FSU Welcomes Dr. Alan Walker

President Nowaczyk announced in a campus-wide email on June 3 that Dr. Alan Walker would be joining Frostburg State as the new Assistant to the President.

Dr. Walker has previous experience as the President at Sierra Nevada University, and the former Provost at both Upper Iowa University and Shawnee State University. He was also the Vice President at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Walker worked to improve his previous colleges in the past by cooperating with his coworkers, faculty, and staff to strengthen fundraising programs at each respective school. Thus, money was raised for each university to add new facilities that students, faculty, and staff desired on campus. He also helped to increase enrollment and upgrade the quality of academia offered at his previous institutions.

Walker plans to address student involvement at Frostburg State by using his experiences in his past. He has shown great interest in extra-curricular and recreational activities, as well as club events. At his previous institutions, he was known for his presentations at SGA meetings, as well as his attendance at intercollegiate sports events. The Dean of Students at Sierra Nevada University, expressed his admiration of Walker’s involvement with students. “I have enjoyed working and adventuring with you these past four years at SNU. From Bike riding around the lake, weekly morning SGA meetings, camping in Yosemite and of course the annual Mammoth opening day ski trips, I have never seen a college president more engaged with the student body. Your commitment to making time for students in these ways has left a mark on me both personally and professionally that I will do my best to emulate throughout the rest of my career in higher education,” he said.

As a young professional, Walker was a member of municipal fire services. He later on transitioned to university administration, describing the transition as going from “saving lives” to “changing lives.” After over three decades as a university administrator, Walker still feels the excitement and thrill of it all. “I enjoy the dynamic and youthful environment of colleges and universities. I’ve been doing this for over 35 years and I’m still learning things. I like that.” Walker also thinks of these opportunities to work in universities as a chance to “pay it forward.” Being a “financially, academically, and motivationally challenged” student when he was in college, Walker explains that it was student centered schools “like FSU” that got him to where he is today, and he’d love to return the favor.

Dr. Walker will prove to be a great addition to the Frostburg State community if he does just half of what was advertised, and he will help shape a path to an even brighter future for FSU.