Provost candidate interviewed at Northern

A candidate for second-incommand at Havre's university said her management style is hands-on and team-oriented. Ro s a l y n A n s t i n e Templeton said using a trialand- error style of implementing changes, without talking to people first, tends to lead to problems in the middle of the process. "Then you're taking 16 steps back to start over. You only do that one or two times before you figure out you have to start your conversations with the faculty and staff," she said during a public forum at Montana State University- Northern Monday. Templeton is a finalist for provost and vice chancellor at Northern, the position primarily in charge of academic issues. Provost Joe Callahan has announced his retirement effective June 30. The other finalist, Louis Dyer, was scheduled to be on campus today and hold a public forum at noon. Templeton is the executive d e an o f the Co l l e ge o f Education and Human Services at Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. She said she is interested in the position at Northern because she sees it as a good fit for her experience. "At this level I can use a lot of the skills I have used in the last 20 years teaching and in career development," she said. She said she likes some of the projects going on at Northern and thinks she can contribute to them, as well as making new connections to the community and to starting new projects. She added that she likes the smaller campus at Northern because that will allow her to learn the university and its population much more quickly. She also likes the public school system here, Templeton added. She has a daughter and two grandchildren who will be moving here with her, so that is of great interest to her. Templeton said she has no concerns about moving to a small town in rural Montana. "It's not going to be hard … for us because I come from rural Oregon," she said. "I grew up in a community of 1,400." She said her parents were small-business owners, and she grew up working for the family business in the rural community. "I think everybody in the family is excited about coming to Montana," she added. When asked about her position on the strong technical programs working side-by-side wi th the l iberal ar t s at Northern, Templeton said that is an attraction. "I was sold on the place before I arrived, and I have not been disappointed since I arrived," she said. She said she likes the kind of students who attend universities like Northern. They are serious, want to come to college and get to work, get their degree and go out and get a job, Templeton said. She said a primary concern for an institution like Northern has to be finding ways to attract students and to keep them here. The way to do that is with innovative and successful programs, she said. Creating, operating and sustaining those kinds of programs has to be faculty-driven, Templeton added. Templeton listed much of her experiences at other institutions, mostly Marshall, in answering many questions. One was on how to handle evertighter budgets. She said she is no stranger to that. This year Marshall was handed an order to cut 10 percent of its budget, with only a few months left in the fiscal year to do it. Then it was handed a budget for next year with another 10-percent cut, and an order to take another 10 percent to put in a special-contingency fund. She said she worked with faculty and staff to find ways to make the cuts while keeping the academic programs intact.