This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
SCHNELLE: Whenever you introduce yourself to the Pitt State staff in June, you outlined your goals for the university. I'm wondering, have those changed or remain the same since you've kind of talked to staff members?
NEWSOM: No, they really have not. I do not know if I'd say that those are necessarily goals. They're more of a philosophical foundation for how we want to make decisions at the core of how we make them. And that's really just that idea of student success, not only here at the university, but success when students graduate. We've and have had amazing success. And they owe that to Pittsburgh State University and their experience here as a student.
SCHNELLE: You also said that you were going to see some of the dorms and spaces that students rely on that needed work. Was there anything worth mentioning that you found during that tour?
NEWSOM: Toured a couple of dormitories. We helped with student move-in.ee some of the spaces, you know, as students were moving in. You know, there was not a surprise. We have challenges across the country at regional universities with the space, but I think we have gotten some facilities here that are newer. We also, I think, have some of our older spaces, much like most regional universities that need a little love, need a little attention, and we'll do that. We want to ensure that students are not distracted by their living environment or by the things they need just to be on campus.
SCHNELLE: What is your priority, I'm just using your first 100 days of your presidency. Looking forward, what is your priority as president of Pitt State?
NEWSOM: I think, would map out the first 30 days, and that would be to get to know our institution as well as I can.
And when I say that that means getting to know our faculty, our staff, our students, get to know our programs, getting to know what our culture is.
I'm working with my chief of staff to ensure I am scheduled for meetings with our department chairs, deans, and faculty so they can show me what they do. I think part of my job as president is to be the chief champion for Pittsburgh State, and I cannot be their champion both on the academic and non-academic side of our institution if I do not know about it. My priority for my first 30 days is just to listen and learn and get to know everybody and be more intimately educated on who we are as an institution in the university.
Yesterday was my first full day in the office and had lunch in the cafeteria.
That's an important space for our students. I went over there and wanted to make sure I had the same experience as students do in the cafeteria.
SCHNELLE: What do you want students to know about you and your style as a president?
NEWSOM: I'm approachable while I am the president and I have a significant amount of responsibility that I've been given by our regents and quite frankly by the taxpayers of the state of Kansas and that they matter.
One of the things I said in my opening statements is that it's important to me that we're a university that understands and adopts a true culture of student ready and that we understand that students all come from a different frame of reference. Students come to us from vastly different places with quite different understandings of what their expectations are in terms of what we should be as a university. And we need to meet them there.
And we should be a university that is prepared to meet those needs as best we can because that's what will lead to their success.
SCHNELLE: How are you liking Pittsburgh so far?
NEWSOM: It's fantastic. If anybody in Pittsburgh, Kansas takes for granted the collaboration and the relationship between the city and the university, then they need to see me because I need to tell them from a person that's brand-new coming in.It is just something that's fantastic. Pittsburgh State University is better when Pittsburgh, Kansas is better. And Pittsburgh, Kansas is better when Pittsburgh State University is better. But I am excited and eager to be a part of a community, I think, that really understands the importance of that.
