MSUM president elect, Anne Blackhurst talks about next steps for Dragon Athletics
Published May 01, 2014, 06:59 PM
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Moorhead, MN (WDAY TV) – Dr. Anne Blackhurst was named president elect at MSU Moorhead last week and knows she has plenty on her plate when she takes over on July 1.
One of the many items on her agenda is the next steps for the Dragon athletic program.
Dr. Anne Blackhurst/ MSU Moorhead President Elect: “I have high aspirations for the university as a whole, and that means I want to leverage every possibility increasing our reputation, our visibility and I see athletics being key in every one of those domains. I think athletics help us recruit students, retain them and our recent success raising scholarship money in football is evidence if you’ve got a good coach inspired leader and emphasizes character and academic success and athletic success, alumni and donors will respond to that and will contribute to the university, it’s high on priority list.
What do you think the general consensus of the MSUM athletic department?
Blackhurst: “That’s a difficult question I’m not sure done some research showed not a high opinion of our competitiveness of our athletic teams but I think that’s starting to shift, certainly people who know Coach Laqua and Coach Walthall who’ve been to recent events, have a different opinion than several years ago, we have work to do, not that the quality isn’t here it’s that we have to be more assertive and getting the message out.”
Blackhurst says she’s pleased to see more local athletes choosing to stay close to the area and attend MSUM.