Paul Tikalsky, Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University addressed University of Idaho students, staff and faculty at a presidential candidate forum Wednesday.
Tikalsky, a first-generation college student, grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and said he had the opportunity to go to college because of a land grant scholarship.
“The fact is we have this kind of university that creates knowledge,” Tikalsky said. “We create people who are changing the economy of a state or region in the world. We’re not a university that just imports knowledge and trains people.”
During Tikalsky’s seven years at Oklahoma State University he implemented a variety of programs, including the launch of new graduate programs in strategic areas for the region. This included the formation of a master’s program in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology according to his curriculum vitae.
“I’ve applied to this position because I think, I believe that this university can make a difference,” Tikalsky said. “And if I can help drive that vision to legislators, to the (State) Board (of Education), to the citizens of Idaho, if not the whole nation. To let them know the hidden gem needn’t be hidden.”
On the role of the president, Tikalsky also said that he believes a president must have integrity and that deans. He also said provosts and vice presidents play a large role in helping a president be successful and making shared decisions.
“I think a president lives that vision and mission,” Tikalsky said. “It needs to be in the front of their desk every day, and they need to make decisions based on those mission, vision and values of the institution.”
Tikalsky also touched on the impact that presidents of other universities have had on him. He said overtime he has learned the importance of always being calm, and having a sense of humor, seriousness about finance and talking to students.
“So, I talk to students every single day, even if it’s the end of the day, my asking is looking for me and why I’m not home,” Tikalsky said “I’m sitting in the student excellence center asking them about their thermodynamics exam tomorrow. But it’s a way for me to connect with the student and find out what is worrying them today.”
Associate professor of journalism at UI Kenton Bird raised a question about what appealed to Tikalsky about UI, and if he found anything that caused him to hesitate about whether UI would be the right place for him.
Tikalsky said that things about UI that gave him pause were the same things that attracted him to the university.
“I’m a person who wants a challenge,” Tikalsky said. “I don’t want to manage anything. I don’t want to manage a university. I want to find a place that needs the kind of skill sets that I have.”
He said that as an institution a university is ever changing, which gives him both insight and pause.
“So, you have a unique structure with the State Board (of Education), that’s important,” Tikaslky said. “If the president can’t work with the board, the president’s got to go.
Dean and Professor of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Christopher Callahan, will present at a forum 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Bruce Pitman Center. Scott Green, global chief operating and financial officer at Hogan Lovells, an international law firm, will speak Friday at the same time and place. The other two finalists — Diane Chase and Elizabeth Spiller — spoke on campus earlier this week.
Ellamae Burnell can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EllamaeBurnell