(originally found here:
http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/announcement.php?id=347)
_________________
Dear MSU Family:
Three days ago I became interim president of this great university
that I have loved and served for more than 40 years, and I could not
be more grateful or more honored by the opportunity. Some of you have
been my friends and colleagues for decades. All of you, collectively,
have my utmost appreciation for what you do and my highest confidence
in your abilities and commitment to the institution and state. To cap
a long MSU career as your advocate, coach, and leader is the
culmination of a dream for Jo Ann and me. We promise to work hard,
shoulder to shoulder with you, to move The People's University
forward.
Mississippi State has been a profoundly important and positive force
in the life of Mississippi for 130 years. To a greater extent than
most institutions can claim, MSU understands and fulfills its purpose
as a comprehensive land-grant university in a state with unique
challenges and opportunities. Despite periodic changes in emphasis and
terminology, our primary goals and priorities have been predictably
consistent through several presidential administrations, and we will
continue to focus on high quality learning, research, and service
tailored to the needs of our students and our state. Like other
institutions, we have experienced ups and downs, including periods of
rapid growth and times of constraints and contraction. But I encourage
all of us to look at our past, and our future, with a long-term
perspective, and to see that our direction has and will continue to
trend upward.
My immediate predecessors, like talented and dedicated leaders before
them, have helped build a strong foundation and generate momentum in
important areas that we will maintain as we map the future of MSU in
keeping with its historic strengths, campus culture, and vision for
excellence. As we look ahead together, you should know what you can
expect from me and what I expect from you.
My first priority is to listen. As one of the longest-tenured members
of the MSU community, and having been a graduate student, faculty
member and administrator here, I think I have a good understanding of
who we are and who we want to be as a university. But I realize that I
have much to learn in my new role about many aspects of the
institution, and I look forward to hearing from as many of you as
possible in a variety of formal and informal settings. Your opinions
matter.
I will make mistakes. When I do, I expect you will let me know about
it, and my goal will be to acknowledge it, learn from it, and fix it.
I plan to be patient, as I hope you will be with me. Patience, in my
opinion, is an under-appreciated virtue in our fast-paced society, and
one that should not be confused with lethargy or indecisiveness. Our
emphasis will be on making good decisions, rather than quick ones. We
will take time to listen, learn, and collaborate on issues important
to us all.
I will work to keep the university engaged with our students and
alumni, with the community and state, and with the many constituencies
that look to MSU for expertise, leadership, and service.
I will depend on you--our faculty, staff, and administrators--to know
your jobs and do them well, offering support where I can and guidance
or course changes where required. My philosophy is that if you cannot
trust the folks you hire, you didn't need them in the first place.
Let's work hard, cooperatively and collegially, and have fun doing it.
I look forward to visiting with as many of you as possible in the
weeks ahead. In the meantime, you can tell me what's on your mind by
writing to president@msstate.edu.
Sincerely,
Vance Watson, Interim President
________________________________
Notice the part where he says "But I realize that I have much to learn
in my new role about many aspects of the institution, and I look
forward to hearing from as many of you as possible in a variety of
formal and informal settings. Your opinions matter.
I will make mistakes. When I do, I expect you will let me know about
it, and my goal will be to acknowledge it, learn from it, and fix it."
I don't think he'll write snarky letters to my mom!
Yay!
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