Nontraditional candidate states case to be CSU president

Randy Hanna has come full circle -- at least symbolically.

He became a first-generation college student after growing up in Greensboro, Fla., a panhandle town of 700, where his father ran the state's last water-powered grist mill. Now, he is among the five remaining candidates to become president of the university in a 200,000-person city, where the hotel in which he is staying is a former grist mill.

"I consider myself very, very fortunate," Hanna told about 30 folks Monday in the Columbus State University Riverside Theatre Complex.

It was the second of two open forums for the public to hear him state his case and question him. A crowd of approximately 100 attended the first forum, in CSU's Center for Commerce and Technology.

Hanna was chancellor of the Florida College System (formerly known as the Florida Community College System) from 2011 through Dec. 31 of last year, when he resigned to pursue a university presidency while also returning to the Tallahassee, Fla., law firm Bryant Miller Olive, where worked for 27 years.

Before he obtained a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, a law degree from Florida State University and an MBA from Emory University, he paid his way through the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1981. He received a free room at the university's swine unit in exchange for being on call when the sows delivered their litters.

"I didn't come from poor beginnings," Hanna said, "but I come from hard-working people."

Hanna acknowledged he doesn't have the traditional background of a university president. However, he noted, he has served on the board of trustees for three higher education institutions: Tallahassee Community College, Florida A&M University and the University of West Florida. He also chaired the Florida State Board of Community Colleges.

"If you look at my lifetime of experience, I think I have the skill set," he said. "I think I'm prepared to do this job."

If he were selected, Hanna said, he would bring CSU experience not only in higher education but also business, finance, fundraising, economic development, legislative and government relations and community involvement.

"Today's president has to deal with all of those issues," he said. "Today's president does not spend all of his or her time on the campus."

A faculty member from the CSU Department of History and Geography asked Hanna what challenges he anticipates facing in the three to five years that she said were the average length of a presidency.

Before he answered, Hanna, 56, objected to the premise.

"My wife and I would not be coming here if we did not believe that this is a place that we could spend the rest of our professional career here," said Hanna, who was accompanied by his wife, Jerri, and daughter Grace Ellen, a high school senior.

Then he mentioned the following challenges: improving student success (as measured by retention and graduation rates), competing with other institutions, communicating with policymakers, and increasing faculty and staff compensation.

During his first year, Hanna said, he would try to meet as many community leaders as possible and reinforce the strong relationship with Fort Benning.

That faculty member also asked whether Hanna had any questions. He did indeed. He asked about the "emotional health" of CSU.

Alluding to the 2010 no-confidence vote two years into Tim Mescon's presidency, that faculty member said, "It's been a very challenging six years, I think, with leadership."

As a result, she said, she would like the next president to be "encouraging and respectful and direct about the problems."

Hanna responded, "One thing I can assure you is transparency and openness."

Here is the visitation schedule for the other candidates:

March 3-5: Al Romero, former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill.

March 8-10: Chris Markwood, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas.

March 10-12: Carl Stockton, provost and senior vice-president for academic affairs, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Texas.

March 15-17: Jose-Marie Griffiths, vice president for academic affairs, Bryant University, Smithfield, R.I.

Each visit includes two forums open to the public: at 2 p.m. in the CSU Center for Commerce and Technology on main campus; at 3:30 p.m. in the Riverside Theatre Complex on the RiverPark Campus. The rest of the forum dates are March 4, 9, 11 and 16.

Out of 60 applicants, the 17-member selection committee chose 11 to interview. Ten were interviewed last month in Atlanta, and five made the cut.

After the candidates visit campus, the committee will recommend 3-5, without ranking them, to the University System Board of Regents. The Special Regents' Search Committee will recommend an unspecified number of finalists to chancellor Hank Huckaby, who will recommend his top choice to the full board.

Mescon announced his retirement six months ago. He was CSU president for six years when he left Dec. 31 to move to Amsterdam and become senior vice president and chief officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.

Mescon is the fourth president in the 57-year history of CSU, which began as Columbus College. Thomas Whitley served from 1958-79, Francis Brooke from 1980-87 and Frank Brown from 1988-2008.

Tom Hackett, the CSU provost and vice president for academic affairs, has been serving as interim president.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow Mark on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Nontraditional candidate states case to be CSU president."