![]() No modern university president can do day-to-day management of all the elements of a university and be successful. “I think 25 years ago, this job was much more centralized,” he says. Ruhl-Smith has had her own long career in academia and promises to be a great asset to Michigan. Connie Ruhl-Smith, is an added bonus for EMU and the community. Smith’s experience in a variety of roles at a variety of universities, and his understanding of how the role of university president has changed, make him what many feel is the “perfect fit” for EMU. While Smith certainly looked great on paper, “once we got him into the room, he was immediately disarming, likeable, made fun of himself first. Michelle Crumm, who led the committee, said the board interviewed about a dozen candidates for the presidency. That illustrates a very human, hands-on personality trait that impressed the EMU Board of Regents search committee. I will spend a lot of time during the first year doing a lot of listening and hearing the stories and absorbing those.” “I’ve learned over the years that the more you listen, the more you can understand the context of a place you are leading. “One has to be a good listener,” Smith says. That little detail says a lot about one of Smith’s biggest assets as he takes the helm as EMU’s 23rd president: Jim Smith is a likeable guy. So often, said Hawley, who was provost at NSU, “I’d hear him come through the door whistling.” Tom Hawley heard when he occupied the office next door to Smith, who was then president at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. So it may seem strange to start out with whistling.īut that is exactly what Dr. James Smith, EMU’s new President-from his expertise in economic development and educational leadership, to his penchant for collaboration between campus and community, to his ability to identify a vision and then map it out. James Smith believes in connecting with people, so expect to see him interacting with students, faculty and staff at the Student Center and every place he travels on campus. ![]()
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