2008 Woodie Awards
New vice president of student life must be given time to succeed
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: Opinion
At the end of this month, Robert Watson, the current vice president of student life, will retire and leave his position to Constance Foley, who will officially take over the position July 1. Taking over a new position is hard enough already.
Trying to fill the shoes of somebody like Watson? Almost impossible.
Throughout his lifetime at Slippery Rock, Watson has exemplified what Slippery Rock strives to be in every sense of the term. He basically dedicated his entire life to not only this campus, but the town as well. Just go ask him about anything associated with the town or the university and there's a pretty good chance he'll know about it.
That's not all. Watson hung onto an important job at a time when cycling through the administration is more common than people might think. Just look at the top spot. Students graduating this spring did have a President Smith around when they first started in fall 2002. But it wasn't Robert Smith, it was G. Warren Smith. That was only four years ago. Four years is just a small chapter in Watson's experiences at Slippery Rock that total 34 years.
So why did we just list all of Watson's great attributes? This isn't a public relations piece about the man retiring. We're just trying to give perspective on the daunting task that Foley has. Watson set a high standard, not only for the position, but for others around him to follow and for his successor as well.
This just adds pressure to a job that has enough pressure as it is. Expectations for Foley will almost certainly be through the roof to keep the quality for the vice president of student life position at a high level. And those expectations won't come from just the administration; they will come from the students, the faculty and everybody who is associated with Slippery Rock University.
For the students who will be here, especially next year, there will be a major transition period. It will be a change for the entire campus community to not have Watson around as an official part of it. Patience will have to be exuded by all parties involved in this situation. It won't always be easy, but Foley needs support if the university is going to continue to thrive. Nobody achieves success on their own, and Foley won't be any different.
At The Rocket, we feel that the university will have to be patient with Foley in order for her to succeed and achieve the greatness that Watson had on this campus, and for which he will always be remembered.
Trying to fill the shoes of somebody like Watson? Almost impossible.
Throughout his lifetime at Slippery Rock, Watson has exemplified what Slippery Rock strives to be in every sense of the term. He basically dedicated his entire life to not only this campus, but the town as well. Just go ask him about anything associated with the town or the university and there's a pretty good chance he'll know about it.
That's not all. Watson hung onto an important job at a time when cycling through the administration is more common than people might think. Just look at the top spot. Students graduating this spring did have a President Smith around when they first started in fall 2002. But it wasn't Robert Smith, it was G. Warren Smith. That was only four years ago. Four years is just a small chapter in Watson's experiences at Slippery Rock that total 34 years.
So why did we just list all of Watson's great attributes? This isn't a public relations piece about the man retiring. We're just trying to give perspective on the daunting task that Foley has. Watson set a high standard, not only for the position, but for others around him to follow and for his successor as well.
This just adds pressure to a job that has enough pressure as it is. Expectations for Foley will almost certainly be through the roof to keep the quality for the vice president of student life position at a high level. And those expectations won't come from just the administration; they will come from the students, the faculty and everybody who is associated with Slippery Rock University.
For the students who will be here, especially next year, there will be a major transition period. It will be a change for the entire campus community to not have Watson around as an official part of it. Patience will have to be exuded by all parties involved in this situation. It won't always be easy, but Foley needs support if the university is going to continue to thrive. Nobody achieves success on their own, and Foley won't be any different.
At The Rocket, we feel that the university will have to be patient with Foley in order for her to succeed and achieve the greatness that Watson had on this campus, and for which he will always be remembered.
