Godard expected to be named Indiana State University's next president

Mike Godard is expected to be named Indiana State University’s next president, sources have told the Tribune-Star.

Since July 2019, he has been provost of Southeast Missouri State University, a regional comprehensive university located in Cape Girardeau. It has an enrollment of about 10,000 students.

Indiana State University officials had no comment Monday morning other than to say “we look forward to officially releasing the name of the candidate at a special board meeting Thursday.”

At Southeast Missouri State, Godard also serves as a tenured faculty member in the department of kinesiology, nutrition and recreation as a professor of exercise science.

He has served at several public comprehensive institutions in the Midwest in various administrative capacities.

Godard, who was a first generation college student, received a doctorate from Ball State University in human bioenergetics in May 2000.

On Oct. 4, current president Deborah J. Curtis announced her retirement after nearly 38 years in higher education.

She will serve through June 30, 2024, although her contract did extend through June 30, 2025. Trustees approved a retirement agreement with Curtis in December.

Godard was one of three finalists for the ISU presidency; other finalists were Matt Cecil , special advisor to the president at Northern Kentucky University, and Clarenda M. Phillips, provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of sociology at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.

During Godard’s recent campus visit to ISU, a faculty member asked him why he wanted to be ISU president.

“I believe in the mission and values of the institution. I feel there are opportunities here that align very well with my background and feel like I can make a positive change,” Godard said. “I am passionate about serving the students that are served here at Indiana State.”

In an interview March 21, Godard emphasized the importance of community partnerships.

ISU students can benefit from experiential learning opportunities in the community, and ISU benefits the community because it is a major economic driver in the region and can help address workforce needs, he said.

In meeting with community leaders, Godard said, “I think we feel the same in terms of this … without robust community partnerships, our students lose out and our community loses out.”

One area where he sees room for improvement is ISU’s first- to second-year retention, which presently is about 69%. He believes moving that to 80% “is very attainable” and would help ISU with enrollment and budget revenue.

He was at the University of Central Missouri from July 2012-June 2019, where he served as interim provost-chief learning officer from January 2018-June 2019 and vice provost for enrollment management from July 2015 to December 2017.

He was on the faculty at Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, from 2006 to 2012.

He’s also been a faculty member at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where he also was director of the Applied Physiology Laboratory; at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas; and the University of Southern Maine.

From October 1995 to July 1997, he served as director of the Cardiology Stress Laboratories at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.

In a cover letter provided as part of the search process, he stated, “I have great respect for Indiana State University as a public comprehensive regional university dedicated to empowering transformational change in its students and the community.

“Having served at public comprehensive regional institutions for my entire career, I have a firm understanding of the creative solutions that are vital to systematically respond to the ongoing higher education challenges necessary to ensure that Indiana State University continues to excel,” he wrote.