On Sept. 18, Linfield’s new president, Mark Blegen, shared some of his hopes and plans for this coming year at the student town hall in the Richard and Lucille ICE Auditorium. The event drew very few attendees.
“One of the main things that I’m doing right now is getting ready for strategic planning, and so I will lead a process across campus that kind of asks the question, where do we wanna go as an institution?” said Blegen. “I will listen anywhere, anytime, anyplace, I will have formal conversations set up, some informal conversations, but I would like to invite all of you as students into that conversation as well.”
While Blegen is speaking generally, this is coming as a continuation of the administration’s ongoing efforts to balance the budget, which left students and faculty with a sense of uncertainty. The town hall was in large part held to quell this uncertainty and discuss what the university will look like on the other side of budget cuts and alterations. Not much has changed since previous discussions on the topic.
“Colleges all over the nation are wrestling with this,” said Provost Beth Concepción. We’re gonna look at what makes Linfield special, who makes Linfield special, and how we can work together to figure out what we need to do with our programs to make sure that we’re viable for the next 5 years, 10 years.”
Despite significant turnout in last year’s town hall, attendance at this one was limited, including only the ASLU cabinet and no more than five others. Some students might be craving something beyond this repetition.
“Students hear a lot of promises, but at some point, we want to see action that shows that the school is listening to our input and taking our perspectives into account,” said senior and marketing major Taylor Falconer. “Right now, it still feels hollow and like we’re sitting through the same conversations again and again.”
This is Blegen’s first year at Linfield, and with a new president will come changes. Many students, including Falconer, are optimistic.
“He seems very kind and involved with his effort to try to get to know students,” said Falconer. “A little effort goes a long way, and I think people appreciate that.”
