By Owen Kingsley
With his announcement to retire in the spring 2018, Quinnipiac has been searching for a new president to replace long standing President John Lahey.
In light of that search I asked four Quinnipiac students three simple questions to find out what they would like to see in their new president.
Lauren McGrath, Junior
What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?
“I am not a fan of President Lahey, he has made himself completely inaccessible to the students. I think he cares more about money than his students. I am very mad with the way he went about converting the Blackbox Theatre into the Catholic Center without telling all of the faculty of CAS (College of Arts and Science), or without telling anyone really. We are supposed to be non-denominational, he clearly doesn’t care about the arts.”
What qualities are important to you for a new president?
“Honestly just someone who is more accessible. I want to feel like I’m able to talk directly to him or her if I have a concern or issue that I think they can fix. I’m not asking for much when I just want to feel like my president is someone who can be reached.”
Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?
“Mark Thompson is a way better candidate, way more qualified and way more caring. And I think he would be an excellent choice for president.”
Chris Brachlow, Senior
What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?
“I think too many people don’t recognize the fact that he brought this school from a college to a university. He gave us a reputation. He put us on the map. We went from 2,000 students to 10,000 students under his reign. When people hear Quinnipiac now, I hear people think Quinnipiac is a pretty good school. Now I think he is plateauing and it’s time for him to leave, but what I think what he has done for Quinnipiac, well, we should all be grateful.”
What qualities are important to you for a new president?
“Really simply, I think the new president just needs to care about this school and want to see it continue to grow because that’s something we’ve seen a lot in the past few years.”
Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?
“I think Mark Thompson would make a great president, but I trust the school to make the right decision.”
Emma Spagnuolo, Junior
What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?
“To me he doesn’t really represent our school. I think you could compliment him on the growth of our school, but even when you look at it, we are growing way too quickly to the point where it feels we are scrambling every school year to make sure we can house every student and fit them in classrooms.”
What qualities are important to you for a new president?
“Someone who is caring and more concerned about the students than the endowment.”
Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?
“Mark Thompson for sure, I think he represents this school better than John Lahey does already.”
Tom Conley-Wilson, Junior
What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?
“He has kind of been a non-factor overall. I don’t care that he is leaving, I am not upset about it. He seems to be more in tune with making us look good rather than being good. The change in leadership should make us a better school overall. I understand he has done some good things for this school, but what has he done recently? I don’t think you can coast off the same achievements forever if you aren’t consistently proving that you should have this job.”
What qualities are important to you for a new president?
“I just hope they show their face more around campus. I want to feel like he is a member of the school in which he is president of. I don’t want to think of them as a figure head but rather getting involved hands on at this school.”
Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?
“Mark Thompson, baby.”
As Quinnipiac continues to search for a new president they have yet to tell us the names of the candidates but have said that there are five remaining, three men and two women.
The one consistency in my conversations with students was that vice president Mark Thompson is a popular guy.