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Only finalist for U of M President makes first campus visit, outlines priorities

From campus diversity to "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck", Joan Gabel shared her thoughts on many topics as she readies herself to become the first female to lead the University of Minnesota.

Minneapolis - As the only finalist for the job, Joan Gabel knows she could soon make history as the 17th President of the University of Minnesota.

"This University has not had a woman president before, and I think it is delightful that that may change," Gabel said, as she addressed a crowd of students, alumni and staff inside Coffman Union on Monday. "But, I think what's also important is, what do you do once you're in the job?"

Gabel, currently Provost at the University of South Carolina, also acknowledged her unique position, as the only finalist for the job and the only candidate to be named publicly.

"I can only speak for myself, I actually don't have any idea who the other finalists were," Babel said. "With great thought and purposeful attention, I chose to participate in the process publicly, regardless of if I was the sole finalist or not. I do believe in the transparency of the process, I want to make myself available to the different constituencies across the state and that's exactly, as you all know, what we're doing."

Gabel will spend the next few days traveling to every University of Minnesota campus in the state. She will hold public forums in Morris and Crookston on Tuesday. She goes to Duluth on Thursday and to Rochester on Thursday.

Her formal interview with the Board of Regents will take place on Friday. A date and time for a final vote has not been decided.

She will make a stop and answer public questions at each of the five UofM Universities this week.

On Friday, formal interview with the Board of Regents. Decision could come any time after that.

"I want to serve the University of Minnesota for as long as I'm making a positive difference," Gabel said, during a news conference on Monday.

She said one of the biggest challenges she'll face as President will be to strike a balance that best serves the people of the state.

"How you keep costs low, while making strategic investments in excellence when there are limited resources," she said. "I know that the partnership with the legislature has been positive and is primed to deepen in the next session, and I really look forward to those contributions and conversations."

Gabel says she's also enthusiastic about exploring alternative funding sources that fit the mission of the university because she says tuition needs to remain competitive.

"We have the combined needs of making sure that education here is accessible, but also making sure that the best and brightest choose us and that is something that intersects in pricing," she said.

Prior to speaking with the media, Gabel addressed a number of topics during the public forum.

When asked about campus diversity, Gabel said the University of South Caroline worked to hire Chief Diversity Officers across all departments.

"I believe in ensuring that there are really strong pipelines into various communities, so that the student body is representative of the population of the state, that the faculty and staff are representative of the population of the state," Gabel said. "We are not there yet, where I am now, but we have made discernable progress."

When asked about how to address the mental health crises on campuses throughout the country, Gabel said she believed that schools need to invest more in resources. At South Carolina, she said they hired more counselors, made it easier for students to make appointments, and worked to increase faculty education. She said faculty and staff often see warning signs and can help point students in the right direction.

Gabel described her leadership style as someone who likes to work collaboratively because she can't know everything about such a complex job.

"You surround yourself with really smart people, who balance each other well, balance you well, care about the institution," she said. "And then you let them do their job."

Members of the public wanted to know what Gabel would do about sexual misconduct and assault on campus. She acknowledged that the federal government has been changing the requirements for universities, according to Title IX. Regardless of what happens with that kind of compliance, she said resources should be focused on prevention and support.

"The only acceptable outcome is zero, meaning zero assaults," Gabel said. "Getting up to speed as quickly as possible on what it means to do the right thing, in terms of prevention and support, and do the right thing, legally, and make sure that they are aligned with each other."

Gabel said she she feels strongly about the role universities play in educating the general public and strengthening democracy.

"I want to create forums... for people to share their expertise, so that they are informed and can explore their own curiosity with information, rather than guessing and forming opinions based on something other than information," she said.

When asked about the role of college athletics, Gabel said the sports programs have an ability to expose new people to the University.

"They create a front porch of visibility for the university so that people, who may not otherwise talk about discovery, innovation, instruction, curriculum... are there and can be spoken to," she said. "Is it the most important thing that the University does? No. But is it an incredible opportunity for the University when it's done well? Absolutely, yes. Do we want to make sure that our student athletes are well instructed, prepared for life after competition, safe? Yes. I think that all those things can very happily co-exist."

Gabel acknowledged that she does not have any direct ties to Minnesota, but she says she does have some family in the state and that their positive experience here, played a role in her pursing the job.

"I do own a coat and heavy boots," she said. "And I do like four seasons."

For her final question, Gabel was quizzed about the name of a certain children's game.

"Duck, duck... what comes next?" the moderator said.

"Can I say Ski-U-Mah instead?" Gabel joked. "And go Gophers."

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