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SOU chief shares review with faculty BY DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- Shortly after he tied a red kerchief over his signature bow tie and performed a line dance in front of the Southern Oregon University faculty, President Steve Reno summarized his performance review. Fortunately for Reno, there was no mention of his rock step. The faculty praised Reno for his open-door policy and effective communication, but told him to "get out of Churchill Hall" more often. Reno also presented his goals. Every two years, the university's faculty is given a chance to review the president's work. This year, 78 of the 351 faculty members filled out evaluations, said Craig Wright, a creative writing professor who was one of two teachers who reviewed the evaluations with Reno. Reno has been at Southern for 10 years, the last five as president. Although it is not required, he shares his reviews with the faculty. Thursday, he presented his review at the annual end-of-the-year faculty breakfast. More than 200 teachers, and administrators and staff members were present. Part of the program included music by a group of teachers and administrators called "Title 3." Their last number inserted teaching-inspired lyrics to the music of Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places." "'Cause we got friends in low places, Where the teachers teach and the student chases our debts away and we'll be okay." Reno and several other administrators got up from their table, donned cowboy hats, and performed an out-of-sync line dance to the song. Afterward, Reno talked about the praises and criticisms he received in his review. He said he garnered favorable comments for his enthusiasm, honesty, vision and accessibility. "You like the fact that I teach classes, that I have helped create a campus culture of trust, that I have a good vision for Southern, that I represent the campus well to external groups ..." he said. On the other hand, faculty members knocked Reno for planning the commencement at the university's stadium, then caving into pressure and returning commencement to Lithia Park. Reno also went over some comments to help him increase his efficiency. "You said I should promote a vision related to the public regional mission of Southern rather than trying to compete with private colleges and universities," he said. "Many of you expressed disquiet about how Southern would fare in the new budget model environment." In defining his goals, Reno said the university should strive to be intellectually challenging, and find new ways to communicate among teachers, students and administrators more effectively. He committed to encouraging a more diverse campus population and a multicultural curriculum. He concluded by saying he appreciated the evaluations, and as important as what faculty said about him was what their evaluations revealed about their visions for the university. "The reality is that no one of us -- president or otherwise -- can define that alone," Reno said. "It must be a conversation, and we obviously have more to say to one another." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA