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After beginning his first official day on the job this past Thursday, Dr. Mark Putnam now begins his first full week as president of Central College. Putnam says planning and preparation with previous president David Roe has been a great help in the transition process.

“I think David [Roe] and I spent about 20 to 25 hours one-on-one, just reviewing all the details of the campus,” said Putnam. “He began to involve me immediately in various conference calls – whether it was Board of Trustees meeting or campus meetings – so that I could listen in and be more aware of the activities.”

Dr. Putnam adds that much of his first year in office will focus on setting a foundation for Central’s future plans.

“A lot of this first year will be focused on the notion of this ‘horizons of opportunity’ idea that we discussed,” said Putnam. “There are opportunities for us to think about the organization and its effectiveness; and what’s happening today with a lot of institutions of higher education is the need to think about efficiency and effectiveness, and ways that will help us to be productive, and the way we carry out our business and our work. So I think that aspect of it will be some occupation of our time and attention.”

Mark Putnam had been senior vice president for executive affairs at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachutsetts, and is the 21st president in the history of Central College.