Northwest Missouri State University students met their first candidate for university president Tuesday in a town hall-style meeting.

Dr. John Jasinski, a former faculty member in Northwest’s Mass Communications department and former Maryville city councilman (2001-2007), met with students prior to meeting university and community members at the student union.

Not surprisingly, the former chairman of the communications department prides his ability to communicate with people as one of his top qualities. In many of his responses to questions in both meetings (about a dozen students attended the first meeting and more than 100 faculty, staff and community members were in the second), Dr. Jasinski’s answers included some form of communication being vital.

Dr. Janice Brandon-Falcone, a history professor at Northwest, posed a “what if” question regarding the recent foibles involving the university’s governing board firing a cabinet member without the counsel of retiring university President Dr. Dean Hubbard. Dr. Falcone asked what if a faculty member said something the board didn’t like and was fired — how would he react as president?

Dr. Jasinski answered a related question at the student meeting, saying that he is eager to introduce the “elephant in the room” and referred to the situation as the “turmoil in the press.” He said his first order of duty would most likely be to take care of the current situation and build relationships and mend others. His response in both meetings weighed heavy on communication. He said he would like to establish a close relationship between the board and the president’s cabinet that would make the “what if” situation unlikely.

Dr. Jasinski also made several references to the university’s much-touted Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is still under construction, as a strong component to the university’s growth.

Dr. Jasinski has been the executive vice president, chief academic and operating officer at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., since 2007. The university, with an enrollment of 6,600 students, has several similarities to Northwest, he said.

Dr. Jasinski received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Michigan, where he grew up. He has a doctorate in educational leadership and higher education administration from the University of Nebraska. He also provides consulting and training on leadership through Jasinski Consulting Services, a company he started in 2001.

He came to Northwest in 1986 as a teacher in the department of mass communications and eventually became the chairman. He also served as associate provost before leaving the university in 2001.

Dr. Jasinski and his wife, Denise, have four children ages 8 to 21. He is an avid runner and completed the 2003 and 2004 Boston Marathons.

Dr. Robert Clark will be the second candidate to visit campus. He’s scheduled to have his town hall-style meeting at 4 p.m. Friday. Candidate Dr. Kent Porterfield will visit campus on Tuesday next week, and the final candidate, Dr. Joseph Shepard, will be at Northwest April 28.

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com