Proud Past Christ-Centered Mission Strategic Future - Wisconsin ...

Alan Merten
with his wife
Sally Merten
FISHER: “Growth doesn’t always happen
at the pace we’d like. There are usually
ups and downs. What was one of your
low points What did it teach you”
MERTEN: “I learned a long time ago
not to get too high or too low. When
things were going well, I learned to
take advantage of that and to make a
difference. When things weren’t going
so well, we just kept going. My mother
taught me ‘Don’t sit there. Do something.’
But I also learned: don’t just do something.
Sit there. Sometimes people wanted
immediate action and I said, ‘Just let’s
wait.’ It is knowing when to act and how
to act and when not to act.”
FISHER: “Many have observed that one
of the keys of your leadership success
is knowing everyone from the janitor to
sought-after top professors. You are
known for having an understanding of
people and asking everyone to work
together in an organization. Explain
your thoughts.”
MERTEN: “’People don’t know how you
know until they know how much you
care.’ I’ve used that as a theme
throughout all of my administrative
activities. For 16 years I helped with
freshman move-in wearing a t-shirt that
says ‘Alan Merten. President of GMU.’
The look on people’s faces when a car
would drive up was amazement. That
story went all over the place. ‘He helps
with freshman move-in.’ I did it because
I thought it would send a message
that we cared.
When a dean would call me and say that
they were trying to hire such and such
professor, I would call the person, ‘Hi,
I am Alan Merten president of George
Mason…’ and the phone would go dead.
I’d say, ‘I understand that we are
interested in having you come to GMU.
I am interested in you coming to GMU
as well.’ I learned over the years that
people would say that one of the main
reasons they came was that I called
them. When one of our basketball players
would be interviewed and asked why
they came to GMU, they’d reply, ‘Great
university, great program, great coach, and
when I interviewed I met the president.’ I
tried to meet with every basketball recruit
and their mother and father.
My wife and I have probably attended
every summer picnic and holiday party
for the plumbers, electricians, etc.
We get invited and we go. We have
a great time. I was walking across
campus the other day and one of the
construction workers shouted, ‘Thank you
for your service.’ Now I have no idea
who that came from. Someone saw me
and wanted to take advantage of that.
It is the touch that counts. It’s all about
the people.”
FISHER: “After 16 years at the helm, you
have retired — at least you’ve moved to
a new phase. What do you want your
legacy at GMU to be”
MERTEN: “I want my legacy to be built
around the fact that I created an
entrepreneurial university. I learned how
to take advantage of location. I built on
strengths and I realized the importance
of telling the story. Whatever new
things happen at the university, I hope
that those four things will continue.
I strongly believe that if you lose one
of those, you could unwind what we did.
I hope that the way we did things
was as important as what we did —
our style. We did something special
here. I hope my legacy is the culture
we created.”
LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE
FISHER: “What’s your definition of
leadership”
MERTEN: “Leadership consists of having
goals and a vision. You have to have
skills to get people to get things done
— both what they want to do and some
things that they don’t. Leadership is
a balance between high tech and
high touch. You’ve got to have the
technological knowledge and the ‘warm
and fuzzy’ abilities.”
FISHER: “How do you define ‘success’ in
life and professionally”
MERTEN: “Much of success in life is
balance. I have been married 45 years.
I am a busy person but I had lunch
with my wife today and played with my
grandsons today. I reject this myth that
to succeed professionally you have to
pay a price personally. I made it clear
as an administrator that if you asked me
to work in the evening without my wife,
the likelihood of me working was low.
If Sally was invited, it was much higher.
We didn’t want to lead two separate
lives. I could never have done what
I did without her. She is my confidant.”
CONTACT Fall 2012 7