Provost candidate Strizich: Do what's right for students

Larry Strizich, the only candidate from Montana State University-Northern who was accepted into the final stages of the race to fill the provost position, was interviewed Friday at 2 p.m.

"If we're not doing what's right for the students, we're doing something wrong," was a sentence Strizich often returned to during his open interview.

Strizich, candidate to replace Rosalyn Templeton as Montana State University-Northern's provost and the current chair and professor of engineering technology and computer information at Northern, was the second candidate to speak at Hensler Auditorium and answer questions from the community and Northern faculty.

He was to be the third until William Baker, of Arizona Christian University, withdrew from the race.

Strizich said, if he were accepted into the provost position, he would continue to work with the people with whom he has been working with during his years as faculty and not above them as administration.

"I don't look upon anybody as working under me," Strizich said. "I am not the know-all, see-all guy."

He said the exchanges and relationships between administration and faculty should be in-depth and thorough in order to find success.

Strizich said he thinks the library is changing but still holds importance at the university.

"What I see is the library still being the center of research," Strizich said. "I spent a lot of time in libraries."

He said he also believes that "grants are pretty much the wave of the future."

"The funding mechanism is going to shift," Strizich said. "Funding is shifting from the private sector to grants."

He said there are many "tricks" to grant-writing and that he was acquainted with these tricks and the process of acquiring these funds.

An audience member asked Strizich what new and innovative ideas he had to bring to the table as provost.

"We need to go back to some traditional management ideas," Strizich said. "Deans should have control over their colleges."

He also said the relationship between the university and the Native American tribes needs to be strengthened, but he is unsure of what he or the university could do to achieve this.

Another idea he wants to act on is the extension of the technical sciences.

Strizich said one of the problems the university faces in the diminishing student body.

He said graduating high school students are not coming to Northern, so they must look elsewhere. The extension of the technical sciences and the relationship with the Indian reservations are two examples of areas the university could make improvements to help bring more students into MSU-N's programs.

Another audience member brought up the idea of "one of these candidates does not look like the other," in regards to Strizich' being the only candidate from MSU-N and also the only candidate who had not served in an administrative position before.

"I know our programs and our faculty, and they know me as well," Strizich said. "I think I have some sensibility."

He added the downside of his situation is he would be in a different, unfamiliar position.

"The fact is, I think I can step into the job and do a good job," Strizich said.

He said he would be 100 percent behind any candidate for the provost position who came in and "dazzled the council,"

"I'm one of a pool of really great candidates," he said.

An audience member asked Strizich how he felt about ultimatums.

"I don't like ultimatums," Strizich said. "'Do this or else'; that's very weak leadership. It leaves discussion out."

Strizich, on the subject of online education, said it is "very tough and puts all the responsibility on the students."

He suggested the university may want to create a course to teach students how to efficiently take online courses to combat this problem.

Trygve "Spike" Magelssen gave Strizich the same hypothetical situation he gave to Ronald Hy, the first candidate to go through the open interview.

The hypothetical situation is Strizich driving a four-wheel drive pickup in which he has a rope and a shovel. Strizich sees someone whose vehicle is stuck in the mud.

"What do you do?" Magelssen asked.

"Pull out my cellphone and take a picture," Strizich joked and then added: "Getting my truck stuck in the mud isn't going to help, but I'd certainly help that person."