Bud Goodall, one of the four candidates competing for the position of dean of the College of Communication and Information, answered questions during an informal roundtable discussion yesterday evening in the Student Center.

Goodall is a storyteller, having written and extensively researched narrative nonfiction throughout his career. He said when people hear Kent State, they know it’s a good school, but they don’t know why because it lacks a story.

Having a story will take the university to the next level, he said.

“That’s what I do,” he said. “I take things to the next level.”

He said his formula for leadership consists of three components: competence, creativity and vision.

His competence, he said, comes from being an effective communicator, his creativity from his ability to make connections and his vision from his ability to reach out to students, motivating them to succeed.

Along with that, he likes to have fun. He joked about the nicknames he and his current colleagues have for one another.

“There must be fun in the workplace,” he said. “When you build an environment where people enjoy the work, then you can have fun doing smart things.”

If he becomes dean, he said he plans on building a successful college by implementing intellectual diversity through collaborative initiatives and working to obtain grant funding for research.

Not much angers him either because anger never helps a situation, he said.

“Only social injustice and stupidity make me angry,” he said.

Currently, Goodall works as a professor and director of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State.

Contact College of Communication and information reporter Darren D’Altorio at [email protected].