Though he speculated about the possibility, professor Rick Kreminski was still surprised to hear the announcement of him being named CSU-Pueblo’s interim provost.
Since August 2009, Kreminski has served as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, but as of December 2011 he will begin duties as the interim. He has already started to attend meetings with current interim provost Peter Dorhout, who will be accepting a position as Kansas State University’s dean of Arts and Sciences in January.
“I was very surprised,” Kreminski said. “I’m a very service-oriented individual, so I feel if people above me are asking me to do something to help the institution how could I say no?”
Though he knows there are certain challenges facing the university, Kreminski is eager to serve as interim provost, he said, and is interested in dealing with the wider range of view that the position brings.
“I’m very eager to talk to different constituencies on campus just to hear what their issues are,” Kreminski said.
Kreminski is genuinely interested in the opinions of students and student groups, he said, and encourages those individuals to reach out to him with their concerns before he officially begins the position in December.
As a dean, Kreminski understood the amount of work that a provost must do and would like to have student issues brought to his attention in preparation for his duties, he said.
“If there are any student groups that have any kind of issue and want to talk to the guy who’s going to be interim provost, I’m the guy,” Kreminski said. “I’ve always thought that presidents and provosts have a real tough job because they are so busy and they are more distanced from the students.”
Kreminski has always focused on students, he said. Though he doesn’t have to teach, he does it because he enjoys being interpersonal with students, he said. However, Kreminski’s spare time has been sparse lately with his transitional work for the provost position.
“I honestly feel bad for my students because I’m pretty darn busy,” he said. “I’m almost doing it for selfish reasons because I don’t have to, but I want to keep that direct student contact.”
One way Kreminski planned to help those students who have been affected by his busy schedule this semester is to have his review lessons taped and uploaded to YouTube so students can study and better prepare for their exams, he said.
Due to his already busy schedule, one issue Kreminski hopes to deal with is how administrators can best keep in contact with regular students and not just those who are involved in student groups.
Kreminski plans to be in contact with incoming CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare after Thanksgiving break. He is looking forward to working with her, he said.
As for the CSM, Kreminski will announce who will be stepping in as interim dean before the semester ends and is confident that his selection is a strong one, he said.
Kreminski can be reached at 719-549-2340, or by email [email protected].
