Sometimes things are funny and disappointing all at once. Like the time I covered the Search and Screen Committee’s student listening session, an event organized for the sole purpose of collecting student input as to what traits would characterize an ideal chancellor.

The majority of the committee was present, as well as reporters from the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram and a local television station. And then there were the students who had come to provide input – all three of them.

One was a student member of the committee, another was a student senator (who had been coaxed to attend after no student leaders had shown up) and the third was a random kid who was apparently wandering Schofield Hall looking for a good time and ended up in a slightly awkward meeting.

We all sat around, grinning at each other, making little jokes about the pitiful turnout and, for a little while anyway, discussed what students expect in a chancellor.

When my story ran that Thursday, it wasn’t about what students wanted in a chancellor. It was about why the student body and its leaders hadn’t attended the important event.

It turned out many students weren’t even aware of the event, which, to be fair, showed the failure of The Spectator and other media to inform and empower the public, even though we did run a front-page story that announced the session a week earlier.

Student senators, I was told, were aware of the event and its importance, but either had meetings or were awaiting the next senate meeting when Bob Hooper, chair of the Search and Screen Committee, was coming to speak.

I’m sure that meeting turned out to be highly beneficial, but the failure of the listening session that day still demonstrated student apathy and the willingness of student leadership to accept it. By waiting for the committee to come to them, senators missed a prime opportunity to encourage student involvement.

When you get right down to it, the chancellor search just wasn’t a priority. The problem is that it should be. While it might not seem like it day-to-day, the chancellor has an enduring affect on the welfare of the university and its students.

I have to admit, if I hadn’t been covering the listening session, I probably would have been home watching reruns of some countdown show on VH1. But if you really think about it, the welfare of the university is something we should all be concerned about. To help clarify why, I spoke with administrators and Search and Screen Committee members, all of whom understand the importance of hiring a proper chancellor.

First, they explained, the chancellor performs external functions like maintaining rapport with outside entities.

As someone who has reported on contention between UW-Eau Claire and the outside world, I can fully attest that maintaining relationships is critical.

Rising tuition, limited class availability, stretched resources – these are all problems the new chancellor can help alleviate in the long run by helping to establish rapport between the state’s universities and legislators. The healthier the relationship, the more money we’re going to see in the future.

This role is also critical on the local level. From parking in the Third Ward to paranoia about student drinking during Homecoming to the availability of lucrative local jobs for graduates, the chancellor’s ability to work with the Eau Claire community is also exceedingly important.

Secondly, they said, the new chancellor will set the tone for the way lower echelons of administrators manage the university’s various departments.

That tone, I’m willing to bet, trickles down to all of us, in one way or another, prompting department heads to adopt various policies and encouraging professors to reshape the way they teach. Basically, if you’ve ever sat in a classroom, the new chancellor will affect you.

Now, with four finalists left, all that stands between us and our new head honcho is a single decision by a UW System committee.

They’re shooting for Feb. 10, and while some students have probably provided their input, all we can really do for now is cross our fingers and wait.

But in the future, as this new chancellor is becoming familiar with the university, we can still send a clear message. Attend roundtable discussions, write e-mails and express your ideas.

Granted, one person can’t resolve all of the problems students face each day. But if we’re going to have someone out there swinging, they might as well come from our corner.