When Carol Cartwright was announced as interim president last June, then Undergraduate Student Government Vice President Sundeep Mutgi knew she faced a challenging task.

‘The difficulty for her was not only that she had to follow a well-respected president, but that when she first came in she was the interim president,’ Mutgi said. ‘A lot of times faculty members and administration don’t want to hear an interim president say ‘do this’ or ‘do that.’

But Mutgi said Cartwright used experience to maintain unity and to help the University progress.

‘She managed to come in a way that she could effectively make change, but at the same time not alienating other individuals,’ Mutgi said. ‘When she actually became president, I think it showed that it really worked because a lot of people were really happy when she took that two-year contract.’

Cartwright has reached out to USG since the beginning of her presidency, Mutgi said.

After only three days of being on campus as the interim president, Cartwright scheduled a meeting with members of USG. Before the meeting she asked for a brief biography of Mutgi and then President John Waynick. They included what student organizations they had previously been in and what prior leadership roles they had possessed, but Cartwright was not satisfied.

‘She sent it back to us within five minutes and said, ‘This is all well and true, but who are you really?’ And that sort of said a lot to us that she had a very student-centered attitude and she has done that with USG ever since,’ Mutgi said.

Other students agreed Cartwright has done well.

Junior Elizabeth Ball said she does not really know much about what Cartwright has done, but said as far as she can tell the new president is doing a pretty good job.

‘She’s doing okay,’ Ball said. ‘Things seem to be alright on campus.’

But although some are pleased with the way Cartwright has handled her new job, not everyone is satisfied.

Senior Kylynne Chambers said Cartwright is not doing enough to pull the University through tough economic times.

‘She’s not fighting for anything,’ she said. ‘She’s just kind of letting it fall apart. With [former President Sidney] Ribeau, he actually did stuff.’

Chambers also disagreed with Mutgi, saying she feels Cartwright is failing to connect with the campus community.

‘It just seems like she’s too good for everybody,’ she said. ‘She’ll just make appearances for like five minutes and then leave, even if she said she would be there.’

An adjunct assistant professor, who chose to remain anonymous, said Cartwright is missing the primary function of a university education.

The professor said the focus of the University should be on the students, not on making money.

‘She doesn’t give any sense at all that we’re all here for a common purpose,’ she said. ‘It’s a very distressing time. She’s not offering any sort of vision that I can see.’

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