TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — June 1 marked Dr. Mike Godard’s first official day as President of Indiana State University (ISU).
Godard immediately went to work building relationships at ISU and in the community.
“When we’re successful as an institution, the community will be successful, and vice versa,” Godard said.
Community is something Godard strongly believes in.
“The plans are really simple,” Godard said. “I have to build authentic, trusting relationships, with community leaders, but also with the community as a whole. Our small businesses are so important to the health of the community, and we want to be a part of that,” he added.
He said the only way to build a relationship is to be around people.
“Both my wife and I, Kathryn, are committed to being in the community and being involved in the community,” he said. “But certainly, we need to listen to what the community needs and how we can be a good partner as an institution.”
Godard went on to say, “One thing that I’m committed to is making sure that I’m visible to students. That students know me by name. They’re able to see me at their events, that I’m engaged with them, and that I truly care about them.”
Godard said that, as an institution, creating partnerships will ensure that students get experiential learning opportunities.
“It’s all about our students having a pathway to be successful, and if we do that right, I believe those relationships in the community will continue to flourish,” he said. “But again, it’s on me as the leader of the institution to make sure that we build those bridges and we have those opportunities.”
He said, “When we talk about workforce and economic development, there’s no better way to provide economic development to the community, in my humble opinion, than to have an educated workforce.
Godard joins Indiana State amidst a declining enrollment.
“The demographics of higher education we know have changed a lot over the past few years,” he said. “No surprise, there are fewer graduating high school seniors. And we do find that fewer of those graduating high school seniors are deciding to go on and get a higher education degree. “
Godard said that ISU must focus on the student experience through strategic planning and informed decision-making to attract students while retaining current ones.
“Make sure that we close the backdoor,” he said. “What I mean by that is that when students enroll here at ISU, whether as first-time, full-time freshmen, transfer students, or graduate students, we provide them with every opportunity to be successful. We need to retain the students who are enrolled here and ensure that they complete their degrees in a timely manner.
Godard believes the job at ISU was the perfect fit for him. He believes his past experience in higher education made him an excellent candidate for the job.
