NMU presidential candidate discusses importance of the college experience

Northern Michigan University’s third presidential candidate was on campus Thursday, and his background is a little different than the previous two candidates.

Dr. Greg Cant is a native Australian who is currently the dean of the business school at Concordia University in Moorhead, Minnesota.  He focused primarily on broadening extra curricular activities, keeping students involved, and giving students the whole college experience.

“If you look back and think ‘What really stands out in my mind (about college)’, it probably wasn’t a particular class on a particular activity,” Cant said.  “Certainly it’s (college) a chance to apply your learning, it’s internships and other applied learning you’ve had, but it’s really the whole package of how I felt I developed over that period of time, and of course what happens after college.”

“At the end of the day, college is really important, but at the end of the day we’re preparing people to have meaningful lives after they graduate.”

And while he currently works at a liberal arts college, Cant said he’s worked at universities larger than Northern and understands the responsibilities of being a president.

“I have a lot of skills and competency which I believe will prepare me to take on the role (as president), but even if you have been president, a president in each institution is different, understanding the culture and traditions, working with the constituents that make this community up is a full time challenging job,” he said.  “So I don’t under estimate that as the new president, I’d have a lot to learn.”

The fourth presidential candidate will visit Northern Tuesday, April 15, for a public forum at 4 p.m. in the University Center.

For more information on Cant or the other three candidates, click here.