As Baker University’s new president and as the first woman to hold the position, Pat Long has already begun to make her mark on campus with the many plans she has for the university.

“I would like to see us be the premier liberal arts faith-based institution in this area,” Long said. “I want us to be the first-choice institution for students who are looking for a private university.”

Long said she is not sure that goal is too far off from where Baker stands currently, but she recognizes one significant downfall of the university.

“Our biggest weakness is funding,” she said. “We are working to keep tuition at a reasonable rate while still being able to complete the projects we have lined up.”

Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science Division Chair Jean Johnson has similar feelings about the university’s finances.

“I believe the university’s weaknesses are lack of time and lack of money,” Johnson said. “Everybody’s working really hard, but we don’t have the resources we would like to have.”

However, Long recognizes special strengths in the personal connections cultivated at Baker.

“Our strengths are in our people,” she said. “The commitment to Baker that our faculty, staff and alumni have is remarkable. Anyone who is connected with Baker has a special kind of bond to the university.”

Johnson also said the friendly atmosphere and the people at Baker are some of the university’s strongest assets.

“Our strengths are the personal connections that people make,” she said. “It’s great because we know the other faculty, and we know the students. We also have some excellent faculty who are very good teachers.”

Long said she sees the students as an exceptional strength of the university, as well.

“When our students leave here, we always hear they know how to think, write and communicate,” she said. “One of the things that we do very well here is critical thinking and communication in writing. Those are the hallmarks of what we do.”

Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Rand Ziegler said he has noticed several strengths in Long herself.

“She’s not a micromanager,” Ziegler said. “She will leave us to run our departments because she has confidence in us. She is very wise to get to know the lay of the land before changing things.”

Long is very intent on bringing success to Baker, Professor of History and Political Science Karen Exon said.

“Dr. Long appears to have a very strong set of skills,” Exon said. “She is interested in being the head cheerleader for the institution – and if the president is not the primary cheerleader, then what are they?”

Freshman Kaci Forsythe said she is impressed by how friendly and personable Long is.

“I feel like she cares about the students a lot,” Forsythe said. “She already knows my name.”

Ziegler also said Long has a strong interest in the students at Baker.

“She really wants to get in and know how students feel and think,” he said. “If she can’t make things happen for the students, it’s not because she doesn’t want to. She means every word she says.”

Long said she feels as though she has the assets to be a successful leader for this campus.

“I think I was chosen for this position because I am a good communicator,” she said. “I say a lot that I am not smart enough to run Baker University, but I know how to put people around a table, and together I think we can make a positive difference for this institution.”

However, Long said she was not always so confident in her abilities to lead Baker.

“There was a time between when I was announced as president and when I started, probably around the end of April, when I started wondering if I could do this job,” she said. “I realized the only way I can do this is like I did everything else in my life, which was doing the best I can do. All I can be is me, Pat Long, and hopefully that will be the best.”

Ziegler said Long’s way of leading the university is different from the approach of former president Dan Lambert.

“Dr. Long is not afraid to take risks,” Ziegler said. “She has a lot of ideas and perspectives that are fresh, and I believe the university is ready for change.”

Long said she attended a workshop for new university presidents, and the speaker said the average stay for a male president is seven years, but the stay is only five years for a woman.

“Personally, I want to be here long enough to see some things accomplished,” Long said. “I want to be here five or 10 years and see things happen. I don’t want to just talk about things. I want action.”

Long said she could tell Baker was a perfect fit for her almost immediately.

“When I first started thinking about looking at presidencies, one of my mentors told me to make a list of things I wanted in a school,” she said. “I really wanted a smaller school in a smaller town, I wanted a school that wasn’t in financial crisis, I wanted a school with good relationships between the president and the board, but most of all I wanted a school where students would be number one. If it were a faith-based institution, that would be a plus.”

Long said she and her husband, Dennis, drove to the Baker campus a few times before she applied for the job to see if they could envision themselves living in Baldwin City.

“We walked around the campus a few times and stopped in the chapel,” she said. “There was a student getting a tour, and I could imagine myself walking up to that student and saying, ‘Hi, I’m the president of Baker.’ It just felt right, like it was the right thing to say.”

Ziegler said he also thinks Long is in the right place.

“Every day I can trust her a little more,” he said. “Her vision and my interactions with her make me want to stay at Baker.”