SIUC’s new chancellor says closing the gap between faculty and students is the No. 1 priority for the University.

Building a sense of shared governance with faculty and students and creating new mechanisms to do that continue to be the major issues, said Jo Ann Argersinger, provost for the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The first thing I would want to do is meet with the different constituency groups and hear how their shared governance is working, and hear what changes may need to be made in that regard.

She was named chancellor at the March Board of Trustees’ meeting, chosen from a pool of four finalists. Argersinger, who will be in the Carbondale area this week to continue her search for a home, said she will make extensive efforts to get acquainted with students beginning July 1 when she officially moves into the office now occupied by Chancellor Donald Beggs

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I would like to have focus groups, and I will probably work with informal advisory groups, Argersinger said. I would like to have a diverse setting with a variety of students on campus. That includes meeting with the student government and greek organizations.

One topic she plans to discuss when she takes the reins is student research for both undergraduate and graduate students, which she said helps undergraduates advance to graduate school.

One of the things that make undergraduates successful is having intensive research experience, and that experience provides them with writing skills and political skills that course work can’t do by itself, Argersinger said.

The party school image of SIUC is one Argersinger never heard about, but she will emphasize a combination of academics and recreation for students to help ease that distinction.

Despite boiling tensions between the faculty union and the administration over contract negotiations, Argersinger said she looks forward to working closely with the union to maintain a positive relationship.

I know there are some tense moments, but I am hoping that is resolved shortly, Argersinger said. I will have an open and collaborative office. That has always been the way I have operated and will continue to operate.

Argersinger intends to teach history starting spring 1999 in addition to her chancellor duties. Her husband may join the teaching ranks as well.

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I intend to teach because I want to get to know the students firsthand, Argersinger said. The duties of the chancellor are pretty broad and involve fund raising and making friends. It is a very big job and will require working around the clock.

She wants to bring Phi Beta Kappa, a national honor society, to SIUC to place the University among the elite schools in the country.

If we create various scholarship opportunities and if we are successful in getting Phi Beta Kappa, that would be good, she said.

Argersinger was born in Birmingham, Ala. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from UMBC in 1974 and her master’s and doctorate in history from George Washington University in 1976 and 1980. She has been provost at UMBC since 1994.

Argersinger has published two books and several articles in various history journals.

She will earn $155,000 as chancellor with an additional $27,000 housing allowance, as well as use of a University vehicle.