An interview with President John Dunn

By Fritz Klug
News Editor

Meet John M. Dunn, president of Western Michigan University. Born in 1945, Dunn began teaching at Oregon State University, where he served as assistant dean of Health and Human Performance, chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and director of the university’s Special Physical and Motor Fitness Clinic.
Dunn was named president of WMU on April 27, 2007, after a long search for a new president.

The Western Herald sat down with Dunn in his office to talk about his two years on campus, what defines his role as president, and what he plans for the 2009-10 academic year.

Western Herald: What do you do as president?

John Dunn: First let me put that in context. I want to express how much I enjoy being here at this university and being president. It’s an honor and a privilege, and I am cognizant of that. Each and every day you reflect on [it], and hopefully whatever the tasks are for that given day you are mindful of what a great privilege it is.

My responsibilities as a leader are that we have a sense of direction and vision for the university, that we stay true to what I believe are certain fundamental and core values.

First and foremost among those is that we exist to make sure that we always serve our students: undergraduate, graduate, resident, nonresident, international, [those in] the larger family context, and that in anyway and every way that I possibly can, I like to remind people of that, whether they are an administrator, a faculty member or staff.

And then also [my role] as president is to continually think of larger societal needs so that our students not just get a great education but that we are preparing them in a thoughtful way, in a responsible way to acknowledge the needs of our society.

Today, some of the things that are in the big picture have to do with the planet that we share – sustainability issues. Certainly what I like to think of in terms of diversity, recognizing the human capital that we have here and in the world and that intellect is not limited by any particular region or part of the world or race or ethnicity. The third that I try to wrap in there is what I also call human capital, that we don’t waste any of our ideas or intellect, or even our efficiency, that goes into something that the President of the United States is wrestling with right now is our overall health.

And one of the things is that we try and make sure that we are using all of our resources wisely, that we are not wasting any of our resources, and that we are also personally responsible for our commitment to sustainability, to diversity, and to our own health and well being.

Those are some of the big things that you obviously think about, and beyond that, I am am responsible that the University has good leadership in the various appointments that are made, the people who are in critical roles, whether that be in the Provost’s office or development or alumni relations, that we have good people there, and my job is to support them and also to encourage them, and when necessary, be a sounding board for them in terms of decision making and thoughts that they might have.

I have been working hard on making certain that we empower people. We have great leaders in the university, and that we empower people to do the right thing, move forward, make good decisions, and by that I also mean that we empower not only our deans and department chairs and all those folks, but also empower our faculty, and to a large extent out students, to make good decisions and be responsible in terms of their interactions with others.

Another issue I have worked on a lot and is important for the president is to always – you have to believe this, and I do – and that is the overall quality of the university and associate with that is the pride that we ought to have and that we ought never be hesitant to demonstrate that pride we have in out university, our students and our faculty. I am constantly in situations where I have been asked to serve on boards or give presentations, I enjoy doing that, being a spokesperson for the university.

WH: This upcoming year, what are some things that students can do to be more involved with the university?

John Dunn: When I welcome students I always talk to them about the keys to success, that they really grab this great opportunity that has been presented to them, and that they not be wasteful of the opportunity. For me, that means that they benefit in every day they can in being part of this great university. To do that, their responsibilities are to go to class, to make sure that they are doing their homework, that they are engaging in the university, meaning that they are not hesitant to ask questions, raise their hand, to become connected with the university, and that can be by what you’re doing right now, or engaging in work related activities. And third, I think that we have a number of core-curricular activities for students on this university: [Registered Student Organizations], student government, to become a known entity and to take advantage of the opportunities that that presents, leadership skills if nothing else.

And then the one that I always like to remind students is that we are a “heads up” campus, and as such that one of the fundamental human responsibilities that we have, and it’s very basic, is to acknowledge one another. And to me that means to say “hello,” “how are you?” “good morning,” “have a good day,” that you make an eye contact and you keep that head up. If we all can learn that and demonstrate it throughout our life I think that, in general, life tends to be pretty good, and people are responsive to that. I just think that is very important. I like to have a campus that to me is rich in its academic experiences but also is an enjoyable place, it should be a fun experience. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the word fun. When I go to work everyday I hope a have a few good laughs along the way. It’s all about moderation, that you balance all those things. I think that our students have done quite well, but that we should always be mindful and respectful of one another.

