A Calming Force
Kansas City Business Journal - by Amy Trollinger Staff Writer
When the Rev. Edward Kinerk looks out his second-story office window, he can see nearly every place he went to school. Past a lush green expanse and under the canopy of tall trees is the stone building that was once Rockhurst High School. To the left and right are buildings he walked in as an undergraduate at Rockhurst College.
Kinerk looks out on the grassy mall longingly, like an alumnus returning to campus for homecoming. But his perspective is that of a president now, not a lanky student with books under one arm.
"The reason I said yes to this job is because I got so much out of my education here," said Kinerk, the first alumnus to become president of the Jesuit college. "The experience gave me the ability to think critically about the world around me."
Kinerk has been president of Rockhurst for a little over a month. He hasn't hung pictures in his office or brought in many personal mementoes. He assures a visitor that he'll have time for that, but right now there are more important tasks -- like convincing Rockhurst's students, faculty, staff and alumni there is finally stability at the top.
Kinerk is the College's third president in three years. The Rev. Thomas Savage retired in August 1996. The Rev. Peter Ely assumed the presidency the same month but only stayed with the Jesuit college until June 1997.
Kinerk and members of the board of trustees are aware that, to the public, the revolving door to the president's office has cast some shadows on the college.
"Without permanent leadership, a college can't move in the direction that it wants," Kinerk said. "The trustees and others were desirous of more permanency at the top."
Bob Long, a Rockhurst trustee and vice chairman of the board at J.E. Dunn Construction Co., said the recent changes in the presidency underscore the importance of a stable leader to a school's reputation.
Long is assured that the trustees's decision to hire Kinerk as president will instill stability at the school.
"He brings a real expertise in listening," Long said. "He can listen to a multitude of opinions and distill it down to what is best for the college. We think he has both the administrative experience and the commitment to Kansas City and Rockhurst.
"He can also be tough when he needs to be. That's important."
Coming home
Before taking the job at Rockhurst, Kinerk served as provincial of the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Like a bishop, Kinerk traveled extensively throughout the Midwest region and to a Jesuit territory in Belize.
He said he enjoyed the job and the ability to serve as both a priest and an administrator. It also gave him the administrative experience he would need in his role as president of Rockhurst.
One of Kinerk's main goals is to make Rockhurst College more visible outside the campus.
"We need to broadcast to the community what we're doing," he said. "Our students and faculty can be, and are, a resource for the surrounding urban areas. I think we can't retreat from our mission of service to this city."
Kinerk doesn't plan to greatly increase the number of students and faculty at Rockhurst College, which stands at 2,800 students and 100 full-time faculty. He thinks the college could be "modestly larger," possibly increasing the number of full-time undergraduate students from 1,300 to 1,800.
"You need a critical mass to have the programs at a quality level," Kinerk said. "To make it much bigger would change the campus atmosphere."
To get a clearer picture of the campus atmosphere, Kinerk has been holding private interviews with all of the college's full-time employees and professors, in their offices. He asks them what they do, what they want out of the new president and how he can help them do a better job.
"Some of the interviews last 10 minutes, some are over an hour," Kinerk said. "What I've found is that people, by and large, enjoy working here. They believe in our mission and they care about the students.
"I am very encouraged by that."
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