NEWS | November 6, 2003

Presidential Search
Vailas: University could be a ‘flagship’ within 10 years

The Shorthorn: Sanjeev Datta Arthur Vailas, the last presidential finalist to visit campus, discusses his experience with NASA’s Life Sciences Department on Wednesday in Davis Hall. Vailas is the vice chancellor for research and intellectual property management for the University of Houston System.

By Danny Woodward
The Shorthorn staff

Arthur Vailas leans back comfortably, a cup of steaming coffee in front of him and his suit jacket thrown over the chair behind him.

He’s laid-back and straightforward whether he’s discussing the positives or the negatives of the university he hopes to lead. Vailas, the vice chancellor for research and intellectual property management for the University of Houston System, is the last of five presidential finalists to visit campus.

The Shorthorn asked him 20 questions:

Question: What are your impressions so far?

Answer: It’s wonderful. My wife and I came here on our own. We came for a reunion to see what Arlington would be like if we lived here. It was wonderful — the growth, the topography, the parks, the campus.

The university is obviously positioned well in the UT System. It’s positioned to be a new flagship. Obviously, there’s a lot of opportunity. If you follow my career, I gravitate to opportunity. My job is to build.

Q: What about UTA is so appealing to you?

A: There are a lot of pockets of excellence here across the board: a great environment of learning, recognition, other alliances with universities. Arlington, from an academic standpoint, is ideal.

From a personal standpoint, there’s a real community here. We’ve found the people to be friendly; there’s a lot of growth in new buildings going up; they’ve had increases in health care support [in Arlington] with the new hospital going up. Its parks are wonderful. It’s an environment where guests can really enjoy themselves. There’s also professional sports. It seems to be a very safe environment. I didn’t see any evidence of high crime. At least, I didn’t read about it. From a personal standpoint, it looks like a great place to be.

Q: In your opinion, what is UTA’s greatest asset?

A: Its greatest asset is that it’s an evolving, comprehensive research university. There are some universities that have just a few programs; they don’t offer a cross-section of academics. UTA does. UTA’s greatest asset is that it has a lot to offer to the Arlington area, to the Metroplex and to the state of Texas.

If I was an Arlington resident, what would I want to know? I would want to know: Is UTA doing something to increase the quality of the public schools? Clearly, it is. The second thing: Is UT-Arlington doing anything for workforce development so that you can hire good people? UTA is developing competencies in reading, writing, technological literacy, communication skills and cultural sensitivities. That’s the kind of community you want to live in.

Are they doing anything to enhance the richness of the culture? Absolutely. UT-Arlington is doing a lot — bringing international focus to the community of Arlington so it’s not isolated and has the chance to be an open society, not a closed society.

Q: On the other hand, what is the university’s biggest problem?

A: I think its biggest problem is it’s financially challenged. Is that a good way to put it?

Q: You played college football at the University of New Hampshire. How important do you think athletics are to a university?

A: I think it’s important. It brings a sense of community. It adds to student life. It adds some dimension to the connection of alumni in the community. It adds somewhat to the recognition.

Americans enjoy sports. When you talk to people in high political positions, rather than talking about the issue, they talk about a game that was won or lost. It’s in our culture.

Q: Your specialty is research. What opportunities do you see for research here?

A: Well, remember that I define research broadly. I’ve always viewed research broadly. There are some great strengths and opportunities already going on here. All the colleges are putting out innovative ideas and working to enhance education.

UT-Arlington is well-known for its distance education, so you want to take that to the next level. UT-Arlington is in a leadership role in Texas in manufacturing and strategies of production, and those things are very important. There’s the Automation and Robotics Research Institute.

Your nanoscience is well known. Your urban planning, all your engineering programs. You’ve got a great School of Architecture, a wonderful business school, your international programs with China. Your nursing is first-class, the doctoral programs in social work deal with real social issues. Your College of Science is doing some great things. You’re building relationships with other universities and national laboratories, including the one in Sandia and maybe others.

Those are the ones off the top of my head.

Q: Tell me about some of your many projects with NASA.

A: I have served the country in advising NASA. I was on a national panel for all the life sciences. I provided advice to the government.

As a scientist, my area of interest was about weightlessness and adaptation. I have worked with many universities in regard to that. I gave lectures, I was part of think tanks, global conferences and national advisory panels involving a lot of universities. And I advised the country about funding the NASA life sciences.

I was selected by the National Research Council to serve on a commission about looking at commercializing space, and that included a whole bunch of industries worldwide.

I was a government liaison working behind the Iron Curtain in Russia. There, you need to be a friendly, politically astute person to get cooperation. I enjoyed all my time working with the Russians.

A lot of universities, a lot of countries, a lot of everything.

