By Caitlin Hofen, Feature Editor
In January 2022, Dr. Janet Cunningham announced her plans to retire as Northwestern’s 19th president after working for the university for nearly 40 years in various capacities. Dr. Bo Hannaford was named her successor and has been in the position for an academic semester.
With a change in leadership comes new growth and opportunities. Dr. James Bell, vice president for academic affairs, reflected on Cunningham’s leadership.
“Dr. Cunningham was thoughtful and decisive as a leader,” Bell said. “However, she was decisive after hearing as many voices as she could. I thought she always put the good of the university, and specifically the students, first. She was very mission-focused, and that mission was, ‘How can we make Northwestern the best for students?’”
In his role as vice president for academic affairs, Bell works closely with Hannaford and has observed his leadership style since he took office in July.
“While Dr. Hannaford and Dr. Cunningham have different temperaments, they have many similar strengths,” Bell said. “I think Dr. Hannaford also looks first at what will be best for the university and the students. At one point, I was having a conversation with Dr. Cunningham, and she said, ‘You know, he’s smart, hardworking, and he loves Northwestern.’ When I look at parallels between the two of them, that is the most common similarity.”
While Cunningham and Hannaford worked together for many years, they do have different ways of decision-making.
“Obviously, they are different people with different life experiences,” Bell said. “Dr. Hannaford would say he’s impatient, though I wouldn’t say that. He has a strong sense that if there is a task to be done, get it done. Dr. Cunningham was a little more tolerant of the time and of it taking time to get things done. There are strengths to both approaches.”
BOTH PRESIDENTS
CARE ABOUT NWOSU,
STUDENTS SAY
Students also talked about the leadership they have witnessed from the two presidents. Senior business administration major Gracie Scarbrough said she is excited to see the direction in which Hannaford takes Northwestern.
“I think Dr. Hannaford is picking up right where Dr. Cunningham left off in that he desires the best for all students, faculty and staff, while achieving the strategic mission of the university,” Scarbrough said. “The whole campus is a family, and he is continuing the legacy of Northwestern being a great place to get an education. I am excited to see how he makes a difference during his presidency.”
Junior political science major Austin Rankin said he thinks Hannaford was the natural choice to continue the work Cunningham started.
“I was a little sad when Dr. Cunningham announced her retirement,” Rankin said. “But I think she definitely deserves to spend time with her family. I think it was a beneficial time for Northwestern to go into a new phase. After the pandemic, it would be very easy for a university to get tired, and a change in leadership really promoted new energy to come into the school. I think in the future, this will be a beneficial change.
“Dr. Cunningham was professional and focused on student development and maintaining the specific structure of the university. With Dr. Hannaford, it seems like he is slowly establishing what he wants to present as president. I think he is accumulating quite a few different changes that he wants for the university, but for the first few semesters, it will be a lot of program-building that needs time to be implemented.”