Olympic hopeful
pg. 8
Midwestern represented at Olympics Trials in volleyball
Improved Living
pg. 3
MSU dorm rooms were updated with new technology over the summer.
wichitan
ht e Wednesday — September 12, 2012
thewichitan.com — your campus / your news
Top administration no longer a ‘boy’s club’ By ROYLYKA ROACHE STAFF WRITER
Over the summer, Midwestern cracked a perceived “glass ceiling.” For the first time in MSU history, two women have taken top administrative positions. Betty Stewart replaced Alicia White as the provost and vice president of academic affairs after White became the Provost at the University of Texas at Tyler. Marilyn Fowlé replaced Juan Sandoval as vice president of business affairs and finance after Sandoval retired. Most universities have the stigma of being a “boy’s club,” but Fowlé said over the past few decades women have started progressing through the system. “My mother always told me to be able to take care of myself and not need to rely on a man,” she said. “She wanted me to be
independent. These morals have been instilled in me from young to have a career and be able to take care of myself.” Stewart said the cycle is changing and women are now prepared to take on leadership roles. Fowlé applied to the university about eight years ago, but was not selected. When she received the news about the opening of the position once again, she then re-applied and this time was successful at gaining the position. “I love the location of the university,” she said. “The students are great here, and the size of the school is great for me, because all of my experience has been with schools about this size, the fit was just good. This university has a lot of great pieces that fit my career path and experience level.” MSU is in great shape, Fowlé said.
“Facilities wise, the campus is very beautiful,” she said. “It has a certain style of architecture that has remained true over the years.” In regards to the university’s current budget, Fowlé stated the state of Texas has cut down and Midwestern is no different. “We’re not trying to reflect the cost on our students,” she said. “We’ve been trying to make cuts without increasing the tuition, however the enrollment at Midwestern is not growing either.” If enrollment can be increased, that will be a next avenue to make up for the state cuts. “Enrollment drives how much tuition and fees you bring in,” she said. “Enrollment is based on factors such as marketing, recruitment, university standards, etc. It’s like a domino effect.” Doing more with less is the
direction Fowlé is attempting to go. “Not raising fees exuberantly on the students is something I will definitely be working on the next few years,” Fowlé said. MSU’s budget is currently around 95 million. The state only provides about 20 percent of the budget. However, tuition, fees and donations are the two main incomes that help the other 80 percent of the budget. There are also expenditures that come in to play such as salaries and wages, which can take up to 50 percent of the budget. Fowlé said operating costs can only be trimmed so much. She hopes the university can reduce the cost of campus labor to increase savings of the budget. Stewart is no stranger to Midwestern. From 2006 to 2010,
Marilyn Fowlé and Betty Stewart. Photo by KIRSTEN CASKEY
Stewart was the Dean of Science and Math. Stewart was contacted by a search firm for the provost and academic affairs position. After discussing the idea with her family, and reminiscing on her four years as dean, Stewart said she decided to accept the offer.
