Dr. Connie Ruhl-Smith, is an added bonus for EMU and the community. Ruhl-Smith has had her own long career in academia and promises to be a great asset to Michigan. “I think 25 years ago, this job was much more centralized,”
S
he says. “Now it’s much more decentralized. No modern university president can do day-to-day management of all the elements of a university and be successful. Every year, fundraising has become a more essential element of who we are as president. “Also, shaping the message about the university is much
more important than it was a decade or two ago. I spent a lot of my time at Northern with state legislators and governors— and potential investors—giving that six- to seven-minute speech about who we are as a university. We’re asked to be more branding agents than we’ve ever been before.” Being able to evolve as needs dictate is crucial, and
Smith has done that from the beginning of his career as an elementary school teacher throughout his path to his position as NSU president in 2009. In between, he focused on educational leadership, development, faculty and student initiatives, and encouraging an international presence on campus. NSU, a small school with 3,500 students, saw the fruits of
this myriad, multi-faceted journey. Says Hawley, “Te first thing he did at NSU was wisely establish a strategic plan that was his. Te University had not had an updated strategic plan for a number of years. He worked hard the first few years to establish strong recruitment, graduation and retention rates.” Hawley notes the major “internationalization of the campus.” Ruhl-Smith, who was NSU’s director of special initiatives, was key in this effort. Smith also brought in the school’s largest-ever giſt of $15
million, and oversaw the building of a major new athletic facility, an extension of the fine arts center, and the updating of dormitories. Hawley says the Aberdeen community deeply respected
and liked Smith. Te local paper described Smith’s “charismatic and forward-thinking leadership,” adding that the news of his departure “came as a gut-punch to many faculty and staff.” Tat Ruhl-Smith would be leaving also was a “double blow.”
mith’s experience in a variety of roles at a variety of universities, and his understanding of how the role of university president has changed, make him what many feel is the “perfect fit” for EMU. And his wife,
18 | SUMMER 2016 | EASTERN MAGAZINE
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