After more than a decade of working with Lou Anna Simon as his second-in-charge, MSU President Peter McPherson championed the MSU provost as the best person to take over his job
Simon brings ideas, McPherson says
CHRIS HOLMES/Lansing State Journal
Caption: New leader: Michigan State University Provost Lou Anna Simon is congratulated Friday by President Peter McPherson after it was announced she had been chosen as MSU's next president.
By Sharon Terlep
Lansing State Journal
EAST LANSING - After more than a decade of working with Lou Anna Simon as his second-in-charge, MSU President Peter McPherson championed the MSU provost as the best person to take over his job.
McPherson offers the following thoughts on Simon:
# Why should Simon be the next president?
# She's got a knowledge of the university that almost no president comes to a job with. She's a very strong administrator. She understands how pieces fit together and knows how to get the job done.
She is very much the land-grant person - deeply interested in land use, high schools and K-12 education. She sees MSU through this land-grant mission.
And she has lots of ideas. You've got to have new ideas because things keep changing.
# What will be difficult for Simon as president?
# She can't be the provost and the president. She just won't have time to do things she's been doing all these years and is so good at. She will now need to do the functions that I've had, and she'll have a provost who will do the things she's been doing. Some of that will be different because there's some outside engagements. This job is not just becoming a senior provost ... it's becoming a president.
# What are the differences between you and Simon?
# Her knowledge of the institution. The experience here. I brought a lot of experience in managing huge institutions. She's had experience managing this institution.
We didn't always agree. When she doesn't agree, she tells you.
# Will she have support from the faculty?
# She has lots of support from faculty. The faculty is diverse. Budget cuts are hard. You can't be on the line reducing budgets and have everyone be happy.
There is a broad appreciation for her competence and commitment to this institution.
Contact Sharon Terlep at 377-1066 or sterlep@lsj.com.
