When Jo Ann Gora came to Muncie last week, she agreed to an interview.
However, Ball State's new president had some conditions.
She set aside 45 minutes with us, but the first 15 was her time. Gora turned the tables, and the photographers and I were the ones being interviewed. She asked us about our goals, what we have enjoyed about Ball State and what we wish would change.
We were, of course, some of the first students she met at Ball State. She doesn't take office until August, and the confidential search process that located her kept her from having many discussions like these prior to her hiring.
Now that she's been hired, though, that seems to be what she wants to do the most of. She wants to talk to students and faculty to find out what work she needs to do at Ball State. At least, that's what she says.
Gora does seem to be an intriguing choice for Ball State's presidency. The buzz around campus last week was mostly, "What do you think?"
That was often followed by an, "I don't know. We'll see."
We'll see how she handles the new environment. Gora has never lived in the Midwest before. It will be a new environment for her, and it will certainly be a different political scene. Time and time again colleagues have mentioned the political battles Gora faced in Boston. Hopefully she can readjust her politics to fit in here.
We'll see if her goal to make Ball State a more visible institution is feasible. Certainly, Ball State is Indiana's best-kept secret, but it will be interesting to see what steps she takes to make that goal a reality. While it is true that athletics can boost the visibility of a university, most students would also probably like for Ball State's academic programs to be praised as well. It's one thing to be a teaching student at that school with the really good basketball team, but it's another to be a teaching student at that school with the really good basketball team and a really great teaching program.
We'll see if she is the no-nonsense, hard-driven go-getter she has been made out to be. And we'll see if that's a good thing if she is. A strong leader is what Ball State needs right now. Last year might have turned out differently, at least in terms of morale, if there had been clear leadership. However, Blaine Brownell's resignation and the Board of Trustee's hesitation simply to give Provost Beverley Pitts the title of acting president as she took on the president's responsibilities might have left some people floundering.
A strong leader sounds great until she starts moving in the wrong direction. While the Board of Trustees might be happy with this choice, that mood might change if her policies begin to disagree with theirs.
That could leave Ball State with another short-term president. And that's the other thing. We'll see if she can be a John Worthen or a Blaine Brownell. We'll see if she can be a lasting figure at the university. It is probably the only way she can accomplish her goals.
Her goals are good ones, too. No matter what your priorities might be here, she wants more people to know what Ball State is, and that is good for everyone.
So faculty and students should hope for the best with this one. She has a good plan. She seems to be a person who can make things happen.
Now we'll just have to see what she can do.
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