Purdue Northwest Chancellor candidate Stephen Kolison Jr. remained a cool customer during his Monday afternoon chancellor candidate presentation until near the end.
Judith Hack, associate professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, asked Kolison why he’d left his native Liberia to be educated in the United States. Kolison paused.
“I was very fortunate to have parents who understood the value of education,” he said after some thought. “My father went back to school as an adult to make our lives better – I was in the second grade when he went into education. My mother never went to school, but she was brilliant. She was self-taught.
“When I came to America, I came because I wanted to study in the best institutions and do well. Imagine someone from Africa just being considered for this position. What is the difference? Education.”
Currently the Associate Vice President for Academic, Faculty, and Global Programs for the University of Wisconsin system as well as the deputy to the system’s Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at that school, Kolison said his main goal for a unified Purdue Northwest campus would be the success and health of its students, and open communication among faculty to make sure the transition to one regional campus would be smooth and inclusive.
“Student wellness, health and safety is extremely important, he said. “My motivation is about students. If they’re successful, I think we’ve done our jobs. That’s the reason I went into academia in the first place.”
Another professor, Tony Elmendorf, in PUC’s Math department, asked Kolison what information he was given as to the reason for unifying the two campuses. Kolison said the “why” of it is irrelevant compared with getting to the next point because the decision is already made.
Kolison said he would work to build consensus between the two campuses and use his capacity for empathy and engage everyone, especially in the first two or three months.
“Being respectful and considerate, and saying ‘no’ with dignity and respect, may not be very sophisticated, but it’s worked for me,” he said.
Kolison will repeat his presentation at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in LSF 002 on the Purdue North Central campus. The link to the livestream will be viewable at the time of the presentation. Both Kolison’s presentations will be recorded and available for viewing, along with the transcripts of the meetings, at https://www.purdue.edu/pnwchancellor/.
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Students and faculty have until 5 p.m. Sept. 18 to provide feedback on the candidates, according to Wes Lukoshus, associate vice chancellor for marketing and communication for Purdue Calumet.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the the Post-Tribune.