Gary Forsee has a tough road ahead. The new University of Missouri System president, who takes the reins Feb. 18, has a litany of challenges once he takes office, including charming state legislators, confronting low faculty morale, rising student tuition fees and the question mark surrounding freedom to conduct academic research.

Forsee

Not only that, but with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, he has to prove to faculty on four campuses that he understands their problems and won’t limit academic freedom.

"I think he probably recognizes this. He doesn’t have a background in higher education. That’s good and bad," said Frank Schmidt, chairman of the MU Faculty Council. "I think that is a case where he will have to convince the university as a whole that academic freedom is something that he values."

The UM Board of Curators announced Forsee’s appointment late this morning, though a source confirmed yesterday that he is the next system president.

Schmidt said he believes Forsee will give chancellors more power to make academic decisions while he concentrates on the overarching organizational challenges of the $1 billion-a-year enterprise that spans four campuses, extension offices and hospitals.

"If you look at faculty and their reactions, most faculty have a wait-and-see attitude," Schmidt said, acknowledging that faculty in the humanities and social sciences have expressed more concerns about Forsee than faculty in the sciences. "This is the Show-Me State. If he gets some results, I think the faculty will endorse him enthusiastically."

Jay Dade, former president of the MU Alumni Association and one of the alumni who sat on the presidential advisory committee, said Forsee will have to learn fast.

"It’s a very steep learning curve happening on the cusp of a new legislative session," he said. "He will not have the luxury of taking a lot of time to be comfortable in this position. He will have to hit the ground running, and having someone with as much corporate governance experience as him will do well."

"Higher education’s interests are challenged in Jefferson City," said Dade, a Springfield attorney. "I think it’ll be a positive step forward for the system and for higher education in Missouri. A lot of what the job is is simply dialogue with legislators."

Schmidt called Forsee’s biggest challenge "money, money, money," citing a range of needs such as rewarding faculty with raises and securing more money from the state.

"Missouri has balanced its budget on the backs of higher education," Schmidt said. "The General Assembly has saddled us with unfunded mandates … and the next president is going to have to reverse that trend. The hope is that Gary Forsee will be able to do that. … Obviously, you don’t get to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company without people skills, and he’s going to need every one of them to bring not only the university system but also higher education in the state back to some sort of reasonable accommodation."

Tony Luetkemeyer, the student curator who had a vote in the search process, said his main concern was keeping student tuition low to make UM affordable and accessible. He said he didn’t think a business background was a drawback when reaching out to students.

"I think that whether somebody is well connected to students in particular has more to do with personality than their business background," he said, adding that he hopes the next president will be willing to listen to student concerns and student government.

Luetkemeyer also said fundraising and building the university endowment are essential for protection against inadequate state funding.

Schmidt said another challenge will be quelling dissension among the curators.

Pointing specifically to the embryonic stem cell debate that prefaced the passing of a resolution in October that supported academic freedom, Schmidt said, "The board is not completely speaking with one voice, and they have to speak with one voice and they have to be advocates of the university."

Advertisement