Last week, ESPP staff interviewed interim director Dr. George Leroi about his plans for the program. Leroi became director July 1, and will serve until a new director is appointed, probably in January. (Applications for the director position are due September 4).

The interview videos are below. They’re divided into segments; we’ve marked beginning times of the segments below:

Video 1:

Introduction (0:00)

A Little ESPP History (0:45)

Perspective on the Interim Role (1:45)

Video 2:

Prospective Students (0:00)

How Can We Engage More Students from More Disciplines (0:45)

What Can ESPP Hires Expect in the Future (1:40)

How Can ESPP Students and Faculty Be Involved in the Director Search (3:10)

Some highlights:

George Leroi is the former dean of MSU’s College of Natural Science. He was at MSU for 40 years before retiring in 2008. His background is in physical chemistry. He’s currently involved in Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Math and Science Education.

One of the founding Deans of ESPP in 2002, Leroi sees ESPP as having had a good start, moving from infancy to the “toddler” stage with excellent guidance from Tom Dietz. As interim director, Leroi plans to “help get advice from the participants in ESPP to see how we can develop.” He has several priorities, including:

• More student participation. For example, he’d like to see students on ESPP’s Program Advisory Group.
• Rotating teaching of ESPP’s classes. ESPP’s new hires are “really neat people,” he says, and he’d like to see them teaching the courses.
• Involving students in colleges which have fewer students enrolled in ESPP: in particular, College of Natural Science and Engineering. Involvement can be aided by better advertising, and by identifying the factors dissuading involvement.

As the director search process goes forward, Leroi expects that candidates will present their vision for ESPP to students and faculty. “A good administrator needs to be a listener,” he says.

Contact Leroi at geleroi@msu.edu. And keep posted for a fall ESPP “Welcome” event.