KPU’s new president gets top marks

Why we love Alan Davis. 

By The Runner

Like Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, president Alan Davis had us at hello.

In the five months since Davis became president of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, we at The Runner have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like someone who has been in a string of failed relationships with inattentive or dismissive partners, when confronted with a president who might actually be a good match, we haven’t been sure how to react.

Davis has made genuine efforts to reach out to administration, to faculty, to the community, and perhaps most importantly, to students. Relations between the university and the KSA have never been stronger.

He disbanded the Presidential Ambassadorial Team, recognizing that the student body required broader and more democratic representation.

He also heard the concerns about diversity at Kwantlen raised by minority groups, and created a presidential committee to address them.

In marked contrast with certain past interim presidents who shall remain nameless, Davis has eschewed secrecy and embraced public debate and conversation; even taking to blogging and Twitter. Where former administrations worked in figuratively-closed rooms separated from the students they serve, he has taken the opposite tack.

Don’t let all of this praise get to your head, Mr. President. We still reserve the right to change our mind once the honeymoon period is over, or to criticize future presidential decisions we might not agree with.

But for now, we’re going to sit back and enjoy the honeymoon.