Western Michigan University President John Dunn (Western Herald file photo)

WH: You are going into your third year – or “Junior” year of being here at Western and Kalamazoo. What kind of impressions has WMU and Kalamazoo left on you?

JD: Well let me talk about Kalamazoo first. We are very pleased that the visitors’ bureau has renamed themselves as “Discover Kalamazoo.” When Lynn and I moved here, we started to discover Kalamazoo and I can tell you, after two years we are still discovering Kalamazoo, the region, and all that it has to offer. I think that it is just a marvelous place to live. We have the seasons, we have all the basic goods, services and supplies we need, we have great health care here–it’s a pretty sweet spot. So that’s been good.

I think from the standpoint of the university, I knew a lot about Western Michigan University before I got here because as a national university, if you’ve have been keeping your eyes open though the years you would know of Western Michigan University. There have been some really, really new discoveries of things I didn’t know and so I have been able to add those to my list of things I share with others to talk about the sense of pride we have at the university. I think academically we have not been appropriately valued nationally as we should be. We are a great university and I don’t know if there is enough understanding of that beyond the borders here, so we’ve been working on that.

WH: What are you looking forward to this year?

I’m pleased that we have been doing some work with some strategic planning, trying to look at the direction of the university, we will be having a retreat coming up with the board of trustees, I am looking forward to that, I think those are always good opportunities to challenge ourselves about where we are, what might be next. We’ve been doing work on the school of medicine conversation; I think that will be more widely discussed as the year goes on.

We’re working hard on our friendraising and fundraising. I just met with the president of the Alumni Association, Richard Bailey, we’re talking about expanding on our membership drive there. Really, the message here should be that you are a student here, you graduate from the university, but you are forever a Bronco. How do we demonstrate that in a convincing way? What do we do to offer continued support and services to you? I think we have done some things that are okay but others that need improvement.

We had this great thing with the Confucius Institute and we will be doing an unveiling of that in the fall, that is I think a great opportunity for the university and one of those things that we will look back on 15 years from now and go “wow, that was huge.”

We’ve made some really great gains on our commitment to sustainability. I am really pleased about that. I’m impressed by the way our students and faculty have resonated and responded and how well we are doing there and how much needs to be done.

We’re going to keep our eyes on legislative matters; Sangren Hall continues to be a huge priority to find funding for that. And of course, I have to spend a lot of time on issues of financial responsibility for the university. We are looking at some new residential living options, we are hopeful to create some new living options for our students; we need to do that, it would be great to do that.

Safety and security of our students is always on our mind, the more gains we make we realize that there are other things that still need to be done, I think that is one of those conversations that goes to infinity, you just keep going and getting better.

WH: What’s your best memory of being president so far?

Jumpin’ in the pond. That was a pretty special day. There have been many, many. I must say I was taken at the inauguration of the President – that was a pretty reflective moment in my life. The choir, their performance – to know how special it is to be at a University that has the amount of talent that we have. That was just special.

Things like jumping in the pond, that’s engaging with out students, it’s something that I never thought I would do [laughs]. Have some fun raise some money, it kind of wrapped the whole package together that it was a student run activity, you get to support it.

There have been some others that I never thought I would ever do. Like the fundraiser “Dancing with the Stars.” I am not a dancer, but I had a great partner and she got me though this and I had a good time.

WH: You just follow and not lead…

I usually hear my kids talk about it – the old man is…dancing?

WH: Wherever duty calls…

That’s right! Wherever duty calls. It was a good time and we raised some money for a good cause.

I think that memories here have been very, very positive and there have been a few dark moments. My goal is to, as they say in medicine, do no harm. Hopefully I’ll be able to provide some direction and support that will allow all of us to rise to a really new level.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 7 2009. Filed under Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com