On Aug. 1, Patrick Gallagher became the University of Pittsburgh’s 18th Chancellor. Less than three months later Gallagher presented himself to the Pitt-Johnstown community in forums that allowed for questions from the community members.

We found him to be personable, open and confident. He also seemed genuinely interested in student lives, and, perhaps most importantly, when pressed about a financial increase for our campus, he said he wanted Pitt-Johnstown to succeed.

That was greatly appreciated by at least some staff and students. It shows that Gallagher is taking his job seriously and is putting focus not only on Pitt-Oakland but also the rest of the Pitt system campuses.

Gallagher spoke about his love for being around students and his love for seeing the potential students have to offer.

His comments displayed an appreciation for the part of the university that should be top priority — the humans involved in our endeavors — not the bricks and mortar or the books or the administrative details.

Gallagher also appeared to recognize potential in a declining Johnstown economy, saying that our institution has an important role to play in a Johnstown renaissance. We have some strong reasons to conclude that the new chancellor is someone who will not write us off.

One student even asked what his theme song would be.

If a plan is really made to help students with the issue, it could be a huge benefit to students starting their college education at a branch campus and could potentially bring even more students to not only Pitt-Johnstown but to the three other Pitt branch campuses.

Gallagher also said that he wants to make a point to state representatives about the cost of tuition and how giving more state funding to the university could potentially be a benefit to Pennsylvania schools’ attendance in general.

The plans Gallagher has running seem to be beneficial to the university as a whole. It is nice to see some action being taken to help the Pitt-Johnstown members reach some of their untapped potential.

Taking the time to not ignore any questions, Gallagher jokingly answered his theme song would be “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift. He suggested this because of the YouTube video made with the Pitt Athletic groups at the Oakland campus.

Annual trips to the campus are potentially scheduled in Gallagher’s calendar. We would like to see him more often, and we will never get enough of his visions of potential in our students, our campus and our community.