SIU President Dan Mahony says he has a list of top priorities to tackle now that he's officially on the job. Mahony started on Monday, and puts a new strategic plan, enrollment, collaboration, and diversity at the top of his list.
Among the first things he'll tackle is the search for a new permanent chancellor for the Carbondale campus.
Stability is absolutely critical, both in my role and in the role of the chancellor.
~SIU President Dan Mahony
"Finding the right chancellor is critically important. It's got to be the right person - there are some challenges here, but you've got to have someone who sees the opportunity, and who wants to be here for the long term. Stability is absolutely critical, both in my role and in the role of the chancellor. So to me, that's probably the biggest thing that I see in the next several weeks."
Mahony, who was selected in December, signed the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion Pledge on Monday. He says that should send a signal that he's serious about those issues across the SIU system. Mahony says he also is focused on a new strategic plan - something he started working on even before he took office.
"We had seven working groups that began working before I even got here, so I charged those groups and I think some are moving along very quickly. So I hope to have draft reports from all of them by the end of May, and that will feed into our strategic planning process."
Mahony says the strategic planning process will help all of SIU's campuses better focus their efforts. He says he wants to make sure he's accessible to students, faculty, and staff as well as the larger SIU community.
When it comes to funding questions and enrollment strategies, Mahony says those plans are taking shape and he's excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.
