Marshall University would benefit from better recruiting practices and a marketing campaign that would elevate its profile in West Virginia and around the country, a Mississippi university administrator and candidate for the college's open presidency said Wednesday.
Jerome Gilbert, provost at Mississippi State University, said higher education has entered a competitive age where recruitment is difficult without "getting your name out there."
"But Marshall has a great opportunity to raise its profile," he said, noting similarities between his college and West Virginia's second largest public university.
Gilbert is one of three presidential finalists Marshall University officials are interviewing this week. On Wednesday, he met with students, faculty, staff and community members in South Charleston. He will be in Huntington Thursday.
While he said fundraising and generating additional resources for students would be his No. 1 priority should he be selected to be Marshall's 37th school chief, Gilbert said his administration would focus on marketing the university.
And he would do that by mirroring strategies used at Mississippi State University, where he said a marketing campaign recently was launched after years of the college "understating its excellence."
"We're highlighting the positives," he said, later adding that an important component of university outreach is sharing success stories of students, faculty and the Marshall community at large.
"The same thing needs to be done at Marshall."
Marshall recently launched its own marketing campaign that involved a website redesign as well as promotional material featuring the slogan, "Best. Decision. Ever."
Gilbert said if he becomes the next university president, he'd want to see more bragging about the school.
Part of his vision for elevating Marshall's profile also involves reaching out to high school students, providing more scholarships and engaging out-of-state and international students.
"We have to make coming here more attractive to students," he said.
Gilbert said that is one way the university can combat years of disinvestment in higher education, which in West Virginia is funded at decade-low levels.
State funding for Marshall has been reduced by nearly $9 million since 2013, and the university's budget likely will be reduced again this year due to across-the-board 4 percent cuts to most state agencies.
Following Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's budget cut announcement last week, Marshall interim President Gary White said the university budgeted conservatively, though it would have to absorb a possible $2 million loss in funding.
Should he become the next president and have to lobby state lawmakers to stem the loss of higher education revenue, Gilbert said he is ready for the challenge.
Other plans Gilbert highlighted on Wednesday included providing more resources for students who may drop out for financial reasons, creating a campus environment where everyone is focused on student success and forming more inter-institutional partnerships with universities in West Virginia and abroad.
He also said he would be active on campus and in the community.
"An important role of a president is being the face of the university," he said, later adding that he considers himself a "people person who likes to get out there."
In addition to being the university's spokesman to the foundation board and Board of Governors members and government agencies, Gilbert said he wants to be approachable to students, faculty and staff.
One more presidential candidate, Christopher Maples, will interview with university officials this week. Maples, president of the Oregon Institute of Technology, will also meet with students, faculty and staff on both Huntington and South Charleston campuses.
A full schedule of his visit, as well as copies of his and the other candidates' resumes, can be found at www.marshall.edu/presidential-search. Meetings on each campus will be broadcast online at www.marshall.edu/it/livestream for those who cannot attend.
The search for a president officially started in March when Marshall contracted with Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm AGB Search, Inc. The firm has been paid about $70,000.
A new president initially was scheduled to take office in August in time for the fall semester's start, but that deadline was pushed back in May after a search committee decided six candidates its members met with would not be brought back for finalist interviews.
A second round of six candidates were interviewed in September.
After the interviews end today, the search committee will consider which candidate will be recommended to the university board, which will make a final selection. The finalist must then be approved by the state Higher Education Policy Commission.
The new president is expected to join the university before the start of the spring semester in January.
Reach Samuel Speciale at sam.speciale@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @samueljspeciale on Twitter.