Herald editorial: Open forums give transparency to WMU administration

In an attempt to further his commitment to transparency, Western Michigan University President John Dunn held a public forum at the Bernhard Center to address students, staff and community members on Wednesday, Nov. 11. 

Topics varied from his work as an administrator to how he spends precious free time on Saturday mornings.

The forum, produced in conjunction with the Western Student Association and Graduate Student Advisory Committee, offered an opportunity for attendees to become informed on university business and plans for the future. 

More importantly, it allowed students to see President Dunn in a different setting, to see him as a person and not a disembodied head floating above a quote in the newspaper.

Transparency and accessibility have become trademarks of sorts for Dunn’s administration. This was the fifth such forum held during Dunn’s tenure, with plans for a sixth in the Spring 2010 semester. 

After some brief opening remarks on the three focus topics of the night (a potential medical school at WMU, global education and the BTR Park), Dunn fielded questions from the audience for about an hour. 

For those who did not have their questions answered due to time constraints, Dunn offered his personal e-mail address with the promise that he personally responds to his own messages.

Not that long ago that kind of correspondence with a university president would be impossible; now the answer to your question about the Sangren renovations is only a click away. 

Sadly, we cannot credit WMU administration for inventing e-mail, but kudos to Dunn and others for using it to its full potential to communicate clearly with the student body.

Those who did attend Wednesday’s meeting could see for themselves that there is no “man behind the curtain” running university affairs. He doesn’t hide behind a curtain, he is the guy out for a jog on Saturday morning who stops to say hello and make you feel welcome on campus. Also deserving of credit are the several administrators who took the time to attend the meeting and stick around afterword to chat with students.

Of course, these meetings happen only once a semester, and not every student is going to be informed by e-mail alone. To stay connected with the student body in between public forums, Dunn has worked closely with the WSA and GSAC.

WSA Vice President Janine Putnam said that the forums were a mutual effort between WSA and the president’s office, and something both parties were enthusiastic about. Putnam emphasized how open Dunn has been with WSA from the beginning.

“He makes himself transparent to students, and is very approachable,” Putnam said.

Putnam added that WSA and the president’s office have a great working relationship and that he carefully listens to every resolution they pass. 

Through open communication and transparency, students know that the administration does not just exist to collect tuition and dole out parking tickets. 

Students learned at Wednesday’s forum that Dunn and his colleagues spend countless hours every week trying to keep tuition costs down, maximize the quality of education students receive, and work the city of Kalamazoo to create a positive atmosphere to attend school. 

That is more or less their job, and it is nice to be able to hear first-hand just how it gets done, perhaps even contributing new ideas of our own.

The next forum with President Dunn will not be held until the spring semester, but students are invited to Pizza with the Provost on Dec. 2 at the Bernhard Center, where Provost Timothy Greene will be fielding questions on academic matters. 

This series of open meetings is great for the university, and no matter how sick they get of hearing complaints, the Western Herald hopes that WMU officials and WSA continue their efforts to keep students informed.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=11998

Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 15 2009. Filed under Editorial, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

http://HeraldStaff