Rao preparing for new challenge as university president

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University President Designate Michael Rao is spending July familiarizing himself with CMU’s campus.
And already, he likes what he sees.
“There’s such a noticeable friendliness here,” he said.
Rao was named CMU’s 12th president at the May 30 Board of Trustees meeting. He will act as president designate until Aug. 1, when University President Leonard Plachta will officially step aside from the position.
In the meantime, Rao’s office is temporarily located in a vacant room in Warriner Hall, and his family is living in Kewadin Village until the first week of August.
“It’s little, but it’s fine for right now, because frankly we’re just getting settled. We elected to eat with the students so we’re having meals at Robinson and Merrill,” he said.
While acquainting himself with the students, Rao said he sees a similarity between CMU’s students and those at Montana State University-Northern, where he was university chancellor for two years.
“I think the interests are very similar, but many of the students at Montana come from agricultural environments, they come from very small towns. I already get a feel for that here,” he said.
MSU-N’s University President Michael Malone died of a heart attack in December, and Rao said that change influenced his decision to leave the university.
“Michael Malone was without question one of my dearest friends,” he said. “When he died I have to tell you it changed some things … the pace really slowed.”
Rao said his position as chancellor was no longer challenging.
“It (the chancellor position) wasn’t going to necessarily make the best use of my energy at this point in time, and I knew that a bigger challenge was probably in the works,” he said.
“When I responded to the consultant’s request for my resumZ, at that time I think honestly what drew me was the opportunity for a challenge.”
Rao, 33, said he thinks of his relatively young age as an asset, rather than a hindrance.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “By this point, it’s not as much of an issue. I think it’s a real advantage.”
Energetically driven, Rao said his willingness to communicate, his experiences working with and building team efforts, and establishing education and business partnerships will help him be an effective university president.
“I think that CMU deserves to be more prominent than it sometimes sees itself.”
Recognizing students’ motivations for pursuing higher education is important, he said noting that most students are seeking an education in hopes of finding a well-paying job after graduation.
“If that’s what people are seeking and that’s one of the reasons that people are going to school, I think it’s important for us to acknowledge that,” he said.
In addition, “I’d like to try and shape the student as a person,” he said. “I’d like to try and help to give them access to learning experiences that will help them understand the world they are about to enter.”
Preparation for team work with diverse individuals is also necessary, he said.
His wife, Monica Rao, has been appointed as an ambassador by the board.
“Monica will report to the chair of the finance committee of the Board of Trustees,” he said.
“When I talked with the board, I did say it was important for my wife – who had many skills and was a professional – to find some work in Mount Pleasant,” he said.
Monica Rao has met with Director of International Education Guilan Wang and others to establish contacts.
“She wants to make it clear that despite the fact that she is married to me and I am in this position, she does not want to impose in any way on any of the offices,” Rao said.
“This is a good opportunity for Monica and she’s very grateful.”
Monica Rao will do most of her work from the president’s house on Forrest Lane, enabling her to act as ambassador as well as care for their infant son, Miguel.
“I think the board would like to see Monica not neglect our family,” Rao said.
“She will be visible at times and then there will be times when it’s not appropriate for Miguel to be involved,” he said. “That’s a bit of a cultural thing. We’re Indians, and Indians take their kids just about everywhere. It’s something that we may have to adjust to respect other cultures.”
Rao said he wants to continue pursuing some of Plachta’s projects, such as the campus building initiatives.
“I see no reason to change that,” he said.
One of his interests is making entrances to buildings more grand.
“I think things like entrances, although they are superficial without question, they definitely make clear that this is a great, grand place.”
Continuing to receive increased funding from the state is also one of Rao’s concerns.
“I want to be personally involved in continuing to raise our rank in the state in terms of per-student funding,” he said. “One of the best ways an institution can function is to not necessarily rely solely on enrollment growth, but also be able to rely on dollars per student.”
However, funding from the state should not be CMU’s only monetary resource, he said.
“I think probably equally important to our efforts to increase revenues from the state would be efforts to increase revenues from federal agencies and private entities,” he said.