Co-President’s Message The president’s authenticity 2 “WHAT WE’VE GOT HERE is a failure to communicate." That memorable bit of movie dialogue is from Cool Hand Luke, delivered by the Captain as he stands over Luke whom the Captain has just cold cocked. But very few remember the Captain’s next line: "Some men you just can't reach." And that's one of the big challenges of communication: finding a way to reach everybody even those, like Luke, who might be skeptical of the message—or even the messenger. It's a vexing problem for leaders of large organizations, whether universities, governments, or corporations. How do top administrators reach their audiences so that their messages are understood, discussed, and absorbed? Well, sometimes they don’t. I’ve seen a few presentations by corner office types in my day. Sure, some were good, but a few were plainly lacking, delivered in a charmless, rapid-fire fashion and accompanied by Power Point slides featuring lots of overlapping circles. Maybe the messages were good, but the delivery just wasn’t authentic. And those presentations led to, as the Captain said, a failure to communicate. So I came to the President's Luncheon for Retired Faculty and Staff last month less curious about the message that PSU's new president, Rahmat Shoureshi, would deliver, and more curious about how he would deliver it. Of course, the president walked into the room with a built-in advantage: the RAPS audience is hardly unreachable. You'd have to search far and wide to find more staunch supporters of Portland State. On the other hand, they're smart, they know PSU, and, if you'll pardon the expression, they've been around the block a time or two. Best to leave the smoke and mirrors at home. What we got from President Shoureshi was authenticity. The man spoke clearly, thoughtfully, and deliberately. His remarks were not off the cuff, but he conveyed his words with sincerity and, when he was listing Portland State’s accomplishments, genuine pride. My verdict? President Shoureshi was warm, gracious, occasionally humorous, and he delivered his message simply and well. He was certainly authentic. The new guy aced it, and good for him—and for Portland State. —Doug Swanson President Shoureshi delivers his address on advances at Portland State to a gathering of retired PSU faculty and staff on April 16. —-Photograph by Larry Sawyer
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