Chancellor Mike Martin sat down with The Daily Reveille on Wednesday and discussed his future, the future of the University and what he’ll miss most when he leaves for Colorado later this year.
The Daily Reveille: In a conference call after Colorado State University named you its next Chancellor, you said the current budget crisis had an inverse relationship with your decision to take the job. Could you explain that further?
Martin: “The nation of higher education people know among the states under the most stress, Louisiana is at the top. Many more places are coming here to look for people than would otherwise be the case. This budget stress has really meant more that other universities are shopping for talent here.”
Martin cited former Dean of Business Eli Jones’ and former Art and Design Dean David Cronrath’s departure for other Universities without actively seeking another job.
“So the budget crisis didn’t cause me to look for a job, but it did cause people to be willing to call and see if I wanted one. And as I’ve said, I don’t want to run away from a challenge. But I put in four years of $102 million worth of budget cuts. I arrived just before [Hurricane] Gustav hit the campus, and it’s been one storm ever since. It does wear you out a little bit. So when someone does call, you’re slightly more inclined to say, ‘Let’s have a conversation.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
TDR: Are there any specific projects you’d like to complete before leaving?
Martin: “I want to make real progress on what we’re referring to as the Nicholson Gateway Project. I made a presentation to the Board of Supervisors last week. We need to change Nicholson Drive to make the housing better and to find other uses for that wonderful corridor.
We’re [also] just getting started on the two-year run-up to accreditation. I want to make sure we are well organized to deal with [that] before I leave. And then of course I want to help this group of people who I’ve come to have a great affection for here and do the best we can to establish a budget that can get us through the next fiscal year.”
TDR: You’ve mentioned Interim LSU System President William “Bill” Jenkins as a potential successor before. Has that changed or have you added anyone else to this list?
Martin: “I’m glad Bill is back. He had been here before he retired, so he knows the place well, and he cares about this place. Those are two important criteria. He is well received in this community and beyond. I know for a fact with the Board changing, Bill will be able to navigate those changes well on behalf of this campus. Because probably the biggest unknown right now is what this Board of Supervisors will look like in a few weeks. My sense is that Bill knew that coming in and maybe has some insight as to how the board is going to shape up. That relationship between the board and on-the-ground activities … is a tricky business, and Bill will be very good at it.
Even before I came here, I knew Bill Jenkins. He is a deeply devoted guy to this institution. You can’t beat that.
I also believe if you don’t have a great flagship, the rest of the fleet doesn’t matter much. I’m a graduate of two institutions in Minnesota – Minnesota State University at Mankato and the University of Minnesota. In that environment, I came to understand UMN was the symbol of educational quality for all of higher education in Minnesota. My alma mater, Mankato State, benefited from the fact that UMN was viewed as a great university.
So I hope everyone understands that if you want McNeese and Nicholls and Northwestern State and ULM all to be respected, it starts by having a highly respected flagship institution in your state.”
TDR: What will you miss the most about the University?
Martin: “The people. There’s no question. This is a wonderful place to work, with respect to the folks that work here. This University is a whole lot better than the people of Louisiana ever paid for it. It is effectively subsidized by the incredible commitment of the people that work here and the enormous passion of the people who care about it. I’m going to miss that on a day-to-day basis. And I’m really going to miss the students. I’ve really enjoyed the students I’ve gotten to know on this campus. I’ve said this to the governor, and I’ve said this to [Lamar Advertising CEO] Sean Reilly – the governor is a Brown graduate and Sean is a Harvard graduate – and I said I’ll stack our students up against any of the students coming through those schools. Elite or not, if that’s what you call the ‘elite’ graduates, ours are just as good. They may not be elitist, but they’re damn good.
TDR: What do you think or hope your legacy will be on campus?
Martin: “My fear is my legacy will largely be ‘He kept the place from sinking.’ In one way, that’s satisfying. In one way, I wish it were something more constructive.
I hope what I did was create an environment in which everyone feels valued. I came here believing whether you’re Miss Winnie at the gates on Dalrymple or any faculty member working in any great laboratory or classroom, that they know the University values them. That seemed to be an important thing to do – to make people understand how important they are. And I hope that’s part of my legacy. I tried really hard to get out and interact with people and in every instance try to send a message: What you do is appreciated. I hope that becomes the culture here.”
TDR: Any final thoughts?
Martin: “It’s a good life, but it’s been a hard time, and I worry about people here. It seems to have gotten through other desperate times, but this has been pretty rugged. You cut $102 million in state appropriations over three years when you started with $254 million. So you’re looking at 43 percent. That’s a big hit, and we’ve shifted a lot of it to students. And that’s a big adjustment, and even then we haven’t been able to fully fill the hole.
Maybe it’s forced us to be a little more efficient, but there’s only so much efficiency you can take before it starts to affect effectiveness, and in the end, that’s what this is about. So I’m going to keep making that case.
I’m not blaming anybody, but this state, and particularly higher education, is crying out for leadership: ‘Lead us out of this forest.'”
 
____ Contact Taylor Balkom at [email protected]