Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1030484
31 FALL 2018 KF: In terms of free or largely reduced community college, any major pricing change will have an impact, especially if it prompts students who would have started at a four-year school to instead start at a two-year school. I believe that as a highly selective public college, TCNJ will be affected less than some other four-year colleges. The students who are inclined to apply here are thinking four years from the beginning. As for flat state funding, only about 20 to 25 percent of TCNJ's revenues now are coming through the state appropriation. We would love to see increases in state funding because it would signal support for and belief in the significance of public higher education and what it means for the economy and our civic life to have more college-educated people in New Jersey. There are other ways that a state could help a college, whether it's in access to grants, in contractual provisions, in compensation rules, through capital investment, or via access to bond markets. There are a number of ways that we will work closely with the state to make sure that the college continues to thrive. TM: How will you get started? KF: My immediate goals are to get to know the people and places of the college. I think the biggest misstep I could make would be to form opinions too soon. Beginnings involve soaking up a lot, taking in and synthesizing immense amounts of information. I find that intensely enjoyable, so for me, this is the honeymoon period. TM: I've heard you use the phrase "the tyranny of complacency." Will this be something you work to address early on? KF: It's something you work on all the time. It's my job to check our assumptions and our practices, to ensure the attitude isn't, "We found the recipe, and now we can just coast." Don't rest on your laurels. Rest somewhere else, but not there. Continuous improvement doesn't mean altering our core values, which go back to 1855. We should always be asking, What are the best decisions to make now and the best actions to take to make the future better? Foster strides into Green Hall's main entrance, with Quimby's Prairie at her back. "DON'T REST ON YOUR LAURELS. REST SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT NOT THERE."