Chapman to stay
Students rally in Union
Students rallied in the Union Monday morning, their voices rising in one chant: “Don’t go, Joe.”
NDSU President Joseph Chapman heard them loud and clear.
“ I don’t think I can go,” he said, speaking from a second-floor balcony to the mass of students, faculty, staff and others who had gathered below. “There is so much more that we can do.”
The statement was met with chants of “Thank you, Joe.”
Chapman, a finalist for the president position at the University of Wyoming, then said that he had “to go make some phone calls.”
He had been scheduled to visit the University of Wyoming Thursday for interviews and public forums, officials announced Saturday.
Chapman said Monday, though, that there was much left to accomplish for the future of NDSU.
“ NDSU will be one of the great, great national land grant universities,” he said. “We’re already a great university, no question about that. But when you look at the momentum that we have and you look at the energy of this group, I don’t know how I could possibly say anything but, ‘I have to go make some phone calls.’”
Student leaders spoke at the rally, including Craig Kilber, former student president; Kevin Teigen, student president; and Matt Skoy, president of Campus Attractions. Skoy read a poem he wrote, while Teigen spoke of “Joe-mentum.”
Other students attended simply to show their support for Chapman.
“ I’m from Illinois, and four years ago, my friends back home had never heard of NDSU,” Nick Hewitt, a senior in pharmacy, said. “(Chapman) brought us to Division I and has done so much for the university … now all of my friends at home have heard of NDSU.”
Keith Koser, a senior in engineering, said he received an e-mail announcing the rally over the student Listserv and decided to attend to show his support.
Students across campus said Chapman would have been missed if he left the university.
“ It would seem weird not having him here,” Itunu Famakinwa, a senior majoring in French from Nigeria, said. “It would (have been) the end of an era.”
Every Thanksgiving, Chapman and his wife, Gale, host international students for dinner, Famakinwa said. The Chapmans were also the first to bring their car to be washed for a Hurricane Katrina relief fundraiser organized by the International Students Association, Laure Seguela, a graduate student in English and international student, said.
A Facebook group, “Don’t Go Joe,” was started early in the week.
Students were not the only ones who did not want to see Chapman leave; the head of North Dakota’s university system recently said he was approached by a member of the private sector about keeping Chapman at NDSU, according to The Associated Press.
“ I can confirm that I had an inquiry about what could be done,” Robert Potts, chancellor of the university system, said. “Other than that, I’ve sort of heard a rumor of the private sector wanting to do something to keep him here.”
In addition, Jim Miller, executive director of the NDSU Development Foundation, recently told The Forum that Chapman’s departure would hurt the current Momentum Campaign, which seeks to raise $75 million for the university.
“ He has such recognition around the country with our alums that it would really be a step back for us,” Miller said.
Chapman said that the student-led rally was “absolutely incredible and truly one of the great events” of his career.