Apr. 8, 2024 4:45p
(WGTD)---Before she was Parkside’s chancellor, Lynn Akey was a Parkside parent.
Akey, who took over for Debbie Ford at the beginning of the year, made her first visit to campus three years ago to help her son settle in as a Parkside freshman, majoring in sports management and participating in cross country and track.
The Akey’s had stumbled upon Parkside almost by accident. The connection came about as the result of a conversation the younger Akey had with a friend who was planning to go to nearby Carthage.
Lynn Akey talked about her trip to Parkside this past fall as both a parent and as a candidate for the position of chancellor during her first appearance last month with Greg Berg on WGTD’s Morning Show. "While I had come to know a bit about the institution as a parent you see it differently when you think about stepping in as that leader...," she said.
Akey spent most of her professional career in various positions at Minnesota State University in Mankato. Now that she’s sitting in the chancellor’s office at Parkside, Akey marvels at how it all came about. "As I look back now, it's kind of an unbelievable journey that began quite a while ago," she said. "I still think very much that we're at the start of a wonderful journey."
Akey’s first few months as chancellor haven't exactly been a cakewalk. A budget crunch led to a dozen layoffs, 17 early retirements and a series of additional cost-savings measures. All this on top of a series of employee furloughs that were implemented late last year.
There are bright spots. Parkside is rolling out a Physician Assistant Master’s program and is creating a Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics.
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