Murray State is in the process of choosing a new president. The Board of Regents Presidential Search Committee narrowed the candidate pool to four candidates who visited the University, bringing new ideas and promises.
The four candidates include M. Chad Tindol, the chief administrative officer of the University of Alabama; Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson, vice chancellor of academic and student affairs and chief academic officer at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; Ron K. Patterson, president of Chadron State College; and Christian E. Hardigree, regional chancellor of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
I will rank these four candidates on a 1-10 scale. 1 is ranked the lowest and would mean they should not even be considered for the position and 10 is the perfect candidate. There will be two categories with one being the administrator role and being in charge of the University and the other being how they engage with students and represent student wants.
Chad Tindol
Chad Tindol is a licensed attorney, and he answers questions like one too. Tindol would be the most similar replacement for our current president, Bob Jackson, with the way he acts and responds to questions. With his legal background, he would be able to handle legislation and more complicated issues at Murray State, but he isn’t the only lawyer being considered for the position. When asked about certain topics at his town hall, he answered many questions vaguely with half answers. Outside of answering questions, he seems to be a kind person, but with the recent events of the campus power outage and the lack of response from administration, choosing Tindol would only strengthen the University’s silence and lack of responses.
On the administrative side, I would rank Tindol as a 7.5 with his background at The University of Alabama and his legal background, but for students, I would rank him around a 4.5 with the way he responded to questions.
Diana Rogers-Adkinson
Diana Rogers-Adkinson was the second candidate to come to campus, after being delayed due to the snowstorm. When compared to the former candidate, Rogers-Adkinson was a breath of fresh air. Rogers-Adkinson was honest with her answers to almost all questions, providing personal insight to many of the questions asked about mental health, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, campus infrastructure and many more issues. Rogers-Adkinson also discussed being as open with the campus as possible by being willing to speak with student media, and she even talked about doing a campus-wide podcast to discuss Murray State issues.
Rogers-Adkinson seems very successful in her role at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education where she helped merge three schools, but her lack of tenure there may be concerning to administration, making her admin rank a 7 out of 10. On the other hand, her honesty and openness at the town hall and some of the plans she wants to implement make her a solid 9 out of 10 candidate to me when regarding what students want.
Ron Patterson
Ron Patterson seems to be a quiet but well-spoken leader. Patterson spoke about supporting DEI initiatives on his campus, opposing is anti-tenure legislation, fixing campus infrastructure and many more underlying issues.
He seems to be a good leader on paper and would probably make a strong president, especially in this time of political restructuring. A point of contention with Patterson is his tenure at his current university. He has been at Chadron State College for about a year, but he isn’t the only candidate with a short occupancy, as Roger-Adkinson has been with her current university for less time.
Patterson is a solid candidate across the board and would make a good president but seeing his little time at Chadron State College, I would put him at a 7 for administration as well. On the other hand, he seemed to be a modest guy and soft spoken as well as being supportive of many of his universities’ wants, so he would be around a 7.5 for students.
Christian Hardigree
Hardigree’s first impression was very energetic at her town hall, and she seemed willing to talk about almost anything with enthusiasm. Not only did Hardigree answer the questions asked of her, but she also included different issues that weren’t even addressed to her, like DEI issues or ways to communicate better with students. Her being so open to answering questions on a variety of topics and still giving well-answered questions makes her one of the better candidates to choose if we want transparency and accountability for issues on campus.
With Hardigree having a strong legal background with litigation cases as well as serving in higher education for many years at her current university, Hardigree would be a solid 8 out of 10 for administration. For students, Hardigree has shown a strong connection with her students with her knowing many of them by name and trying to improve student life as much as possible at University of South Florida St. Petersburg. For what Hardigree has said, she deserves a solid 10 out of 10 ranking for being a president for the students.
Conclusion
Each of the candidates has their strengths and weaknesses, but I believe that two of the candidates stand out as better for us, the students, and the future of the University. Both Rogers-Adkinson and Hardigree would be fantastic picks for the University.
Rogers-Adkinson is willing to be open with the students over a variety of issues and even said that she can’t be certain but will still try to be as honest as she is allowed. The biggest concern with her is her current tenure at her other university being 8 months. Longevity should be considered when deciding on a candidate, and when compared to Hardigree, it may be concerning.
Hardigree, on the other hand, seemed very open-minded and willing to talk to all students. She also seemed very willing to be open with communicating issues as well as addressing many grievances the campus has had in the last year. The only concern that may be important to discuss is Hardigree’s work residence being in Florida. This comes about due to Florida policies in place that bars educators from using specific language on certain topics like anti-tenure or DEI. Hardigree’s official position on these matters may be unclear due to these regulations.
I think both of these candidates would be great to take on the racer presidential saddle and will lead us to a better tomorrow.
