Editorial: Where’s Nagi?

The final candidates for president of the University of Toledo were announced last week, and as everyone excitedly checked who’s in the running, it was clear that one person was missing — Nagi Naganathan.

Our first editorial of the school year voiced the Independent Collegian’s support for the current interim president. We stepped out on a limb endorsing him so quickly, but over the course of the semester, he never lost our backing; if anything, he made more and more of us approve of him and his efforts to relate to students. That’s why the entire IC staff was incredibly surprised and disappointed to hear that he wasn’t included in the final presidential nominees. We were unable to get an interview with Naganathan for a story about his time as president.

The IC staff has respect for Naganathan because he has respect for us. The staff members who had the opportunity to meet him, even if only one time, were pleasantly surprised that Naganathan remembered their names and correctly addressed them the next time he spoke to them. That kind of mindfulness can be rare with upper-level administration, but that isn’t the case with Naganathan. He is genuine, charismatic and has an approachable demeanor.

Naganathan seemed like a great fit for UT president. He has worked at UT for nearly 30 years, proving himself as Dean of the College of Engineering for over 10 of those years.

Students traditionally don’t have much of a connection with the administration. Many students don’t even know who the decision makers at UT are or what they do, but after last semester, it was refreshing to see more students know Naganathan’s name. Communication within the university can be described as a pyramid structure where individuals most commonly talk primarily to the levels directly above and below them — students talk to faculty, faculty talks to faculty senate and the senate talks to the administration.

This dynamic was changed when Naganathan led walks around campus last fall, speaking with students and faculty in an initiative called “Walk with the President.” The program gave those who normally wouldn’t be able to have one-on-one conversations with any member of administration time to talk with UT’s top dog, the interim president. Students voiced their opinions, talked about their college experience and addressed their concerns about the university. Even when Naganathan was the dean of engineering, he also encouraged communication between himself and his students, a practice we will miss immensely.

We had an interim president who was more than well-liked and who bolstered the communication between students, faculty and administration, but now we have three new and unknown contenders who want to be president. Why Naganathan isn’t running is one of the top questions on our minds — and we’re sure we’re not alone.

We don’t know who is best of the nominees is or who we like the most, but we know we are sad to see Naganathan go.