Sierra Hubbard, Editor-in-Chief
In an interview Friday, Oct. 14, Sam Olens addressed some of the concerns of students and faculty after the Board of Regents appointed him as the next president of Kennesaw State University, effective Nov. 1.
Olens said he is no stranger to the KSU community.
“I’ve actually done four commencement addresses between Southern Poly, when it was a separate university, and here,” Olens said. “I’m very comfortable around the campus.”
Olens has faced plenty of opposition from students and faculty over the past two weeks. The LGBT community has led many protests, concerned about the attorney general’s lawsuits filed against the mandate that transgender students be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.
He also defended Georgia’s ban on gay marriage before the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
“There’s a group of faculty and students that dislike the fact that I defended state law, but that’s my job,” Olens said. “I think the far more important part is that, when the Supreme Court ruled that the state law wasn’t constitutional, then I immediately got in fifth gear and told everyone to follow the law.”
He explained that he feels like he is being persecuted for doing what he was supposed to do.
“I feel frustrated because, as the state’s lawyer, it’s my job to defend state law,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I agree with it or don’t agree with it. It means I’m following my oath of office.”
Some protesters have expressed concerns about losing the many resources available to LGBT students on both campuses.
“There will be zero changes in those areas,” Olens said. “And frankly, I wish one of the leaders would have emailed me … I would’ve then had the opportunity to respond and say, ‘Of course not.’”
The second point of contention for many who have signed the petitions is the selection process itself. Instead of conducting a national search and considering other applicants, the Board of Regents interviewed Olens and appointed him to the position a week later.
“Not everyone who signed those petitions also lives in Georgia or is a member of the KSU community, so let’s acknowledge that,” Olens said.
He insisted, however, that he was only an applicant and had nothing to do with the selection process.
“I let it be known to the chancellor’s office I was interested in the position,” he said. “I understand there are people that preferred a different process. I was not a part of the process.”
Though the appointment was voted on swiftly, rumors that Olens was being considered for the role have been in the media for months.
“I think it would be fair to say that, shortly after it was known that Dr. Papp’s contract was not being renewed, some Cobb leadership approached me,” Olens explained.
He said that he did not reach out to Chancellor Hank Huckaby about the position until September but admitted that a career move has been on his mind for a while.
“Probably for at least the last five years, I was considering the change to academia,” Olens said.
He discussed his priorities for the university, which are the graduation rate and funding for scholarships, and indicated that the idea of an admissions cap should still be considered.
Though he doesn’t officially take office until Nov. 1, Olens plans to meet with several student organizations this week and spend time on both campuses. He also wants to continue to repair the university’s image after the financial audits were released in June.
“I think this university has unlimited opportunity,” Olens said. “We have to get past the financial inappropriate activities, and we need to give the students, faculty, staff [and] community back the pride so that they want to fully support the institution.”