After Kimo Ah Yun was announced the 25th president of Marquette University, the Wire was able to sit down with him following his press conference Wednesday to talk about issues facing campus.
Ah Yun has been the acting president since former President Michael Lovell’s passing in June. After a presidential search that involved interviewing current acting provosts, deans and presidents, the Board of Trustees unanimously nominated Ah Yun.
Here’s what to know about Ah Yun’s thoughts on campus issues:
Communication with Academic Senate
University Academic Senate is a group of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students that advise Marquette Administration and the Board of Trustees.
As provost, Ah Yun was a part of UAS and attended their monthly meetings. He said having this experience in his back pocket will help him connect with constituents in every part of campus and keep an open dialogue alive on campus.
Even though Ah Yun announced Dean of the College of Communication, Sarah Feldner, as the acting provost Thursday, he said working on the official search for his next provost is high on his priority list.
“One of the things that will be high on my priority is having a provost who wants to engage with Senate,” Ah Yun said.
During his time as provost, Ah Yun said he has been able to create ways for UAS to give input on things like the budget and capital projects on campus.
“The important thing is to listen and find out what’s happening and ask, ‘what are the ways we can work together to address the most pressing needs,'” Ah Yun said.
Vote of no-confidence
Marquette UAS announced Nov. 18 that they would be conducting a vote of no-confidence in Ah Yun’s leadership Monday. He said despite this resolution, Marquette remains a strong institution.
“I think people are having thoughts and they want to present them, and I support that,” Ah Yun.
The resolution comes as some faculty are concerned about a possible decrease in research time and an increase in teaching loads. With a lack of communication about how this possible change would be implemented, some faculty felt that Ah Yun wasn’t being transparent with the Senate.
Budget deficits
A $9 million budget shortfall, was announced last December, followed by a plan titled Marquette 2031: Securing our Future, which aims to cut university spending by $31 million by 2031 and reinvest 40% back into the university.
A steering committee for the Securing our Future plan has been evaluating the best way to cut costs after collecting faculty opinions from across campus.
The committee has delivered their recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team, and now the ELT is reviewing the recommendations and presenting them to the Board of Trustees.
“That’s what I consider a shared document of how we begin to look at the things and execute them,” Ah Yun said.
Continuing former University President Lovell’s Legacy
Ah Yun said he considered Lovell not only a colleague, but a close friend, and becoming Marquette’s president means finding a way to carry on Lovell’s legacy.
Ah Yun said one of Lovell’s strengths was focusing on the student experience, and he wants to carry that into his presidency. He said balancing the student experience and trying to manage the cost of tuition and housing is hard, but something he wants to make a priority.
“The balance is sometimes challenging, and you have to make some difficult decisions, but needed ones,” Ah Yun said.
During the UAS meeting where Ah Yun addressed concerns about workloads and research time, he said one of the reasons they are looking to cut research time is that he does not want to increase tuition.
“We want to make sure Marquette is accessible,” Ah Yun said at the meeting. “We want to make sure students can come here.”
This story was written by Sophia Tiedge. She can be reached at s[email protected].
