Ed Board is pleased to announce our joy with President Turner’s selection of Robert Blocker.

Blocker, a classically trained pianist, is currently the dean of the Yale School of Music. He was the last provost candidate to visit SMU, and Ed Board believes the committee saw the best candidate last. Thankfully, he will take over in July.

While not all of the members of Ed Board were on hand for the student forum with Blocker, those of us who were, left the forum impressed with Blocker.

What separated Blocker from the rest of the provost pack was his great personality. Blocker easily related to every student in the room. Ed Board also likes Blocker’s Texas background. He graduated from the University of North Texas and spent time in the Dallas region.

In a statement, University President R. Gerald Turner said Blocker would bring “outstanding experience as an academic leader who has addressed issues ranging from curriculum development to advancements in educational technology,” to SMU.

Ed Board couldn’t agree more.

Blocker handled hypothetical questions posed in the sessions with ease and an immense depth of knowledge. Members of Ed Board watched him handle the heat from students and faculty with charisma and he was upfront with every one of his answers. He didn’t beat around the bush — he got straight to the point.

Speaking of not beating around the bush, Blocker is a huge proponent of the Bush Presidential Library landing at SMU. He said he spent a lot of time in libraries and can see the value of having the library at SMU. This alone almost won over Ed Board.

He also is concerned with faculty being overworked and underpaid, a problem he has been brought to his attention as a dean at Yale. Blocker didn’t shy away from the topic of tenure either.

Also, Blocker doesn’t think the university’s budget should rely too heavily on student tuition because in essence, it could lower admissions standards. Ed Board likes this more because it will ease the financial burden on students and their parents.

Lastly, Ed Board would like to thank the entire provost search committee, headed by Dean Hal Williams, student leaders who attended the Q&A sessions and every provost who showed interest in the job and made the trip to SMU.

Despite the fact that only one person was selected for the job, Ed Board truly feels the administration made the right provost pick.