President-elect McCoy answers student questions in a broadcasted town-hall style conversation Wednesday night. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
President-Elect Mark McCoy and the heads of DePauw University student media gathered in a small radio studio Wednesday night to talk about big topics from his upcoming presidency, to diversity and inclusion, to student life and the Greencastle community. During the live broadcasted event facilitated by WGRE, The DePauw and D3TV, and moderated by Executive Director of Media Relations, Ken Owen, McCoy answered over 30 questions provided by students, faculty and the Greencastle community.
"We don't recruit students to DePauw. We recruit alumni," McCoy said when asked about DePauw's 75 percent graduation retention rate. “We want to make certain that you graduate.”
McCoy recently hired Anthony Jones, the current vice president of enrollent management at Fisk University, to fulfill the position of Vice President of Enrollment at DePauw. McCoy and Jones share the same sentiment that DePauw wants to recruit students here who will also graduate from DePauw and give back to the school--financially or otherwise.
In addition to improving graduation retention rates, McCoy is also passionate about bridging the gap between “price and cost” of a DePauw education. McCoy’s answers to questions about how he planned to make DePauw affordable included using endowment for scholarships and for people to realize the value of a DePauw education.
Prompted by a question about lowering tuition, the President-elect spoke frankly about DePauw’s business model.
“The small liberal arts college model was not designed by an economist, it was designed by an artist,” McCoy said, referencing the high cost for the university to provide a small teacher to student ratio.
Besides serious questions, McCoy also discussed more interesting things about himself. A Washington Post reader, McCoy describes himself as "painfully shy"—although his willingness to chat didn't make him seem that way Wednesday night.
Being a first-generation college student and the son of a coal miner, McCoy prides himself on bringing a new perspective to his role as president.
“I’m here to listen and be supportive to the best of my ability,” McCoy said when asked about what steps he will take to make sure marginalized groups on campus feel heard. He also expressed support of the social movements #BlackLivesMatter and #YesAllWomen.
“I’m proud of DePauw for being so focused on social justice,” McCoy said. “Are we doing this well? Not particularly. Are we trying? Yes we are. Can we do better? Yes we can. Will we? Yes we will.”
The President-elect also addressed accusations that he is standoffish. “I’m one of those people that really needs time to think and recharge in my head and I think that can come off as standoffish,” he said. McCoy plans to counteract his shyness by offering regular open office hours to facilitate better communication with students.
Despite his shy nature, many students still deemed McCoy less "likeable" than current University President Brian Casey. When asked what he thought about accusations that he was not entirely popular on campus, he shrugged it off.
"If my choice is, you're really great or you like me, just be really great and skip the liking me part," he said. He added that, upon entering as Dean, he removed a rule from the School of Music handbook which stated that students could not be required to practice, because he believed that if students did not practice then they would be hard-pressed to be the best musician they could be.
"This is not a popularity contest," he went on. "My job is not to make you like me. My job is to make you into the best musician I can make you." He said he plans to carry this mentality of seeking the best in his students over into the College of Liberal Arts.
When the conversation turned to Greek life on campus, McCoy had a mixed response: “I know very little about how Greek life operates,” he admitted.
McCoy’s naivety was not a condemnation of the Greek community; rather, he wants to see Greek life thrive.
“I want DePauw’s greek life to be the best in the world,” he said.
McCoy finished the talk by admitting his favorite Marvin’s order: a regular garlic cheese burger. He even recalled a story of Yo Yo Ma ordering Marvin’s as a late night snack to The Elms.
