The second Cal Poly presidential candidate to visit campus, Carlo Montemagno, spoke today at three forums where students, faculty and community members were able to ask questions of Warren Baker’s potential successor.
Montemagno answered questions and touched on subjects ranging from Cal Poly’s success compared to the rest of the Cal State Universities, to campus diversity and students declaring a major before enrolling. He spoke several times about shared governance, or shared decision making between students and faculty.
Some attendees were interested in the candidate’s plans to extend Cal Poly’s reputation as a nationally-recognized institution. Chester Matkey, an industrial engineering senior and Poly Rep, asked Montemagno how he planned to make Cal Poly the “premier university in the country.”
Montemagno referred to the university’s current plan for its future.
“The plan doesn’t say what our objectives are yet,” Montemagno said. “Through shared governance we need to figure out the methods of measuring ourselves to identify what our needs are.”
Through shared governance, members of Cal Poly’s faculty and administration will be able to get a better grasp on what the university needs, he said.
Dave Christy, dean of the Orfalea College of Business, was one of faculty members in attendance. He said Montemagno, as well as the other two candidates, Dr. Sona K. Andrews and Dr. Steven R. Angle, aren’t at Cal Poly for students and faculty to interview them. The candidates are at Cal Poly in order to see if this would be a good fit for them, he said.
“What we want is for all three of the candidates to fall in love with Cal Poly,” Christy said. “That way, when the Board of Trustees makes its decision, the best one will want to come to Cal Poly.”