Video by Cooper Slough
By GARRETT SAGER
Hays Post
Fort Hays State University is under new leadership as Dr. Andy Tompkins is now officially on campus to serve his role as interim president of FHSU.
The Kansas Board of Regents made the announcement Dec. 14 that Tompkins would be named interim president after the Nov. 23 resignation of Dr. Mirta Martin.
The conversation between Tompkins and the Regents was short, according to Tompkins, who said he really did not need to think about it that long — just needed to talk with his wife.
“This wasn’t a matter of saying ‘yes.’ This was a matter of doing the right thing,” Tompkins said. “I have this special affection for this institution, so it was easy for me.”
While he is is still getting settled into his new home and office, Tompkins said he about the opportunity he was given.
“I’m honored to have this chance of being in a interim role and help out,” Tompkins said. “I feel at home.”
Tompkins is a the former president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, a position he held for five years before retiring last year. It is because of that position that Tompkins says he has a good idea of what university presidents are supposed to do.
“I was at the board and worked with all the presidents. That was part of the role as CEO, so I do have a pretty good idea of things presidents have been doing,” Tompkins said.
His CEO position of KBOR also allowed him to get acquainted with different faculty and staff members at FHSU, including former FHSU President Dr. Edward Hammond. Tompkins also served on the search committee that hired Martin.
“I’ve know Dr. Hammond for a lot of years. … When we hired Dr. Martin, I was apart of the search committee so I was able to get to know more people because of that. And then there’s been people who have been very generous to the university that I have gotten to know of the years, some are faculty members here and former faculty members here, so it’s a nice start for me to have people that I at least know,” he said.
Tompkins is aware he takes over a role in which his predecessor left under troubling circumstance, but Tompkins would rather focus on the future rather than the past.
“The way I like to say this is, I don’t know anything about it and I really don’t want to know anything about it because there is not anything that I can do about it,” he said. “The only thing that I can do is try to help us be as good as we can be, move forward, and try to make sure we have this place as great as a place as it can be.”
Tompkins said his role as interim president is to make sure that faculty and students continue to like being at the university, make sure that previous goals set by FHSU stay on track, and to make sure that the university is ready for the next president when that time comes.
He knows there will be new challenges as the months progress, but is fully confident that he can handle those situations when they come to be.
Currently Tompkins is in discussions with the FHSU Student Government President Emily Brandt on scheduling a meet and greet with students, faculty, staff and the community.
He will be touring campus and visiting with different staff members to get better acquainted with the campus and faculty in preparation for the beginning of the second semester.