The four final candidates for Eastern’s presidential position will come to campus to speak to the university and Charleston communities, and to take questions and comments during the open forums.

Grant Sterling, the president of Faculty Senate, said this university presidential appointment is going to be one of the most important in Eastern’s history because of its financial situation.

He said academics are a main topic of concern for many faculty members.

“The perception among (some) faculty is (that) we need new leadership on how the university values academics,” Sterling said.

The EIU Presidential Search Advisory Committee invited all four candidates to attend the interviews as part of the process, and encouraged everyone to participate.

The four presidential candidates will visit campus accordingly: Margaret Madden will visit campus on Wednesday, David Glassman on Thursday, Sam Minner on Friday of this week, and Guiyou Huang on Wednesday, January 28.

Open forums for faculty will be from and 9:30 to 10:20 a.m., Staff sessions will be from 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., and forums for both faculty and staff will be from 3 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.

Open sessions for students will be from 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., and campus and community forums will take place from 4 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

All forums will be in the Arcola/Tuscula Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Christina Edwards, the president of Staff Senate, said it is important for everyone to take their time to listen to candidates and state their opinions.

Staff members have been staying informed and attended the forum during the presidential consultant visit, Edwards said.

Reginald Thedford, the student body president, said a list serve email was sent to all RSO executives to inform them about the presidential candidate forums.

He also said Student Senate discussed the importance of attending the forums during their executive meeting.

“It is important for students to attend because the person who will take control of the university will (dictate) the direction of where the university will go from here,” Thedford said.

He said Eastern students are paying for their education at the institution, and as a result, they should take time to speak to the candidates and ask them questions.

While senior students will not get to experience the new president’s policies, they should still care about the reputation of the university, Thedford said.

“As an alumni, when you tell people where you went (to school), it reflects you as a former student,” he said.

Debby Hernandez can be reached at 581-2812 or dhernandez5@eiu.edu.