Photo by Eric Keith

Dr. John Jasinski greets Bobby Bearcat Thursday morning as he arrives Thursday at Northwest Missouri State University.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Not since 1984 has anyone taken their first steps as president on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University.

Dr. John Jasinski stepped out of his SUV Thursday morning with his family in tow and walked down the sidewalk toward a throng of employees, waiting at the entrance to the Administration Building, as the ninth president of the school.

His first day was tightly scripted (including the morning festivities, with employees sporting Bearcat green and a welcome banner hanging over the east entrance to the administration building) and included meetings with several campus and community entities.

“We hit the ground running — actually sprinting,” he said, adding that he had two more cabinet positions to fill. About half of former president Dr. Dean Hubbard’s cabinet members retired or left the university when he retired in June.

As one of four finalists for the position, Dr. Jasinski, a former mass communications instructor, department chairman and assistant provost at Northwest, said during campus visits that he would make communication a priority. And that’s one of the first things he said in addressing the crowd, which included a group of elementary students from Horace Mann Laboratory School.

“We want to listen to your ideas,” he said. “It’s important to hear from you.”

Dr. Jasinski’s first day on campus as president included a leadership team meeting, meetings with Nodaway County Economic Development officials, the university provost and state facilities planning, and segued into an evening reception, ending with an Upward Bound ceremony.

He said he already feels comfortable in his position, the first day of which was Wednesday, when he was off campus.

“We’ve got to work on some facilities,” he said. “We’ve got to look at the health care issues for faculty and staff, we’ve got to build relationships across the region.”

Dr. Jasinski, who left the university in 2001, established his own consulting firm in leadership and organizational assessment. He was the executive vice president and chief academic and operating officer at Northwood University from 2007 to this year. He also served on the Maryville City Council.

Despite having a history going back more than a century, Northwest Missouri State University has known only nine presidents. Frank Deerwester served as the university’s first, from 1906 to 1907, followed by Homer Cook, 1907-1909; Henry Taylor, 1909-1913; Ira Richardson, 1913-1921; Uel Lamkin, 1921-1945; J.W. Jones, 1945-1964; Robert Foster, 1964-1977; and B.D. Owens, 1977-1984.

Dr. Hubbard, who served for 25 years, came in with what would eventually be an award-winning culture of quality programs and the nation’s first electronic campus. He also followed through with B.D. Owens’ environmental initiatives using alternative fuel to heat and cool the campus.

Jimmy Myers can be reached

at jimmym@npgco.com.