Alberto Ruiz, a provost candidate, spoke at Thursday’s forum as the fourth and final provost candidate. He spoke of community inclusion, trust building and the potential for a better Emporia State.  

“I fully believe that this institution is in a prime position for growth,” Ruiz said. “We’ve hit the bump in the road. I always look at life like this, when you drive a car your front mirrors are this big and your rearview mirror is this big. Don’t look back, you have to move forward. We cannot look back.” 

Ruiz has worked in several roles at the University of Louisiana Monroe and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, according to his curriculum vitae. Some of these include interim department chair of bilingual education, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance, vice president for academic affairs and his current positions as  associate athletic director for student athlete excellence and professor of kinesiology.  

Ruiz spent the forum in its entirety referring to himself as part of the university in his statements. Saying that ESU’s best days are ahead and that we can and will do better. He joked with those in the audience and made his desire to work as ESU’s next provost clear.  

“I want to produce quality graduates for Emporia, the state of Kansas and the country,” Ruiz said. “I want kids to leave here with a great education and make a lot of money… but that’s what we are here for as faculty and staff. To educate young kids to be better citizens.” 

Because of Ruiz’s goal to grow ESU’s campus, he emphasized the importance of providing quality education to students along with providing programs and activities that students want to see on campus.  

“Students are the customers and I always say look at the big idea when moving forward,” Ruiz said. “Enrollment cures a lot of budget issues, not all but the majority and we have got to provide that product for our students. For our students to come here and become a hornet.” 

One of Ruiz’s goals as provost would be to provide quality education for as many students as possible through recruitment and regular program evaluations. He also intends to build trust with the student body and community by regularly visiting with the Associated Student Government and with focal members in the community such as the mayor, emergency response teams and others.  

“I think I can be trusted. I’m honest, I’m very transparent,” Ruiz said. “I am a very transparent leader. I will make decisions wisely and you can come to my office and I’ll tell you why I made that decision.” 

He also emphasized the use of incentive pay, pushing for external funding such as grants, competitive salaries for faculty, start-up packages and even providing a moving expense when recruiting faculty or administrative positions. A moving expense is not a common thing provided to professors who move because it is essentially a budget to help faculty move to Emporia, according to Ruiz.  

“I am strategic,” Ruiz said. “And when I looked at Emporia, I said this is the place I  could see me and my wife coming to and being here for a long, long time.” 

The new provost will hopefully be announced by Dec. 1, interim provost and dean of The Teachers College Joan Brewer said in a previous interview with The Bulletin.