Editorial Note:
Corrections to this story –
This opinions story quoted an FAU press release that said incoming President-elect Mary Jane Saunders would have a meet-and-greet with students. This meet-and-greet did happen, but not at the time the UP was told.
The story also stated Saunders gave the UP reporter short answers. This is incorrect. Saunders did, in fact, give the reporter lengthy answers.
The UP spoke to Media Relations Assistant Vice President and Press Secretary Kristine Gobbo about Saunders’ availability to meet with student media. The quote was not clear and implied Saunders wasn’t available to meet with the student body. She did make herself available to all students during her visit. We regret the errors.
FAU’s president-elect, Mary Jane Saunders, is visiting the university from April 4 to 17. Even though one of the reasons she’s here is to get acquainted with the school, students shouldn’t expect to see much of her.
On Tuesday, April 6, at 9:37 a.m, I walked into the Live Oak Pavilion outside the Student Union of the Boca campus, expecting to ask Saunders six questions that would take five minutes of her time. The meet-and-greet I thought I was attending had been described as an event where “Dr. Saunders will attend, and meet-and-greet FAU staff and faculty,” as a press announcement said.
It was actually an awards ceremony focused on the recipients, and Saunders was buried somewhere in the audience, only meeting and greeting those in her immediate vicinity.
Trying to get the meet-and-greet I had hoped for, I sought out the closest person sporting a plastic engraved name badge — a sure sign of power. I explained my story to her, and she momentarily retreated into the audience, surely to fix the problem. But when she returned, she walked past me toward the makeshift coffee bar that was set up at the back of the room, grabbed herself a slice of cake and sat down.
A few moments later, Karen “Kat” Herisse, editor of UPTV, showed up bogged down by camera equipment, expecting a meet-and-greet.
FAU Press Secretary Kristine Gobbo explained that Saunders was on a “tight schedule,” and that the awards ceremony would run for a few more hours, with Saunders staying for the duration.
She encouraged me to try again at the 11:45 a.m. Student Government luncheon Saunders would visit. She said to show up early.
Kat and I went outside to figure out the situation and find a way to speak to Saunders. Half an hour into our phone call spree, Saunders walked out of the Pavilion with Mary Mertz, special assistant to the president, and Charles Brown, Senior VP of student affairs. Both are apparently keepers of the president.
I approached the three, told them I was a reporter, explained the mix-up and asked for a chance to speak with Saunders. I showed them my notebook with six one-sentence questions and asked if I could quickly interview Saunders as they walked to wherever it was they were going — not taking more than five minutes of her time.
Saunders looked at me with a smile and said that I’d have to ask Brown and Mertz. Brown looked at me like I had five heads, and Mertz said, “We might be able to maybe squeeze you in for the luncheon, but to be safe, just send me an e-mail for another day where we may be able to try to squeeze you into her packed schedule.”
The awards ceremony concluded at 10:35 a.m.
Kat showed up early for the luncheon, just as Gobbo had suggested. Kat called me at 11:23 a.m., confused as to why there was nobody setting up food for a luncheon that was supposed to begin at 11:45 a.m.
The event did start on time, and Kat managed to ask my six questions, but she received short answers. The luncheon itself contained around 10 students who were leaders of different organizations.
That evening, Gobbo explained to the UP that Tuesday was the only day Saunders had to meet with students during her two-week visit.
The closest Saunders got to the average student was through a fence when she threw the first pitch at the FAU vs. UM baseball game. Granted, Saunders did meet with some students during her visit: those at the Student Government luncheon, and those at the game.
It shocked me to learn how difficult it was to get ahold of Saunders when former President Frank T. Brogan was so easy to speak with.
In February, I tried the same approach to quickly speak with Brogan after the Dalai Lama’s speech and had a much different experience. Even though Brogan had never met me before, he was happy to answer my questions despite the fact that those around him stared at me like I had five heads too.
I don’t think that Saunders planned on the employee service awards being mislabeled as a meet-and-greet. Judging by her friendly smile, I’d assume she was willing to speak with me, but she was a victim of scheduling done by a university that doesn’t seem to care if students see their new president.
