During his first year in office, MacKinnon has worked on developing the strategic enrollment management plan, the University Transformation Office, Go Grants and other projects.

Central Michigan Life spoke with MacKinnon about his accomplishments so far and plans for the future. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

CM Life: What are the top three accomplishments as a president you’re most proud of?

MacKinnon: A lot of it was just understanding our history and our place, and again, our core values, and then understanding, potentially, where I could help lead some improvements. You always want to make an organization better if you're leading it. ... I'm very cautious of using the word “me” or “I”, because it's really, the board support, my leadership team support and a lot of these initiatives trickle all the way down to students, faculty or staff or alumni or other key partners.

I think creating an enrollment plan. The official name is a strategic enrollment management plan. That actually will be presented to the board in the November meeting.

We know enrollment’s been an area of concern for the university, and so a lot of effort on thinking about where do we want to be as a university, thinking about enrollment growth, how do we do a better job of marketing, (and) attracting students. So, I think that's a major accomplishment.

Secondly, I would think the main structural change I made at the university was creating a new unit called the University Transformation Office. I appointed our inaugural chief transformation officer, and so that unit was formed, really in the spring or the summer, was staffed up, and they're involved in a number of initiatives now.

The goal of that unit is to do things around project management, change management, make sure that we're more efficient, we do things better as a university, and that we really create this atmosphere where we're doing things that are novel and innovative as well.

November is the Native American Heritage Month. What are some of the things that CMU is doing right now to make the partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe stronger?

Building on my last question, as I was learning more about the history of CMU, (and) clearly, this is a point of pride. And it's not just the CMU Chippewa name for our athletic team; that goes much deeper than that.

One promise I made very early on was, in my first month, I wanted to meet with the leadership (of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe) here. I did that, I presented to the tribal council, I went over for lunch with Chief (Timothy) Davis, and had used that as a starting place.

And over the past year, if I reflect back, (on) many, many touch points with the Tribe in different activities. ... I think part of it was really just understanding that relationship. How do we make that even deeper and more meaningful moving forward? ... At CMU, we have an office of Indigenous Affairs, so we're already doing great work in the area. But again, looking at, what does the Tribe want in this relationship, how do we meet their needs?

If you go all the way back to 2002, CMU signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tribe, and that's a pretty historical document that really talked about how the relationship benefits both parties. And I want to make sure, certainly, as President, I'm honoring that MOU, that we're holding up our end of that agreement.

In July 2024, CMU announced the move of its College of Medicine to Saginaw. What stage is this project at currently?

Over the past year, we have made some significant progress on that move. We essentially had an independent assessment done of our fundraising. ... That was completed in December and January, (and) was presented to the Board in February. ... We also hired what's called an owner's rep. That's really an independent general contractor, who really represents you to building partners. So that was an open process to select that company. Kramer Management Group was selected.

And then once they were selected, we did an open process to select the architect. And so the architect was selected in June. The firm that was selected has built medical schools before, so we're really excited to work with them.

Right now, we are in the process of programming the building. Faculty, staff and students in the College of Medicine are working closely with the architect on that. That work should be completed by the end of the calendar year. The next phase, then, would be building design.

We have raised approximately $50 million out of the $100 million that's needed. We expect some significant other gifts to come in before the holiday break. We're well on our way to raising the money that's needed.

Then, once the money is raised and the building is designed, mapping out the timeline for the move. It's not something that's going to happen shortly. ... We're probably looking at least a four-year window until that move happens.

Looking into the near future, what are your top three things that you're hoping to improve at CMU?

One, just like I mentioned previously, is around enrollment. ... In November, the board will be looking at the strategic enrollment management plan. ... In the plan, there (are) 33 different strategies to improve enrollment, and so we'll be actively implementing those.

Earlier this year, we also did a review of CMU Innovation and Online. There were a number of strategies as well to improve our online presence, and certainly some of that overlaps with enrollment. It also looks at creating some new courses, online courses, taking some existing courses that are in person, and adding an online component as well. That also was one of my priorities for this year.

And of course, we have a strategic plan that guides our university that predates me. The board approved that in September of 2023, so one of my other goals for this year was to make progress on that plan.

Some of those items we've actually discussed in this conversation, such as community relations. ... There (are) things related to sustainability, to student success, community engagement and also creating a better culture.

That last piece is something that is a personal interest of mine. A lot of my research focuses on how do we create a workplace culture where people thrive, that helps us to recruit and retain the best faculty and staff, and also just helps us be known as a caring university.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

As a university president, every day is a different challenge, right? There (are) issues I can control and can't control. There are things that I just can't expect. But overall, I am so grateful.

Looking back at the past year, I feel like I'm here on purpose, for a purpose. It's been a wonderful fit for my wife and I. We feel embraced by this community, and every day, I'm just shocked at how many amazing things are going on at CMU.

Ultimately, as a president, yes, I want all of our students to cross the stage and to graduate, but I want their experience being here, of their journey, to also be noteworthy and memorable in a good way. ... I want people to know that this is where they can thrive, they can grow, they can blossom as an individual. But also, after they graduate, that relationship isn't over, that they're a part ... of our alumni family.

Q&A: MacKinnon reflects on his first year as CMU President

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