A thank you to President Joan Gabel

Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

I have been surprised and saddened by the vitriolic comments of writers who are quick to criticize University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel as she leaves Minnesota. Instead of criticism, we should be thanking her for a job well done during the most challenging times to face leaders in higher education.

When the pandemic began, I was serving as the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and preparing to start a phased retirement. Within a day or two every leader at the university needed to make decisions about who should stay and who could work from home. The president made it clear that we needed to keep faculty and staff and students safe while determining how to continue to provide the best education possible for our students.

We faced issues such as how to get all students studying abroad home safely and quickly. We needed to determine which classes could be taught online or in a safe way or should be canceled. President Gabel guided thousands of faculty to pivot to a whole new style of teaching with little notice or preparation.

While we were not even halfway through the semester, students who planned to graduate (and their families) wanted answers as to how they could complete their work and graduate on time. Everyone expected a normal graduation, which later became several different variations of online graduations.

We all worked from home — including President Gabel. We took part in back-to-back Zoom meetings and spent any free time catching up on email and trying to figure out the next challenge with the pandemic.

The biggest question looming over the president was how long to expect the pandemic to last. She was expected to somehow know or predict when we could return to our offices and when we could return to the old ways of operating. As each day, then each week and then each month went by, plans were altered daily. While President Gabel made decisions in consultation with many others, she ultimately had to decide the best ways to ensure the health of students, staff and faculty.

Those of us in academic units tried to keep up with assurances to faculty and students that we could provide the preparation for teaching and the support for learning that was needed. But the president had to also balance the financial needs of the university as situations changed daily. What happens when the revenue from sporting events, dining facilities, clinics and community events on campus must be canceled? How do you compensate people for losses from contracts and commitments?

During President Gabel's tenure, she made dozens of decisions every day, some big and some small, but her leadership managed to bring the University of Minnesota through days of uncertainty to a feeling of normalcy on campus.

I have read the criticism of her decision to join and then withdraw from the Securian Board. I am not sure if the same criticism would have existed for a male president. And, after receiving approval from the Board of Regents, it was ultimately her decision to respect public opinion and withdraw from the board.

In the Chronicle of Higher Education recently, it was reported that college presidents (fewer than one third of whom are women) are staying in their positions for a much shorter period. In 2006, a college president stayed in office on average for 8.5 years. Five years ago, the average was 6.5 years and now it is 5.9 years. The article goes on to say that COVID was especially hard on presidents. There is a lot of political pressure and just a more challenging world to function in every day.

As I walked on campus last week, the campus was full of students walking across campus and basking in the sun in hammocks. Students were preparing to attend graduation. Alumni were meeting on campus and plans were underway for the spring football game. Parking was hard to find. The university seemed as if was back to normal.

Thank you, President Gabel, for bringing us back to normal. Thank you for your leadership and your wisdom. I wish you well in your next position and hope that you will have an opportunity to govern under much easier circumstances.

Jean K. Quam is a professor and dean emeritus, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.