Rita Cheng wants students, faculty and administrators to know that she may not always agree with what they say, but she will always listen.
Cheng, one of two finalists in the chancellor search, gave a presentation to the university community Thursday at the John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library and answered questions from various group leaders.
“I don’t always promise that people will agree 100 percent with my decisions, but I do promise that their voice will be heard,” Cheng said.
Cheng, who is the provost at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said she was first attracted to SIUC because of its similarities to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
During her time at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, research at the university has doubled, and both undergraduate and graduate enrollment has increased.
“We’ve done this in a time of declining budgets, and we’ve done this in a time where we haven’t had to lay off staff,” Cheng said.
Enrollment at the university went from 28,356 in fall 2006 to 30,275 in fall 2009. Cheng said a big reason for the increase was the Access to Success program, which is similar to SIUC’s Saluki First Year program.
Retention rates have also increased since Cheng was named provost in April 2005, going from 68.7 percent in 2005 to 72.6 percent in 2009.
“We didn’t want to bring students to our campus and them not be successful,” Cheng said.
Cheng said international enrollment is also an important issue.
Jane Adams, a professor in anthropology, said international students have been a big part of the university since World War II.
“That’s gone up and down at different times at the university depending on the administration,” Adams said.
Adams said she hoped Cheng would have a large focus on international enrollment.
Cheng, who is the former faculty athletics representative at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said athletics play a crucial role for the university.
“It’s an opportunity for the community to connect to the campus,” Cheng said. “Athletic programs that are ran well are an asset to the campus.”
Cheng said during her involvement with the athletics program, she helped to bring in Bo Ryan and Bruce Pearl to coach the basketball program and bring it to prominence. Ryan and Pearl are now the head basketball coaches at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Tennessee, respectively.
Priciliano Fabian, president of Undergraduate Student Government and member of the search committee, said he was impressed with Cheng’s presentation.
“I think she did absolutely amazing,” Fabian said. “She answered questions very appropriately.”
Cheng said the chancellor must have a strong ability to lead the university, and she could do that.
“It’s someone who has to be able to make the case for SIU wherever she goes,” Cheng said. “The fit of my experiences, and the tremendous amount of energy, time and effort is something I want to convey.”
Stile Smith can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 259 or sts34@siu.edu
