(Editor’s Note: Radford University Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies Russell Gregory delved into his satirical persona of Professor F. Hill Thomas to offer this guest editorial.)

My friends have informed me that “there’s trouble at Radford U., that starts with T, which rhymes with P, and that stands for Penelope.” That same person told me that when P. Kyle interviewed for the position, she said she was a good manager (which needed to be substantiated) and a good manager could manage any concern.

Does that mean that a horse whisperer can tame a rhinoceros the same way? Seems to me you need to be acquainted with the nature of the beast.

I caught the drift of my friend’s comments; a change in leadership is required to not only get Radford U. back on track, but to point it toward excellence (and by extension, be an example to other institutions that have lost their bearings). I will gladly serve as president for five years as a transition to more long-term leadership.

Let me provide some commitments that will guide my presidency. First, I will see this appointment as service to the Commonwealth of Virginia so I will take no more salary or benefits than the Commonwealth allows. That frees foundation money for other purposes and so that the salary is not bloated. For me, education, whether as a teacher or an administrator, depends on a sense of vocation, a calling, where dedication to the goal and not job advancement remains in the forefront.

Second, the administration should be as lean as possible so that the learning aspect of the university, the teaching faculty, the students, and the context of that learning (learning centers, dorms, campus upkeep, and so on) may be supported in every way.

Third, I will be present on campus and interact with all segments of the Radford University community in addition to meeting with private citizens, public forums, and governmental agencies that will support the task of citizen appreciation through learning. I will also be a good neighbor to the larger community of Radford City, ever thankful for its past support and cognizant of its ongoing interaction with Radford University.

Fourth, I will move Radford toward being a writing campus, a campus where the liberal arts are stressed, especially as these disciplines instruct students in how to think, interpret, build points-of-view or provide cogent ideas (“argue” in the rhetorical sense), listen, revise, and  apply their perspectives in community.  When a student graduates, she should  be rooted as well as have the ability to branch out.

Fifth, and finally, I will not treat education like a business; I will not be a CEO; students are not consumers who “buy” knowledge. Education is an active process and as such moves by fits and starts so that the whole educational milieu must be arranged so that almost all of the functions are grist for learning.

College is a liminal or transitional period between dependence and independence/interdependence. Students get the luxury to focus as much as possible on developing their identities, their base of knowledge, their skills and knacks, and preliminarily bringing all their abilities to their peak so that they enter the wider world confident and competent.

Every attempt, particularly financial, to free the student so that learning is their primary responsibility and to provide for the best instruction possible, should be made. At the present, time is not on our side as Radford University remains unstable.  Would that President Kyle not allow R.U. to become P.U.; she should step down for the sake of the university and, indeed, the Commonwealth.

Professor F. Hill Thomas, Th.D
Emeritus Professor of Thinkology
Oz University (Home of the Fighting Munchkins!)
Chinese proverb — “If I’m not going to hell, who is?”