“I had a good four years here and I wanted the opportunity to make a greater impact at this university in terms of leaderships,”
ADMIN pg. 3
Man exposes self at lake MSU launches social media campaign
Police warn joggers about Hispanic male seen near Sikes Lake By BRITTNEY COTTINGHAM Editor-in-chief
ERIN WRINKLE - STAFF WRITER Tweeting, commenting, posting and liking are just part of what graduate Matthew Steimel will be doing in his now full-time job pushing MSU’s online presence. His office in the Clark Student Center houses two desktop computers, one iPad, and one Droid Bionic to make sure he focuses on being as social as possible. Steimel is in charge of all of the Midwestern State platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. He is also in the works creating new platforms as well as maintaining the website. Steimel said even though it sounds like a fun job, he is always working to keep MSU students up to date. “I am constantly checking [the accounts],” he said. “I check them at least once an hour.” Midwestern’s main Facebook has 1704 friends and its Twitter page has 585 followers. Steimel said he tweets five tweets a day unless there is a big event Midwestern is hosting. He also interacts with its followers. His first priority he said, when using social media is to communicate with students. “Students want to feel invested in the university and for the university to feel invested in them,” Steimel said. Midwestern’s other goal for using social media is to promote school spirit. He retweets and shares the students’ positive experiences. From the student’s acceptance into college, to their experience at Spirit Days, and even their first night at the dorm, Steimel said MSU wants to recognize these experiences. “There are some great things happening,” the 22-yearold added. One of these accounts includes the University Development office. Steve Shipp, the Director of University Development wants to students to have an open door policy with his department. Although the secretary, Jeannette Perry is the “tweeter” Mr. Shipp is always ready to reach out in any MEDIA pg. 4 way he can. “The Facebook and
According to police chief Dan Williams, a man has exposed himself to female walkers on campus. The university notified students, faculty and staff Friday afternoon through the MSU ALERT system. “A female walker advised us of the subject,” Williams said. “He originally had not exposed himself, but was just acting suspicious and then the next report
that came in he had exposed himself to walkers.” It was later released that a Hispanic male between the age of 50-52 had exposed himself to female walkers and joggers on numerous occasions. In a statement released to students, Williams said the suspect has never approached any victims or attempted to contact the victims. The suspect, who has been seen driving a green Jeep Cherokee, normally parks off-campus near an office located on Plaza Parkway and stands outside of his car exposing himself. “Sometimes these individuals are very sporadic in when they
commit the crime and it may be nearly impossible to set up a sting to catch them,” Williams said. Williams, who has served as chief of police for two years, said this incident is not common for Midwestern. “It gave me comfort to know that, again, our police reacted decisively and quickly,” said president Jesse Rogers. “They do a commendable job of protecting out students and campus.” Campus police urge students, faculty, staff and the community to be aware of their surroundings, always carry a phone while on the Sikes Lake track and to immediately report anything suspicious.
Two colleges get new deans
New leaders take over business, science schools By MADISON STANFILL STAFF WRITER
With the start of every fall semester, there are new faces to be seen around campus. Some belong to freshmen, trying to find their way in this exciting world of college. Others belong to transfer students, who are just learning about the traditions of Midwestern State. The university this semester, however, welcomes two deans: Terry Patton, dean of the Dillard College and Lynn Little, dean of College of Science and Mathematics. Born in Dallas, but claiming Plano as his hometown, Little’s passion for academics is evident by the five academic degrees he holds, as well as a post-doctoral internship with Harvard Medical. “Going to school is a hobby,” Little joked. Although Little may be the new kid on the block at Midwestern State, he is not new to the realm of academia and the leadership roles. He has taught at six different universities through the course of his career, including Howard Payne University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
It was during his time at Howard Payne University that Little first became acquainted with president Jesse Rogers, when Rogers was an invited speaker. Little had visited MSU a year before while attending an EPA-compliance training, but the meeting with Rogers sealed his enchantment with MSU. “I fell in love with the campus and I felt that he [Rogers] would be a great person to work for,” Little said. “Then when I learned that the position of Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics was being advertised, I decided to apply.” In addition to his academic career, Little has worked with the State of Texas in the capability of the director of microbiological Services in Austin, as well as the Centers for Disease Control. Little said he has clear goals for the College of Science and Mathematics. “I want to see us [the College] enjoy steady growth while maintaining or increasing our quality in all areas,” Little said. “I want to see the faculty, staff and students receive the resources that they need to accomplish their individual and collective goals.”
As the dean of the Dillard College of Business Administration, practical experience is the name of the game for Patton. Serving as a professor at MSU for five years, Patton has teaching experience at both Texas Tech University and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and is already familiar face around the campus. With additional experience as a research manager at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and the new publication of his textbooks, Introduction to Government and Not-ForProfit Accounting, Patton said he knows how to be successful and how to be a key instrument in the growth of his students. Midwestern State’s continuous strive for the betterment of their students is what reinforced Patton’s interest in the university. “With the things we were doing to improve the education of our students, I saw this and thought that I would like to be a part of building something at this scale at a small university that will really help and effect our
DEANS pg. 4