Excerpt from the Wright State Guardian
Transition and double duty as provost and president
According to [WSU Provost Susan] Edwards, the transition into her new role as president has been seamless.
She was surprised when she was offered the position of president but with so many great projects and positive energy on campus right now, it was very easy for her to agree to this new position.
“Really, we haven’t missed a beat and that’s one of the reasons that it’s in some ways a lot easier to say yes to becoming the next president is that we have so many great things going right now,” said Edwards.
“That’s really why I was sort of driven to say yes, not because I ever wanted to be a president because I really did not want to be a president. I couldn’t bear someone slowing me down because we have so many great initiatives going right now like the retention initiative for our students.”
Reconnecting with stakeholders
Wright State has many partners and stakeholders in the area. Many of those relationships had been somewhat neglected and relied on proximity rather than an active partnership, according to Edwards. Some of Wright State’s biggest local partners are Sinclair, Wright Patt Air Force Base and Reynolds and Reynolds.
“I think we actually have to be proactive and we have to have an emphasis on the active, in terms of making sure those relationships stay strong and grow,” said Edwards.
“The old ‘build it and they will come’ scenario is not true for higher education in this day and age anymore. We have to actually actively pursue opportunities for our students. Just like we have to actively pursue our students.”
Edwards plans to strengthen relationships with partners to prepare graduates for internships and jobs where companies have openings and learn what employers are looking for from new hirees.
“We need to be really active to reconnect with folks in the greater community because at the end of the day, our students need to have something that’s going to set them apart from others,” said Edwards.
