It may not be tomorrow, and it may not be next week, but whoever fills the vice president for marketing, communications and enrollment management position will have a direct effect on all current, future and past Ball State University students.
The new choice will affect everything from how families react to their high school graduates choosing Ball State to further their education to how employers view the quality of the degrees Ball State graduates hold.
With this new position comes the responsibility of determining the image that we, as a university, will present to the rest of the country.
The forums with both candidates -- Tom Taylor and Andrew Flagel -- showed us that one was prepared and already talking with students about their concerns and that one didn't know much about his potential employer -- other than bad Letterman jokes and Ball jars.
Flagel already has knowledge of Ball State and its programs, and he stated his plans for his first three months at work.
However, Taylor relied more on his previous accomplishments as selling points and, when it came to his future at Ball State, the details were scant.
To further Ball State's image in a positive light, we need someone who thinks more about the possibilities this university has, rather than relying on what worked at a different university, in a different part of the country and in a different economic bracket.
Flagel is from Ohio and showed his ability to relate to students from the Midwest, but he also stressed the value of diversity on a campus and his experience working at a school where more than 85 native languages are spoken by the students.
Overall, we need someone who cares about his work and can energize students to care about their work as well. Flagel appeared more lively and excited to be here, and he even seemed more excited about his future with us.
Taylor acted the opposite during his forum, never changing his pitch or acting excited about Ball State's future.
Flagel wants to create one focused message about Ball State that will make it a first-choice school for prospective students. He believes this will be easier here than at other schools because the position encompasses marketing, communications and enrollment management, three areas
How Ball State will be viewed in years to come will rest on one of these two candidates' shoulders, so the decision between them is important for the university as well as for its students.
Will our university once again be known as Indiana's largest high school or will the university -- not just certain departments -- finally begin to receive recognition on a national level.
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