
more than qualified to lead a major university.
Some KSU faculty members worry that because he is not an academic, he
will not be sensitive to academic needs.
This strikes me as an unnecessary concern. Any college president has to be alert to the
requirements of subordinates from differing backgrounds.
The fact that Olens is a
lawyer should not matter. In my department,
three of our professors are actually lawyers.
As for Dan Papp, our previous President, he was a political
scientist. Did this prevent him from
appreciating the needs of the chemistry department or the school of music?
The job of a college
president is largely political. He (or
she) must balance the demands of many competing constituencies. Given the limited resources and the huge
differences in priorities, there will always be conflicts that must be tamped
down. This ability, thus, counts for more
than the character of his advanced degree.
Some of my KSU peers are
still unhappy with what occurred.
Despite Olens efforts to be conciliatory, they are distressed by the
politics that led to his selection. For
some, the fact that he is a Republican is also not irrelevant. They are convinced that conservatives, in
general, are too inconsiderate to run a university.
But most of our students are
just fine with what occurred. As for me,
I say Sam Olens needs to be given a chance.
Indeed, I am rooting for him to succeed.
If he does, I believe this will redound to the benefit of even those who
continue to harbor doubts about him.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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