This is a unique time in Penn State history. We conducted searches for both a new President for the University and a head football coach. The men chosen for both of these important jobs have recently been announced. Who do you think is the more important hire for the university, the President or the head football coach? Discuss the merits of both and the reason for your choice.
After much consideration about the importance of both Eric Barron and James Franklin, I have come to realize that each is important in his own way and to a different group of people. Starting with Eric J. Barron, the newly appointed president of our university, I feel as though we could not have chosen any leader with better credentials. Ranging from previously teaching and leading the EMS Department of Penn State, to being president of Florida State University, Barron has experienced it all. Barron knows what it is like to be a part of the Penn State community, which comes along with the love, excitement, and wildness of our school since he taught here and had dean positions. However, he also knows what it entails to lead to a large university from his four years of experience at FSU. In my opinion, Barron was a more important hire for the university for the good of the university itself. I feel as though with Barron in the lead, our school will be able to flourish and to continue on to accomplish great things in the community while also staying on top academically.
James Franklin on the other hand, was the best possible choice we could have had not only for the good of our football program, but for the good of our student body. Franklin too is highly accredited for the position that he was awarded. Having three years of successful football coaching at Vanderbilt University, he is most definitely prepared for the position. Not only does Franklin have the skills needed to help our school win championships, but he also has the skills needed to make our team a family, to instill the right morals and to focus on more than just the sport itself. In just the few short weeks that Franklin has spent as our coach, he has already won the love and respect of the student body. Franklin has been positively involved in getting to know the students, in leading the football team, and even in making appearances to speak at THON.
Although it seems as though I should logically say that Barron was a more important hire because of his position as president, I truly feel as though Franklin will prove more important. I don’t think Franklin will be more important in the sense of what each man will accomplish, but I think that Franklin will have the connection with students that a university president with inevitably lack. I feel as though Franklin will become a face of Penn State due to our football program’s popularity and that he will become a role model for the student body. Overall, as a student of Penn State I believe that Barron will be of great importance for our school’s future, but that Franklin will be close to the students in many more ways.