On Friday Jun. 4, current Interim Vice President for Frost Campus Manoj Patankar held his open forum as part of his candidacy for the permanent VP position.
The forum mainly consisted of members of the Saint Louis University community asking Patankar various questions. Quickly one main theme emerged in the question and answer session: Trust.
When asked how he would rebuild the trust he had allegedly lost from the faculty, Patankar responded by expressing that trust is not easily regained in a time of crisis. Nonetheless, the candidate expressed that once a supposed crisis had subsided he would take actions to work with the community.
“One of my actions would be to reach out to the community and talk to people,” Patankar said. “You must build trust from the ground up.”
Other concerns that the forum attendees brought to Patankar’s attention included the new Sustainability Center, administration transparency, international education and issues faced by the international student population.
Patankar was also faced with a question concerning the recent resignation of former Communication Department Chair Kathleen Farrell. Patankar responded by expressing that this was not an issue that should be discussed in a public forum.
When asked what an weakness of the University was, Patankar expressed that communication and collaboration between departments and University offices was a matter that should be dealt with.
“One significant weakness is [the] lack of synergy,” said Patankar, who stated that more partnership between departments was something he would like to see improved.
In a statement by Patankar at the conclusion of the forum, the candidate expressed that he was pleased with the forum and its content.
“The forum went very well. There was open and frank discussion with some hard and important questions.”
Patankar also responded to how he, if appointed, will deal with the SLU faculty’s lack of trust in himself and the administration—as evident by the Faculty Senate’s previous talks of taking a vote of no confidene.
“I will learn from the experience and how we need to spend time getting to know each other,” Patankar said. “But that’s their choice.”
