Presidential Finalist Mike Sonntag Has Final Interview With VSC Trustees

Mike Sonntag, finalist for the Lyndon State College presidency, would actually be coming to a milder climate in Vermont than where he is now.

Sonntag is waiting to her back from the Vermont State Colleges' trustees to see if they will offer him the job after having his final interview.

He is currently the provost and vice president for academic affairs at University of Maine at Presque Isle.

"We've had -25, minus -30 the last week or so," said Sonntag. "If anything, weather wise, this might be better."

But the weather is not the only reason he wants to come to LSC. Being the first in his family to go to college, he can identify with the school.

"It's an institution that's mission fits with how I think about the world," said Sonntag. "It fits with who I am and what I really believe a public, regional institution of higher education should be about. It should be about access. It should be about serving this region."

When he was told he was one of the final two candidates for president he knew he could make a life here.

"I was very excited," said Sonntag. "My wife and I spent a couple days here and that convinced us that this is the place we want to be. The surroundings suit us."

He sees his the president's job as being the cheerleader for the school so that people know the school is about, what it is interested in, what its strengths are, and what its needs are.

"Before I get there though, part of my role will be to get around and make sure I understand all the different constituencies," he said, referring to faculty, staff, students, the local community, and state community. "I have to spend some time getting a sense from those groups what they would like to see from the institution."