By Andres Felix Romero
For the first time, Cal Poly Humboldt’s acting and prospective interim President Michael E. Spagna sat down with Lumberjack reporters for an interview to discuss his character and leadership philosophy. This Q&A took place on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Welcome to Humboldt! Is there something you connect most with the campus?
“I have to tell you — the larger mission of this university. I love the fact that there’s forestry, there are fisheries, it’s very unique for this campus. [What I also] really love about this region is everybody’s so engaged: civic politicians, the students, alumni, everyone that I meet has either gone here or knows somebody that went here. So, this is a unique opportunity at Humboldt. When I was down in Los Angeles, you’re one of seven Cal State Universities. So, you know, people have different kinds of affiliations. But, here at Humboldt State, now Cal Poly Humboldt, [the community] is unique to this region.”
The Board of Trustees Votes next week to confirm your position as interim president. Do you want to be our interim president? Why?
“I absolutely want to be interim president … I’m a long-time educator, and so I know how important it is when you have these rare opportunities at a university to transform what the university is about.”
What have you done so far to integrate yourself into the community? What do you plan on doing in the future?
“First and foremost, I want to spend time in community with the faculty, the staff and the students. So, everything that I’ve tried to do over the first three weeks is to be in community with, especially, the students.”
“I also had the great honor of going to the student Experimental Film Fest this past Friday. It was great, it was 90 minutes of student films. And one of the assistant professors there invited me to a film, invited me to come and sit in and I just loved it. My wife was up visiting from Los Angeles, and we sat and saw all the student films.”
“The second thing is being in community with faculty. So, one thing that I’ve done there is I’ve really paid attention to being with the University Senate, and I’ve been to Senate exec meetings, and I’ve also been to full University Senate meetings with the faculty.”
“That’s what a modern president needs to do. You know, presidents in the Cal State system, you need to do both. You need to be in community with students and faculty and staff, and you also need to be in community with the outside leaders in the cities that we serve. I have a rule, which is; if I’m spending more than 30 minutes at my desk, I’m not doing my job.”
You have a lot of constituents to answer to. How do you plan on trying to hear everyone?
“I can’t do it alone, so I’m going to have to be in a community with other leaders on the campus. If you try and do it just by yourself, you’re never going to finish that. It’s going to be overwhelming. But if you wind up relying on others as part of leadership groups, then you can help.”
“So, for instance, this morning, I actually met with the head of Associated Students, the head of the Staff Council, the head of the University Senate, and the heads of a whole bunch of other groups on the campus. As a group together, we’re going to have to work together to repair relationships and restore trust in [the community].”
Last semester was a monumental event in our campus’ history. It resulted in some mistrust across campus. How do you plan to address this and rebuild trust within the community?
“My philosophy is, you’re going to have to do it at some level, one student, one staff, one faculty member at a time. You’re going to have to be in spaces where you’re supporting them. You’re listening to them. It all starts with active listening. ‘What was your experience? How did you experience it?’ We need to acknowledge [the individual experiences of the community].”
“Then we need to talk about, structurally, what do we need to do as a university to make sure that we honor the fact this university has a great history of advocacy and activism? The thing that was different in April was that I think communication broke down. Communication didn’t exist amongst all these groups; faculty, students, staff, leadership, and administration. So [communication] is going to be a big thing for me.”
“Recently, we had a situation where students had a vigil. There’s no substitute for being in community [with people], so I was there in case they have questions. At the end of the day, my job is as an educator, and so I’m there to try and be there for support.”
Being the campus President comes with lots of responsibilities. Most of all, people look to you regarding challenges on campus. How do you take care of yourself in preparation for these challenges?
“My regular therapy is really taking incredible joy in what the students are doing. And I just love that I don’t need respites from [education]. At the end of the day, we’re serving, in many cases, first generation students. This is transformative. So I celebrate with their families. It’s gonna sound weird, but I take such joy in those stories and what happens with students. That’s why I’ve never left teaching.”
Who would play you in a movie?
“I’ll tell you a funny story. In West Side Story, there’s a character named Tony. He was played by a guy named Richard Beamer. Richard Beamer later came to fame as the hotel owner in the show Twin Peaks. But, when I first went to Los Angeles, I walked into a flower shop and the person there said, ‘Can you please sing to me, Maria, because you look just like Tony from West Side Story!’”
What is your favorite food?
“I grew up on cheesesteaks and hoagies, so I love everything. My wife has a palate a millimeter wide. She won’t eat anything. I eat all foods; Thai food, Indian cuisine, sushi, sashimi, you name it. I’ll try and eat it.”
What is a place you would travel to if you didn’t need to worry about budget?
“Somewhere really off the beaten path, somewhere where I would not otherwise … I would probably say Tibet, just because in my mind, it’s this historical spiritual place. I’d love to just go and be there [rather than] other places that might be more opulent, more touristy, but I’d like to just get the energy from Tibet.”
One Comment
Great article! I enjoyed getting to see both a professional and personal side to the president in this.