The SIU marching band announced Randy Dunn’s entrance as the media, administration and students welcomed him with loud applause and eager ears Thursday afternoon in the student services building.

Chancellor Rita Cheng introduced Dunn by welcoming him back to the university. Dunn previously worked at SIU as a professor in the college of education and human services beginning in 1995 and became department chair in 2000, before leaving to work with Rod Blagojevich.

“For some of you who may have followed the press in my leaving of (Youngstown State University) after eight months to come back home, it was fairly intense,” Dunn said. “But when you talk to individuals, and they understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, it’s very hard to begrudge anyone returning home for their dream job.”

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Dunn said he is excited to be back in Carbondale and wants to focus on making student’s voices heard.

“I really do hope that I’m reflective of a solid leadership that’s characterized by a number of words: inclusive, collaborative, democratic,” he said. “One that tries to pull people in to get many voices to guide decision making.”

The administration can better address campus issues by working together, Dunn said. He and the SIU Board of Trustees should be informed about important matters regarding each campus, he said.

Dunn said he wants to keep the university system operating efficiently and effectively.

“I use this old line, ‘the new normal is here’ and that’s in the little tripe cause we hear it everywhere but you know the great old days aren’t coming back in public higher education,” he said. “We are going to have to figure out how to be more nimble, responsive, maneuver better, set clear priorities and make sure we’re streamlined in our operations.”

The position as president is not to dictate or micromanage over the campuses, but rather to add value and build on the goals for both campuses, Dunn said. He said setting priorities as a system is vital.

“Research, technology is all part of that,” Dunn said. “But I’m not just talking about innovation in those fields, I’m talking social innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, innovative thinking across all these domains that we can have an impact on as a university system.”

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Dunn said improving the university in all aspects is significant because it serves as a model for other state universities.

“I have a firm belief that the best state universities in the country are those that are aligned, linked with their regions intricately, intimately and integrally,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what, there’s no place that holds that more so than SIU for the footprint it serves.”

Dunn said he is pleased to finally start as president after his and Rhonda’s move over Easter weekend.

“(Wednesday) was a zoo. We had a carpenter, a painter, an electrician and a plumber all bumping into one another in the house,” he said. “I was quite glad to get to work today.”