Dr. William J. Lennox, Jr., the new president of the university has served and retired as a three-star lieutenant general in the United States Army; he served a total of 35 years. In 2001, he became superintendent of the United States Military Academy. He remained there until 2006 when he became senior vice president at Goodrich Cooperation.
Many students, faculty and staff, have questions and concerns about the new president and his plans for the university.
Concerning academics, Dr. Lennox said, “We’ve got to take a look at where we are and what people want.” He continues, “I think we’re going to do liberal arts, we’re going to do cyber, we’re going to do MBAs, across the board. People shouldn’t be so wed to one area that they close their minds to other opportunities. We’ll expand where we have to, and we’ll rely heavily on those like Dr. Nostanski in the future. I want to get you jobs, too.” Later on he said, “Our students are going to ask for certain things and those are the things that we’ve got to take a look at.
Besides academics, Dr. Lennox has plans to expand the campus and renovate some other the older residence halls.
“As most of you know, we’ve already bought some land to the West, and we’re going to take a look at how to develop that […] and I know as we do that we are going to look at some things like [the]dinning facility getting a little bit crowded, residence halls, some of them are getting a little bit old,” said Dr. Lennox, “Some of the residence halls need a lot of work right now. Marmion and Snyder should be upgraded, and that’s certainly part of the plan.”
Dr. Lennox gave a lot of credit to Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., the 9th and last president of the university.
“I want to continue to develop Saint Leo; Art Kirk did a fabulous job. He took us from very tough times in the 90s to where we are today. I think since 2008 I’ve seen a lot of development in terms of the buildings, the expansion with the numbers of people coming in and recognizing Saint Leo as a major university, I think, has grown, and I want to continue to do that.”
Along with expanding the campus, Dr. Lennox wants to work on the Saint Leo centers and online.
“We have to continue to grow, and that means to grow here on campus but that also to grow the centers and online…I’d like to reach out to people where they are,” said Dr. Lennox, “[I want to] offer people the services they need at the time they need it. I’m tired of people asking me, ‘where is Saint Leo?’ The answer is we’re in your home or wherever you want us. That’s something I’m going to work on.”
Dr. Lennox also wants to reach out to the military, so the soldiers can earn degrees in whatever way works best for them.
“We are looking at expanding to other military bases and knock on some doors saying ‘We’re Saint Leo, and we do this.’ And don’t forget the military moves from place to place so the more places we are at it benefits them in the sense that they can resume their degree, and they can now if it’s online, but [this way]it’s easier if they are used to going into a class room,” said Lennox.
Later on Dr. Lennox talked a little about himself and his background.
“I’ve had a military background, a business background, and an academic background. I look forward to working here.” He also said, “I had a great experience with literature and philosophy in my last couple years, and decided I wanted to go back and do that as part of the career pattern. I tell students now to keep their minds open. Just because you major in something doesn’t mean that that’s going to be your life. One of the statistics I’ve heard is 50 percent of people who major in an area never work in that area. Just be aware of that; you’re not locked in, you’ve got a great education here at Saint Leo, you’ll be able to do anything you want with the leadership, the commitment, the ethics you get here; the value system is almost as important as the academics.”
Dr. Lennox also wants to reach out to the alumni and get more people involved.
“We’ve got to get people to start thinking that they can be a part of Saint Leo. That’s what I will try to do. I want [the alumni]to feel like they can be a part of Saint Leo in the present and help the current students to have a better experience. I think that’s very important,” said Lennox; “we want to, first of all, get [the class of 1967]back together again, celebrate [their 50th anniversary], but also tie them with the University and tie them with some of you. I think getting them to know the current students is important.”
Although Dr. Lennox wants to get more people involved, it is not a pressing need.
“[While] so many colleges are on the brink of disaster, we’re not. We’re growing and we want to continue to do that,” said Lennox.
Dr. Lennox wants to look at more than academics and campus development.
“What I would like to do is develop in mind, body, and spirit. I think there are different things that fall under those categories. Mind would certainly be the academic, the body might be the teams, or the physical facilities like Bowman, and the spirit would be the S.E.R.V.E. trips and things where we’re doing to outreach,” said Lennox.
Dr. Lennox also stressed a lot about the Raise Your Hand Campaign. He wants students to know that they can get help with anything. No one should feel lost or stuck. There are people on campus to help.
“[Matriculation was changed this year to] introduce the new students to the different parts of the Learning Center and the Student Center where if you get into trouble, get over into Kirk Hall, raise your hand, get some help in whatever area you need help: financial, being away from home, falling behind in academics. We’ve also extended that out to faculty and staff so that if they see somebody that’s having a problem, we’ve told them to raise their hand, and get that person the help they need,” said Lennox.
The university’s tuition is something that Lennox prides himself on, particularly in regards to how valuable a deal it is for the students. He feels that students get a fantastic education for one of the lower tuitions in the area. He also wanted to make it clear that the school has no intention of increasing tuition dramatically in the coming years.
“We want to keep the low tuition compared to everybody out there. It’s really a bargain, and we’ve got to advertise that bargain. We want to get in the academic venue additional funds to give more financial aid and make it accessible for everybody. When we bring you in, we expect you to graduate,” said Lennox; “if it’s the financial aid aspect, then we ought to be able to help you in that regard. We’re focused on the student, that’s the strength of Saint Leo. So we developed some inaugural scholarships that we want to give out to people. Hopefully that’ll help people retain too because student success is important.”
When asked what he thought of the school’s core values, and whether they were important, Lennox said, “I think they’re critical. I think education is what occurs in the classroom; but it goes beyond that, and Saint Leo offers you not only the education, but the friendship of the faculty. We’re small enough in some ways to get to know the faculty, to get to learn from them inside and outside of the classroom. I love the fact that we put the core values everywhere on campus. I think they’re so critical. You can’t be a leader without those values.”
Lennox also feels the international community at the university is important, because it allows American students to learn about different cultures, and it gives students from around the world a chance to learn about America. Especially in relation to globalization, this worldly education is particularly important.
“The world that we have right now is so interrelated,” said Lennox; “everything that we do as a country is tied to what’s glint on in China, in Europe; across the world. If our students don’t come out of Saint Leo with an understanding of that, then we’ve failed.”
The athletic teams can also look forward to some participation from the school’s new president. He joked that he can be quite dangerous at sporting events, as he gets very passionate about his school’s teams. He then talked about how difficult it is to be an athlete, with how much they have to balance, and how it really matures a person.
“I’ve seen our athletes. They’re pretty darn good, not only in the athletic fields, but also in school,” said Lennox; “they carry a 3.2 average, which is significant. And number 8 among 300 colleges. Pretty significant when 13 out of 19 teams went to the NCAA, so we’re doing extremely well in that area.”
Lennox had some advice for students so that they could help lead the university along with him.
“I do expect you to be leaders and to learn leadership while you’re here. Stepping out and doing something is how you become a leader. We make mistakes if we go through it, but stepping out and leading is critically important,” said Lennox; “we’re working on our title nine issues and our sexual assault. I was seeing a number of campuses where […] people take leadership in that. Don’t leave somebody behind. You have to be careful about that. Take the warnings. Be aware of what you’re doing. Don’t drink, particularly if you’re underage. If you’re of age, fine, but don’t drink too much. In my experience, it is the alcohol that causes the most problems. That’s one leadership area that I think people can step out on.”
