Holy shit I didn't think The U would get it right. They hit it out of the park. Here's the background on him. He's leaving a 20+ million dollar job to raise a family in Missoula. Tells me everything about this guy.
Seth Bodnar appears to be an unorthodox candidate to serve as president of the University of Montana.
He's a senior executive at General Electric, not president or provost at another campus. And he doesn't have a doctoral degree.
But the Rhodes Scholar's resume shows examples of formidable leadership and academic strength, including the following:
Two master's degrees from the University of Oxford in England
First in class for overall performance at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point
Class valedictorian in academics at West Point
Evaluated as "brilliant" and "one of the most gifted and talented officers among all ranks in multi-national forces, Iraq" for his assignment under Generals David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno
Promoted one year early to rank of major, an advancement achieved by fewer than 10 percent of U.S. Army officers
Bodnar is one of four finalists for president at UM, and the job for him would represent a nosedive in potential earnings: In 2016, a report from the Associated Press and Equilar counted median compensation for S&P 500 CEOs at $10.8 million and recorded total compensation for the head of GE at $26.8 million.
The leaders of Montana's flagship earned $316,819 in base salary, according to a survey of 2015-2016 compensation by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Deferred compensation bumps up the total, but it's a sliver compared to pay in the private industry.
Bodnar, though, said he isn't in it for the money. And at least some community members are already excited about the prospect of an energetic and tested leader at the helm of UM, although some faculty members have also expressed concern about his credentials.
Bodnar's wife, Chelsea Elander, is a Rhodes Scholar and Missoula native, and Bodnar said he wants to bring his family here and lead UM, an institution he sees as the backbone of the community.
"Life for me isn't about how large your bank account is, but how large your impact in your service to others is," he said. "I'm first and foremost driven by a strong sense of service. And I firmly believe in the power of higher education to transform lives and community."
He added, "My parents were both educators, and they instilled a sense of service in me. And I went to West Point where the mission of that institution is to build leaders of character for a lifetime of service to the nation."
These days, the tenure of university presidents is around seven years, but Bodnar — whose references include Petraeus and GE Chair Jeffrey Immelt —said if he earns the privilege of leading UM, he's interested in staying for the next 20 years, or as long as he remains effective.
"This for me is not a step on an academic career ladder," said Bodnar. "It's a destination and a place that I want to work and a place where I want to raise my family. It's a big personal investment."
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