By MICHAEL STRAND, Salina Journal

McPHERSON -- Young?

Yep.

Naive?

Check.

Impatient?

You betcha.

Michael Schneider has heard all those things since becoming president of McPherson College in April; at 35, he's one of the youngest college presidents in the country.

So, yeah, he owns up to being young; as for naive and impatient: "Naive means you think things can get better -- and I don't want to be patient."

Schneider's inauguration ceremony is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Brown Auditorium on campus, with a reception in Miller Library.

Schneider says he wants to enhance and build on McPherson College's niche, which he terms "career-oriented liberal arts."

And if that sounds like a contradiction in terms, Schneider insists that's just an old way of thinking.

"We've got to rethink the way we look at liberal arts," he said. "Liberal arts is about preparing you for life, speaking, writing and thinking. We want to prepare you for life, and to earn a living."

Schneider graduated from McPherson College with a degree in communications. He spent several years running a publishing company in the Denver area, and earning his MBA, before returning to McPherson in 2002 to be the college's director of career services. He was later named vice president of advancement and then vice president of admissions.

The value of internships

But that career services orientation stuck, and Schneider has worked to give students as many real-life experiences as possible.

He interned in the advertising department at the Salina Journal his junior year and thinks internships are a valuable part of college.

There was talk of making internships mandatory, he said, but that was scrapped. Making internships mandatory, he said, would make them seem like drudgery; instead, he wanted to see deep buy-in from the faculty, staff and students.

"Now, when students come here, it's an expectation," he said. "They're expecting to do an internship -- many graduate with multiple internships."

And, he notes, the internship program is run through the development office -- an office that is concerned with fundraising at most colleges.

"It's about relationships," Schneider said. "We may visit with someone, and maybe they can't write us the 'big check' right now, but they can offer an internship, or know somebody who can."

The school now has internship relationships with roughly 500 companies around McPherson, across Kansas and even outside the state.

Among the graduating class of 2008, he said, 87 percent had participated in at least one internship.

We can turn on a dime

The ability to quickly adapt to change is one of the benefits of a small college, Schneider said.

A few years ago, for example, the college noted the prevalence of cell phones among students, and quickly decided to remove land-line service from the residence halls.

"The one student who didn't have a cell phone, we just bought him one," Schneider said.

Constantly looking for things that can be done better is the best way to do business, Schneider said.

"I believe in continuous improvement," he said. "We're small, so we can turn on a dime if we have to -- we can be entrepreneurial."

Continuous improvement is alive and well even in the college's world famous auto restoration program.

"Just when you think it can't get any better, they decide to start motorcycle restoration, too," he said. "People are open and willing to get better, and when you have that, incredible things happen."

Try to meet the needs

The auto restoration program "is a great model" for what other parts of the college can do, he said.

"Look at what the market says, and find ways to meet those needs," he said.

In the past few years, enrollment at the school has grown from 340 to 542 this fall -- a number that hasn't been seen for decades.

Schneider said the campus was built with even more students in mind, but the residence halls are full; a new dorm will be built in the near future.

n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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Winner says....
This guy is a winner. We are proud of you in McPherson!
11/5/2009

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Great Job MC says....
This is a good thing...
11/5/2009

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Hearts says....
I love Michael Schneider!
11/5/2009

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says....
This guy is going to kick but and take names. It is excited to see the next generation step up.
11/4/2009

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says....
Great story. Good to see things changing in one place.
11/4/2009

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Congratulations says....
Good form McPherson.
11/4/2009

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A Fan says....
He is gorgeous. Youngest and best looking. You should hear him speak.
11/4/2009

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says....
Shout out from Derby...we love this guy.
11/4/2009

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Derby High says....
Michael was at my high school today...he is the man. I want to go there.
11/4/2009

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KWU says....
I hope KWU gets someone like this.
11/4/2009

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Lucky says....
Lucky Mac...
11/4/2009

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FAN says....
We love you Michael!
11/4/2009

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says....
The whole point is that people get too hung up on image. Let's see what this guy can do. He's a daring choice. Higher education is changing whether people like it or not.
11/4/2009

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Concerned about MC says....
This guy doesn't have a PhD. I am concerned about the direction he is leading the college. He has cut programs and is not as nice as the picture makes him out to be.
11/3/2009

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Not sure says....
We'll see how he does. The jury is still out.
11/3/2009

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Proud Mac Alumni in Salina says....
Go bulldogs. Front page of the Journal. I like this guy.
11/3/2009

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MC Alumni says....
Good for MC. We got a strong leader and look for big things from this place. Yea!
11/3/2009

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Cute says....
Can a guy that looks this good really run a college? I guess you can have brains and looks. It looks like you clipped him from a men's magazine cover. Add this guy to People's most beautiful people list.
11/3/2009

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KWU says....
Why didn't we snag this guy at KWU?
11/3/2009

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Liberal Arts says....
Finally, a new take on liberal arts.
11/3/2009

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Impressed says....
Wow. My college president didn't look like this.
11/3/2009

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Outstanding says....
We need more Michael Schneiders in higher ed.
11/3/2009

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Hot says....
This guy is hot...I want to go to school there.
11/3/2009

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