President Dixon steps to the mic

People might have noticed the ads running in the Index asking readers to send in questions they would like to ask University President Barbara Dixon. Many students, and even some staff, responded. The time has come to see those questions answered, as Index reporter Sara James and Dixon discuss topics ranging from Facebook to the budget crunch.

James: How do you feel about the nickname 'Babs?' A lot of students wonder, "Can we call her that, or does she know that we call her that?"

Dixon: I have never been called that, and I've had nicknames. I don't like that name, I've had other nicknames. Nicknames usually come from your family and your high school. That's just never one that has been used.

James: Are you aware of Facebook?

Dixon: That's a Web kind of a thing.

James: Yes, students were just wondering, now that faculty and staff can get on it, if you would consider getting on it?

Dixon: No. ... I think it's something that's not a good thing for a university president.

James: What is your vision of Truman State in the next five years? What do you see happening here?

Dixon: I see a continuing of this continuous striving for excellence, not that we're not already an excellent institution, but some of the things I think we need to do ... first of all the vision is really just continuous improvement, that we will continue to develop our national reputation beyond the ratings. We have a very good reputation in higher [education] circles. Other people, other presidents across the country pay attention to ratings and things like that. We have some things that we can do to make our national presence more known to students, and that is by emphasizing what students do when they leave here.

If you look at the student vision document, the students and I agree on a lot of the things that we need to do. I think we need more flexibility for student choice in the curriculum. We do a lot of [study abroad and research experiences], but I would like to see every student be able to have those kinds of experiences. I hope we can increase our retention rate another 5 percent. So those are just some of the things. We have to continue, since we're only 20 years old, to evolve the public arts mission.

James: What is it like to fill the shoes of Jack Magruder?

Dixon: Well, when I came here one of the things I said is, "It's not just Jack Magruder, it's following a giant and a saint," - the giant being Charles McClain and the saint being Jack Magruder.

Someone gave me some great advice before I came and said, "I shouldn't try to fill the shoes, you should walk in your own shoes."

And so, when one follows two people that have been so important and so much for an institution, you really have to look around. That's why I took a year to look and talk with people to find out "What things do we really need to do?" And so, I don't know that I answered your question. I knew when I came that there were two people before me that were extraordinary people, and that my style would be different. Being the first woman president would make a difference.

James: How has being a woman impacted your life here? Have you had any difficulties or anything to overcome?

Dixon: I don't think so. It's hard to know. People react differently to a woman president. But I think there's a bigger weight on anyone who is a woman president, who is the first woman president. For example, if a male president came in after Charles McClain and Jack Magruder and failed, do you think it would ever stop the campus from hiring another male? If the first woman comes in and fails, do you think it might cause them to question whether or not a woman can do the job? Now that's a good question, not just for here, but that's a good question all the way around. There still, women are only 21 percent of college presidents.

So I feel ... a lot of responsibility for people like you, for women in general ... to hopefully not screw it up for them, so hopefully they'll have opportunities. Because every time some woman does come along and take a job for the first time and succeeds, it makes it easier for the next ones who come through.

James: Students are paying more tuition every year. Do you think we are getting more for our money here, at least just as good or better education?

Dixon: ... I think you're paying more tuition for a couple of things. You're paying more because the state is giving less. The state used to provide 70 percent, now it provides 50 percent for Truman. I think there are uncontrolled costs that we have, such as health insurance, etc. Are you getting a better education? How would you measure that? I think you're getting a very, very good, outstanding education for the value.

James: To what extent will the shifting of duties down to chairs and individual professors, with the new vision, hinder a professor's possibility of interacting with students?

Dixon: I think it will enhance it. ... I think if you put leadership closer to the faculty, first of all, the chairs are not full-time administrators, they're still faculty and would still teach. I think it creates a smaller unit, and smaller units can create a smaller family kind of thing. I don't think it will hinder a professor's ability to interact with students at all. ... I personally think that having more leadership closer to the faculty and students has the potential to making more connections for students with all of the professors in their major. I don't think that it will hurt it at all. This isn't anything that is in place yet.

James: What is the No. 1 thing you would like students to know about you?

Dixon: I don't know that I have a No. 1 thing. The only reason I'm in higher education is because I've always cared very deeply about the education of the next generation. ... I spend a lot of time doing what a lot of people think are bureaucratic things, and I don't get a lot of time to spend with the students. But almost everything I do is ultimately done in order to provide the best possible education that we can for the students, given the circumstances that we all have to work with here.