As the semester unfolds and we start asking the University’s administrators to give us information about the changes they’re planning, we have to wonder if our interim chancellor and new provost will give us straightfoward answers, or if we’ll have to dig around them. The Daily Reveille has profiled the two new top faces at the University – William “Bill” Jenkins and Stuart Bell – these past two days as a way to acquaint students with the two men who decide which academic programs the University offers, the amount of tuition students will pay and which professors lose their jobs if a huge budget cut strikes the University. We’ve learned a lot about them: the South African-Roman Catholic Jenkins who never asked for a top job and the former Aggie Bell with a penchant for building things. We know who they are. But what will they do? And will they give us answers that aren’t dripping with “love purple, live gold” when we roll up our sleeves and ask them about the serious implications of higher education in the state? As an interim, it’s unlikely Jenkins will change much during his time back at the University. But Bell, who holds the executive vice chancellor and provost position formerly occupied by Jack Hamilton, isn’t exactly walking into a “dream job.” Hamilton’s time in the position included laying off employees, closing programs and merging others. The University’s communications strategy regarding budget cuts was loud and clear under former Chancellor Michael Martin and Hamilton’s reign: always highlight just how bad the cuts could possibly get, but then make sure they’re nowhere near that bad. Your cut then looks much smaller after you’ve said what it could have been. Then there’s former System President John Lombardi, a man known for his blunt tones and suspected of partaking in many closed-door meetings. Will we get more of the same with Bell, Jenkins and whichever other person permanently takes the chancellor and system president positions? How will we know what’s actually happening at the University? We have new administrators now, so there should be a new game to play. We’re hoping Jenkins and Bell will put students first and seriously consider the necessity of tuition and fee increases. One responsibility they will face is attracting the best and brightest at the University. How possible is that when we’re taking budget cut after budget cut? What kind of professors want to come here when they see that raises have been off the table for years? How can students afford to come here when their scholarships are taken away on top of their tuition increasing? We’re looking forward to hearing their answers on these topics, but not if we have to decipher every word of them. It’s time for transparency at the University, in the halls of Thomas Boyd and in the dealings with students. If Jenkins and Bell are true leaders, they’ll bring it. ____ Contact The Daily Reveille’s editorial board at [email protected]