By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
Dr. John Ronnau is a Kansas guy. After he was raised on a hog farm in St. Marys, Ronnau earned his political science degree from Kansas State and also has a graduate and doctorate degree in social work from the University of Kansas.
Before starting a career in higher education, Ronnau — one of five finalists for the position of Fort Hays State University provost — served as a social worker in Kansas City, Mo., for three years. He then earned his first professorship and has climbed the ranks of higher education over the course more than 20 years.He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, and said it’s time to project forward in his career.
“Having worked on the front lines of academia in several capacities, I truly do have a different perspective that I think will be valuable for a provost,” Ronnau said. “Fort Hays State University is a very intriguing institution, and I’m very impressed by what has been accomplished here. It seems like a very innovative and progressive institution.
“I have been very impressed by the internal and external community of the university,” he added. “People want the university to be successful, so they’re going to help the provost be successful.”
Ronnau has served as a faculty member, professor, chairman and as a dean during his career. Throughout the past decade, FHSU has been a leader in enrollment growth in the state of Kansas, and Ronnau said opportunities exist for continued growth at the university.
“If you’re going to grow, where is it going to come from and how are you going to adapt? We have to figure those things out,” Ronnau said. “That’s one of the things that makes FHSU a very progressive and innovative institution. You already have a nice mix of students on-campus, online and international.”
When it comes to defining success at both a student and university level, Ronnau noted it’s important for the university to obtain a strong reputation in order to prepare students for a successful post-graduate career.
“We’re in a time of tremendous global change and that’s having a major impact on higher education. The industries are changing so fast and what are marketable skills today might not be marketable tomorrow, so we need to learn to adapt,” Ronnau said. “You also want to prepare students to be better citizens, and I think that’s a major role of a liberal arts college.”
Due to the fact FHSU has been a staple among western Kansas communities for more than 100 years, Ronnau also said a a community like Hays should be able to embrace an institution like Fort Hays State. He emphasized community support is vital to an institution’s success.
“A university isn’t going to survive and certainly isn’t going to thrive without the support of a community,” Ronnau said. “That’s a real strength here — Hays and the surrounding region sees FHSU as value-added and, at the same time, it’s the university’s responsibility to give back to the community.”
While education becomes more vital throughout the 21st century, the longtime educator said accessibility is becoming one of the biggest challenges everyone who has a dream of going to college faces. He added it is the responsibility of the university to keep up with those demands and make programs as accessible as possible.
“It’s important that we have the right classes and a sufficient number of the right classes because the more hurdles we put in front of students, the less likely it is that they will succeed,” Ronnau said. “We have to be careful though that we don’t give up what’s valuable in higher education for the sake of expediency or simply getting student through. That is important, but the degrees are very demanding, and it takes time and commitment in order to properly prepare them.”