Photo by Jenny Kirk Current Southwest Minnesota State University President Connie Gores gives a confident thumbs up alongside her future successor, Kumara Jayasuriya, at a welcoming ceremony on Thursday morning in the Upper Ballroom on the SMSU campus.

MARSHALL — At a welcoming ceremony for the next permanent president of Southwest Minnesota State University Thursday on campus, Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra reflected back to the listening sessions that jumpstarted the search last fall, recalling some of the top criteria that people were looking for in the president who would succeed SMSU’s 9th President Dr. Connie Gores.

“You said you were looking for a collaborative, authentic, engaged, strategic leader,” Malhotra said. “You were not only looking for high IQ, (intelligence quotient) you were also looking for EQ (emotional quotient). And as I listened more and more to you, I started getting nervous. I said, ‘Where am I going to find this person because they want somebody who can walk on water.’ But then I took comfort in the fact that in winter, you could probably walk on water, so that put me a little bit at ease.”

Joking aside, the chancellor then shared his real confidence in Dr. Kumara Jayasuriya, whom he recommended and the Minnesota State Board of Trustees approved on Wednesday.

“I think in Dr. Kumara Jayasuriya, we have found a leader you all are looking for,” Malhotra said. “When I called him and offered him the position and he said, ‘Yes,’ I felt like a big burden from my shoulders was lifted. I was so confident of this choice.”

Malhotra then presented the president-designate to the large number of people who showed up and offered their support. Jayasuriya immediately thanked everyone in attendance.

“Words cannot express my gratitude for your support and welcome you have given me (Thursday) and the last time I was here,” Jayasuriya said. “The support from the Mustang family is overwhelming.”

Jayasuriya then took a moment to thank President Gores.

“Her tireless dedication to SMSU has made a huge difference on this campus,” he said. “I don’t have to explain to you what she has done, but it’s noteworthy to mention the Blue to Brown partnership and the many international partnerships she has started. So Pres. Gores, I pledge to you that I will honor your dedication and what you have started here on campus — your legacy — and I will honor you by sustaining the work you have started and build upon the work you have done.”

Malhotra also praised Gores — who blazed a trail as the first woman to serve as the university president when she began in 2013 — for her strong leadership and immense contributions.

“President Gores has been a tireless advocate who is passionate and committed to this university,” Malhotra said. “And believe me, when it comes to Southwest Minnesota State, when she is at the state level or system level making your case, she pound the table hard and pounds it in a sustained manner over and over again till she gets what she is looking for. She has really done a phenomenal job.”

The chancellor drew laughter when he talked about how his perspective regarding the system office has changed over time.

“I’ve professionally grow up criticizing the system office — ‘If only the system office wasn’t around, everything would be great,’ he said. “If anything went wrong, it was the system office’s fault. As a friend of mine said: ‘Where you stand depends on where you sit.’ So my perspective has changed very dramatically over the last two years. And now I’m saying, ‘If only the campuses and colleges and universities would listen to us, everything thing would be OK.'”

Malhotra said Gores was on the executive committee of the leadership council when he first came in as the interim chancellor.

“She was elected by her peers — the presidents within the system — and she quickly became a personal confidant, guide and counselor, and she really helped me navigate a lot of the land mines, where I could have stepped over them. So thank you for that, Connie. And more importantly, thank you for your leadership and your passion for higher education.”

Gores thanked everyone in attendance for demonstrating their support to SMSU and its next president-designate.

“It’s wonderful to see students and faculty, and staff members, administrators, community members, friends of the university and partners from Minnesota West (Community and Technical College) and other places,” she said. “You make this university what it is. And you will be instrumental in the success of our next president.”

The chancellor echoed Gore’s welcome, telling the community members and partners that their presence means a lot, as does their “continued engagement, support, passion and commitment” to SMSU. He also gave a special shout out to Winona State University President Scott Olson and MnWest President Terry Gaalswyk and the Bluejay family.

“I think because of the search advisory committee and the leadership of Scott Olson, it couldn’t have gone better,” Malhotra said. “It brought forward a slate of very strong, good candidates and out of which you all then engaged and you all provided the feedback that made the task a lot easier in reaching the decision as to who is the most appropriate next president of Southwest Minnesota State University.”

The chancellor pointed out that Jayasuriya has a great deal of experience, having worked in three different education systems, adding that he also has a strong commitment and passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, all of which create a very empowering environment.

“He has been through the academic ranks,” Malhotra said. “He brings a passion and the dedication that student success is paramount and enhanced access is very, very important. Those are his core values which he brings to the table.”

Malhotra then shared that it was all the feedback from the listening sessions that tipped the scales in favor of Jayasuriya.

“The students appreciated Kumara’s genuine commitment and passion to help students reach their goals, his openness to student input and the value he places on building relationships,” Malhotra said. “The faculty saw him as an experienced visionary leader who understands the challenges and trends of higher education and is passionate about our core competency of teaching and learning and is creative and an innovative thinker. Staff was very impressed by his communication style, which stresses listening and transparency as well as his commitment to diversity, inclusion and student success.”

The chancellor added that the leadership at SMSU was impressed with Jayasuriya as a “strategic thinker with an engaging personality and strong academic leadership background.”

June 30 will mark the end of Gores’ six-year tenure at SMSU. Jayasuriya will officially begin his duties on July 1.

“Now you can see why I’m so excited,” Gores said after Jayasuriya’s speech. “It’s because President Kumara Jayasuriya is the perfect person for this university at this point in time and we are very, very happy that he will be leading the university as of July 1.”