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After he spoke on Tuesday, Dr. Kent Porterfield received several hugs from his former students and colleagues.
Porterfield, one of the four finalists for President Dean Hubbard's position, was at Northwest Monday and Tuesday for his on-campus visit.
A former Northwest student and administrator, Porterfield said he enjoyed the chance to be back in northwest Missouri.
He was the third candidate to visit and was preceded by Dr. John Jasinski of Northwood University and Dr. Robert Clark of University of Kansas - Edwards Campus. The only candidate yet to visit is Dr. Joseph Shepard of Florida Gulf Coast University, who will be on campus next Monday and Tuesday.
Porterfield currently serves at Saint Louis University as the vice president for student development. Prior to that, he received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northwest before working in the Northwest administration for nearly 15 years.
During his introduction, Porterfield mentioned how he'd grown up on a family farm in northwest Missouri. While he never imagined the chance to interview for the president position at Northwest, his farm background helps.
"I am one of the hardest-working, most persistent people you will meet," he said.
The student forum had eight students in attendance, while the faculty, staff and community forum had closer to 100 participants.
Several of the faculty, staff and community prefaced their question to Porterfield by mentioning they had asked each candidate the same question.
Porterfield said while he had not been listening to the live webcasts of the other forums, his wife had, so he felt he had a general expectation of questions asked.
"There were a lot of questions - good questions that gave me the opportunity to present my ideas," Porterfield said. "It was nice to interact, hear their ideas, concerns and what opportunities they saw."
Director of Residential Life Rose Viau asked Porterfield how he thought the dorm experience affected student success.
She thought he answered the question well and was excited for new administrators that could affect change.
"There are things that we've wanted to have happen at Northwest and the community for years and I don't feel like we've been able to make progress," she said. "But if we have someone to support us from the top, I think we might be able to make something work in the future, so that really excites me."
Porterfield said some of the questions were tough, but they were honest. Leading a university, he said, is no easy task and tough questions help each side make the correct decision. Higher education is facing tough times, Porterfield said, considering the current state of the economy.
And while he enjoyed the forums, Porterfield said it was nice to see old friends.
"Having been thee for a long time, we know a lot of people. A lot just came to say 'hello' and wish us well," he said. "It was good to be back and see people we hadn't seen for a while. We as a family feel really good about the visit."
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