Meet and Greet with Michael Rao

VCU President-elect Michael Rao said he plans to spend time with his colleagues to find ways best address issues brought up in a question and answer session Wednesday, AMrch 4, in the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. He invited questioners to personally approach him with their concerns and proposals for solutions.

“I’ll give you some ideas, but I think one of the more valuable things I can do is spend some time, at the right time, with my colleagues . and understand, from their standpoint, what our greatest opportunities are and (how) I can support them the most,” Rao said.

When Student Government Association Senate Chairman Joshua Ronk asked about how Rao plans to work with the SGA, Rao referred to his past procedures at Central Michigan University, where he met with the SGA president about six times a year. He said his communication with the SGA is “a way to connect uniquely to the student body.”

When asked about his plans in working with student media, Rao said, “Transparency is critical.”

Rao said there needs to be more interested students in the life sciences field. He said one of the best ways to make this happen is to provide encouragement at a young age. He told the story of his 9-year-old son, who through conversations on chemistry and biology has now expressed the desire to become a neurosurgeon.

During the question and answer session, two students taped a brown paper sign to the auditorium balcony with red letters that read, “Hey Mike, use your $890,000 salary to pay 13 professors.” Rao, who was answering a question at the time, said he would read the sign out loud after answering.

A security guard on the balcony removed the sign before Rao could comment. At the end of the questioning, Rao started to address the sign’s comment but was stopped by one of the coordinators of the event.

Rao will have another meet-and-greet session Thursday, March 5, at the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building auditorium at 5 p.m. on the MCV campus.