With a new academic year on the horizon, Manoj Patankar has spent the summer settling in as the Vice President for the Frost Campus. For Patankar, who was appointed to the permanent position after serving as interim from 2009-2010, this year will provide the chance to build relationships and form a strategic plan for Saint Louis University.
Patankar first came to SLU as an international student in the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. He graduated in 1992 and returned to Parks College as a faculty member a decade later. Patankar said that returning to Parks College was like going home. “[Returning] gave me an opportunity to give back to the school,” he said.
As a faculty member, Patankar developed a graduate program in aviation safety management that created an interdisciplinary approach to safety within the larger SLU community. “When you focus on safety across high consequence disciplines, whether it’s the cockpit or the hospital, you can bring a lot of people together academically,” Patankar said.
After being named dean of Parks College in 2007, he took a personal approach to the position and gave faculty and students the opportunity to voice complaints directly.

“If you’re not happy, tell me, and if you like something, go tell your friends,” Patankar said.
When Patankar was appointed as the interim vice president for the Frost Campus in 2009, he said he saw a unique opportunity to use his personal experience as both a SLU student and faculty member at a higher level.
“I had to think about what was important to me as a student, and I was a student here,” he said.
Patankar said he hopes to use the same personalized approach that helped him succeed as a dean when serving the vice president position, including connecting students with academic services, building mentoring systems and creating a strong partnership between the faculty and the administration.
Patankar said that strong communication will play a key role in his transition from interim vice president. “It is a two-way street. I am going to try to step up my communication and I’d like to invite other stakeholders to come forward as well,” Patankar said.
As the vice president for the Frost Campus, Patankar oversees all of the Frost academic units, University libraries, the division of enrollment management, the office of institutional research and the Reinert Center for Teaching Excellence, among other areas.
This year, Patankar hopes to have more opportunities to be among the faculty and connect on a more personal level. Patankar has requested that faculty members send him copies of their published works to keep in his office.
Patankar said that his future as vice president of the Frost Campus is ultimately about creating positive working relationships. “We need to make sure our intent is clear and that we are moving together to ensure that both faculty and students have a fulfilling experience.