Joint presidency underdiscussed relative to importance

We are experiencing quite possibly the most important change in CSB/SJU history: the ongoing search for a joint president, starting with the pre-search formation of a search committee and decisions regarding what traits a new president needs.

This issue absolutely demands more coverage and discussion than it’s currently getting.

A joint president is an important step toward a complete merger between campuses. St. John’s and St. Ben’s started as separate colleges and have become more intertwined over time. There are departments that have already merged, like academic departments, organizations and learning communities, admissions, and new this year, health care. However, there are departments with duplicate staff, as both colleges still have separate athletic departments and administrative divisions. All of these unique cases will require resolution, or at the very least, clarity, as the joint presidency becomes a reality.

Not only that, but cultural differences will need to be resolved as well. Several years ago, a firestorm erupted when an SJU alumni disputed the idea of a Bennie identity. St. John’s has a substantially larger endowment than St. Ben’s. These details will require a more than just a logistical response.

Student opinion will play an important role in this decision. This is a pivotal moment in our institutions’ histories, and our opinions matter.

Visions of the future are changing and evolving. Today’s students are tomorrow’s alumni, and we all know how important the alumni network is to the CSB/SJU community.

Since the senior class has been on campus, St. Ben’s is on its second president. St. John’s is on its third. SJU Transitional President Jim Mullen said in an interview that he hopes the joint president stays for years to build an even stronger connection between these campuses.

Our voices matter in picking a leader who will continue to work towards a vision for a better institution long after we all graduate.

As campus leaders search for a joint president, it is becoming clear that the days of having two independent colleges closely collaborating are drawing to a close.

In an issue of The Record released almost exactly ten years ago, The Record’s editors mused over the future of maintaining two separate colleges. They sought an answer to the question of, “is a midnight bus essentially the only thing to remind students we aren’t truly joined?” The column closes by saying, “with budgets getting tighter in all levels of the institutions and a persistent grumbling from students growing louder each week, how long will it be before we [merge]?… Only time will tell.” The time they anticipated ten years ago is now.

Part of maintaining a strong community is caring about what it will look like even when we are no longer students. Today’s seniors will not see the joint president, and no current students will experience their leadership for an entire college career.

Even so, it’s crucial that we contribute our voices to this search process. The joint presidency is an incredibly monumental development in the histories of CSB and SJU. The campus experience for future Johnnies and Bennies will be changed by who is selected by this process, and contributing our voices to this search process is an opportunity to help leave a lasting mark on the CSB/SJU community.

St. Ben’s and St. John’s have never shared a president before. This individual must work to build an even stronger connection between our two campuses as we gradually integrate further.

The CSB/SJU student experience will change once we have a joint president, and how that change impacts our community depends on who is selected. Use your voice, contribute your opinion and ensure that whoever takes this monumental role is up to the task.