A new Tiger on the scene

There's a new Tiger in town, one who goes by the name of Dynamite.

That nickname may be fortuitous, because the challenges facing Willie Larkin may require blowing up old formulas in the face of today's issues at Grambling State University.

Last week, Larkin started his work as GSU's new president after a yearlong search by the University of Louisiana System, and his resume would indicate he's up to the the job facing him. Grambling is at a crossroads, in need of an inspiring leader ready to settle in for a length of time sufficient to turn the ship around.

Larkin comes to Grambling after serving as chief of staff for the office of the president of Morgan State University. He handled internal auditing, the operations of the president's office and serves as the president's senior adviser.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have a special place in Larkin's heart. He started his academic journey at Tuskegee, where Charles Adams left to establish Grambling State University.

The former Kellogg Fellow earned his doctorate in agricultural education extension from Ohio State University, where he specialized in 4-H and Youth Development. He earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from Tuskegee University.

He comes in with a plan. He said increasing enrollment and generating new streams of revenue are top priorities for Grambling. His first 100 days on campus will be spent establishing a senior leadership team to evaluate strengths, weaknesses and needs throughout all departments.

He says he will devise a 10-year strategic plan the university can follow, saying the institution has a good plan, but he's looking for a great plan. Larkin knows he is stepping into a world of challenges at GSU, where years of state budget cuts and declining enrollment have resulted in a $3.7 million fiscal year deficit.

But his first act as president was to listen. On his first day, Larkin met with students and faculty. He was there to listen and discuss concerns they have about their university and the direction they hope to see it follow.

"They had concerns they wanted me to take a look at and they laid those things on the table and and we're going to take everything under advisement and consideration," Larkin said.

Students talked about the infrastructure, maintenance and beautification needs. But a lot of those concerns require finding revenue sources, which Larkin said would be a top focus. He said he arrived on campus with ideas but no formulated plan because that would mean people were left out of that plan.

That's encouraging. For the past year, the Faculty Senate has felt left out of the tough, and often unpopular, decisions made by interim President Cynthia Warrick. The Senate even voted no confidence in Warrick.

Larkin seems to understand the need to build coalitions, and that should endear him to the Grambling community. "Part of leadership is taking challenges and overcoming them, but I can't do it by myself. I will have to depend on the Grambling nation and I think the Grambling family can deliver on those," Larkin said.

Larkin takes the helm at a time when the Tiger suffers from injured pride: a forfeited football game after players walked out over inadequate facilities, a nursing program that lost its undergraduate standing because of poor performance on a graduate test to name two.

We welcome Larkin, whose oratorical skills as a motivational speaker earned him his "Dynamite" nickname, to northeastern Louisiana. We believe he understands the challenges ahead and look forward to his leadership in polishing up Grambling's national image.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star's editorial board, composed of General Manager and Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock, Engagement and Community Content Editor Hope Young, Watchdog and Storytelling Coach Mark Henderson and Business and Politics Reporter Greg Hilburn.