Q: You’ve worked a lot with state legislators. How successful has that been, in your opinion?

A: I have enjoyed it and will continue to. I have a lot of respect for our state legislators because I feel like they have a very tough job.

I worked with the chancellor [of the University of Houston System] to push for excellence funding, which UT-Arlington and Houston all received. I’ve worked with many legislators on educational summits.

U of H has the largest specialized funding of any university in the state, and I think I’ve played a major role in that. We got the state to fund our science, research and engineering center. That’s not something that’s trivial.

Tropical Storm Allison compromised 95 percent of our buildings, and a lot of research was lost. We were able to keep the ship afloat and got the legislature to put support back into the research.

Q: Do you think it’s to your advantage that you’re the only finalist from Texas?

A: No, I think that’s a double-edged sword. Some people have this fantasy that it’s better to have an outside candidate. And there are others that think you’ve got to get someone from the inside because they know the landscape and, if they come here, they might not have a long learning curve.

Q: Do you have ties in the UT System?

A: I have ties and colleagues in all the systems because, in my job, you have to. Do I have any personal ties, like social? No. Professional? Yes.

Q: How would you foster ties between UTA and other system institutions, particularly UT-Dallas and UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas?

A: Well, we have ties already. My background obviously will help faculty to enhance those. I was one of a few people who built a memorandum of understanding on homeland security. That included the North Texas System, the A&M System, the UT System, the University of Houston System. We all found a way to work with each other. We don’t have enough time to go over all of it. I can only promise that as president I would build on things you have and pursue other alliances.

Q: How would you foster ties between UTA and the city of Arlington?

A: The first thing you do is sit down with city leaders and ask them why UTA is so important to them. That’s important because you need to listen from their perspective. They finally realized that they need UT-Arlington, and that’s good news. I want to know, what is it about UTA from their perception that makes it so important to them?

They realized a city needs a university to enhance the quality of life and economic development. There’s even an incubator program, as I understand. They have to find ways to bring companies in, to reel them in from outside Texas. They have to go after non-tax dollars and bring them to Arlington. You can do that with industry and probably national sponsors. But the biggest support for infrastructure is the government. And if you don’t have a research university you’re working in partnership with, you don’t have a chance.

Q: How would you address UTA’s small faculty size?

A: You’ve got to increase it. You’ve got to look at the whole budget. You’ve got to look at deficiencies. See where you can raise money, where you can reduce issues of duplication, utility resources and access and look at technology and promotion. You have to raise money. You need some indirect cost revenue. You need to look at assets, too — at your revenue stream.

That will all increase faculty size. This is a complicated scenario, and you don’t do that by yourself. That’s where your other cabinet members provide input.

Q: How would you assemble the administration here?

A: You have to have some national searches, and that could mean internal or external candidates. The key positions of leadership have to be filled that way. Some of the positions may not require a search because you already have the people in place, and they’re doing a good job. So why change it?

Because of my national recognition — I’ve served on a lot of national boards — I’m confident that a lot of talented people would be interested in a job.

Q: Do you support stricter admission policies as a vehicle for increasing academic standards?

A: I support standards. I support excellence, and I support excellence in students. How would you like to go to class knowing that you’re learning something that’s four generations old?

Q: Is $10 per credit hour in the spring an adequate tuition increase?

A: You can’t give an intelligent answer without looking at the whole budget. Obviously, what I can say is that I think UT-Arlington did it right by involving students. And I applaud the students for contributing good ideas. They’re very honest: They didn’t want a second-rate education, and they understand how it works.

Q: You applied for the presidency of the University of Cincinnati in April. How far did your name progress in the pool?

A: I was not a finalist. I actually pulled out. It was not a job I wanted to pursue.

Q: Where will UTA be in 10 years if you’re its president?

A: UTA will be a flagship university.

Q: Why should you be UTA’s next president?

A: Well, I come with a lot of skills and pedigree and a track record that works well in Texas and nationally. Obviously at schools like UCLA and Wisconsin-Madison, you learn excellence. My national and international recognition will help UT-Arlington. And I know Texas, and I know a lot of other institutions. I think UT-Arlington needs to be a leader.

Q: This would be your first presidency, and you’re 52. Would it be your last job?

A: You only want to go after a job where you know you’ll make a difference. I came to Houston to make a difference. I think in Arlington I can make a tremendous difference. Therefore, I will only stay on a position if the community thinks I’m making a difference, if the faculty thinks I’m making a difference, if the students think I’m making a difference. Why would you want to stay if they don’t think that? That could be the rest of my career.

I’m to the point in my life that I want to be a president. It’ll be a promotion, but any other presidency after that would be a lateral transfer.

You stay on a job as long as you think you’re making a difference. And it could be lifelong.

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