Students feel ill-informed over leadership changes
But they have high expectations for the college's future president
By Johana Elmanová
Co-Editor
Though they feel insufficiently informed about the recent AAU management changes,
and the reasons behind them, students still seem to have high expectations that the school's
interim governing arrangement and then a new president by fall 2004 will offer solutions to
student issues.
Some expressed disappointment with the Board of Trustees' decision to turn over university
leadership to four vice presidents, who will govern the university's day-to-day affairs until a
new president takes over next fall. Some also expressed concern over the school having too
many administrators for its size. However, most students interviewed were hopeful that better
communication and cooperation between the university management and AAU students
would help the situation.
Asked to comment about the changes in the university management, Pavel Fidler, a 25-year-
old Czech humanities student, said, "I don't know anything -- the school hasn't informed me. I
think I should be informed about any changes, even if they do not affect me directly.
"The president definitely has a direct impact on the school as an entity, as he determines the
direction the school should follow," Fidler continued. He said AAU's new president should
have "a strong academic background and should expand the cooperation with other schools in
Europe and worldwide."
What are the direct benefits of having a new president or a vice president? It
depends, Fidler said. "Nobody knows what the president or a vice president does.
Will the president and vice presidents make a contribution to the study environment or to
students? Or does it mean the more vice presidents you have, the more computers?
"If that's the case," Fidler adds with a touch of irony in his voice, "I'm for it."
Students seemed confused, saying they didn't feel well informed about the
new management changes, which include the appointment of Kevin Capuder, chairman of the
School of Business Administration, as executive vice president and interim president, and the
assignment of a four-person Executive Committee to manage the university until a new
president is named. Besides Capuder, the committee will include Mitchell Young, vice
president for academic affairs, Petr Pajas, vice president for administration, and Martin
McGoldrick, vice president for institutional advancement and innovation. Petr Mateju, vice
president for research, a former member of Ex-Com, will no longer be a member, nor will the
recently resigned president, Joseph Drew, who now has been named chancellor.
How much authority will there be for members of the new management structure? "I don't
know if that changes their roles or just the title," says Kevin Fitzpatrick, 21, an American
AAU exchange student from New Jersey. "I don't know if that means that they have more
of a role in decision-making."
On the other hand, Andrew Knight, a 26-year-old Canadian and a first-year AAU
business student, is philosophical about the changes. "I guess they had to make a quick
decision," he said. "They can call themselves whatever they want as long as they're fulfilling
their tasks."
If they are uncertain about the present AAU administrative structure, students seem to
have a clear idea what their new president should be like. "He should play a
representative role for our students as well as for the outside surroundings, and should have a
an outstanding personality," says Marketa Fischerova, 22, a third-year Czech
humanities student.
According to Sasa Lemocka, 21, a first-year humanities student, the new president should
be "helpful and tolerant." Referring to the actual university structure, she said, "I think it is
too much and idle. The school is not that big to have so many vice presidents. One should
manage the work if he is responsible."
Renata Kysela, 27, a first-year humanities student, said presidential duties should
depend on "the president's job description," but she adds that students "should know who to
turn to with a particular problem and who is responsible for what."
AAU international students have their own priorities as to what they look for in a new
president. They often run into difficulties associated with being a foreigner in Prague and
hope the new president will find a solution to their frustrations. "I would like improvements
in social and health security, such as visa issues, to get help with accommodation, and so
forth," says Nikola Ivanovsky, 21, a first-year Macedonian humanities student. " If that
doesn't happen soon the students will take matters in their own hands. I will support [the new
president] if these issues will be taken care of."
Ivanovsky said the new president should be someone who has a better understanding of
students. To choose the right president, Ivanovsky said, "there should be elections where the
staff as well as the students would vote. That would be the most objective way." He added,
"The university is not just a staff. The university wouldn't exist without students."
Some students also expressed hope that a new president will solve problems of decision-
making and accountability among university instructors. Too often when a student asks a
direct question he doesn't get a direct answer, says Abby Kirsch, 23, a third-year American
exchange student from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. It would help "if the
president could make the school instructors accountable," Kirsch said.
Despite the confusion and concern among the students, the Student Council
seems to maintain a positive outlook, seeing problems from a different angle. "I believe that
the change in management of the school really doesn't influence students that much if every
staff member does their job properly," says council member Gorana Muftic, 20, a second-
year Macedonian humanities student."Since we couldn't get a new president so quickly, I
think that Kevin Capuder is the right person for it."
Mirka Klenova, the president of the Student Council and a third-year humanities
major, argues that the main problem lies in students and their lack of interest in university
affairs [See related story in this issue]. "Students are not interested in what's going on at
school," Klenova says.
Some students expressed little interest in the recent administrative changes. "I don't care
about it. I haven't experienced anything here yet, so I can't have any expectations," says first-
year Czech humanities student Filip Vostal, 20. The fourth-year Macedonian business student
Angel Atanasov, 22, adds, "I don't care about the change of the president. I usually don't
know what's going on because nothing exciting is happening at this school."
Asked whether there is any communication between the Student Council and
the college administration, Klenova said that "some matters that affect students directly
such as creating new contacts with the school or getting more space for classrooms" require
the council to work with the administration..
As to the changes in the school's management, there is very little that the Student Council can
do, according to Klenova.
Asked what is going on in the management of the school at the moment, Klenova
replied, "Nobody knows that."
Perhaps, she added, a new president can give a new direction to an institution. "We need a
person who would represent the school. He doesn't have to have any extra authority, but if he
represents us and is interested in what he does, then we could have progress. What matters is
that he is interested in this school regardless, regardless of his nationality, and that he
maintains the Anglo-American tradition."
--Johana Elmanova can be reached at johanaelmanova@yahoo.com
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Last issue date: Dec. 12, 2003
