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NEWS
| November 7, 2003
Presidential Search
Vailas: UTA must pursue attention,
funds aggressively
He says a tough economy shouldn’t
stop growth here with the system’s strength.
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Presidential finalist Arthur Vailas
speaks to faculty, staff and students Thursday in the
Business Building. Vailas said he would come here to build
UTA into a great research university if he is chosen. |
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By Danny
Woodward
The Shorthorn staff
The university should be more aggressive in pursuing state funds,
forming partnerships and recruiting top-notch faculty, presidential
finalist Arthur Vailas told about 100 university faculty, staff
and students Thursday afternoon.
Dr. Vailas said the new president — whoever he is —
must be “articulate in pushing the right buttons” because
he expects state revenue to continue to drop.
“You’ve got to get aggressive,” he said. “You’ve
got to show me what you’re going to do. You’ve got to
articulate the truth and investment, and there is no substitute
for excellence.”
Vailas is the vice chancellor for research and intellectual property
management in the University of Houston System and the last of five
presidential candidates to visit campus.
He said the university is achieving some success but needs ambitious
leadership to find more.
“There are great things going on here,” he said. “Well,
show me the proof.”
Accounting senior Bryan Shaner, a Student Congress senator who has
met with several candidates, said he liked that.
“All the time he was talking, he wasn’t saying, ‘This
is the way you do it,’ ” he said. “He said you
have to look. Where’s the proof? ... I have no worries about
the guy.”
Vailas said he’s interested in coming to the university to
make a difference and to grow a university he called “a sleeping
giant.”
“I want to build the creative enterprise of the institution,”
he said. “I have come here to build. I believe I have the
skill set and the experience to build a great research university.
You’re well on your way. The president just needs to articulate
the vision and think outside the box.”
He said a weak economy shouldn’t stop the university from
growing, especially given its alliance in the UT System.
“The UT System is the most powerful education system in Texas,
politically,” he said.
Electrical engineering professor Kambiz Alavi asked Vailas what
he would do to get lawmakers’ attention that previous presidents
had not.
“You will not be close to your political officials instantly,”
Vailas said. “You invite them to campus, you invite them to
special events, you build a portfolio of respect ... Sometimes you
go to their things. It’s a constant work, and it’s a
two-way street. You make them a part of your university, and you
help them out, too.”
Vailas said it’s also important that UTA forms partnerships
with other universities and opens research alliances among its faculty
members in various disciplines.
And he said peer review programs are important.
“Self-proclamation will not make you a great university,”
he said.
Other plans:
• He said women play a vital role in the leadership of a university.
“For women to be a part of administration, I think you can
expect that from me,” he said.
• Research universities mean more than great researchers,
he said. So he would reward support staff and more academically-minded
faculty with incentive programs.
• He said he would consider several avenues to increase student
retention and graduation rates. Among them is increasing financial
aid availability; increasing admission standards; enhancing the
campus’ infrastructure for commuter students, including learning
centers; mentor programs and incentives for taking more hours per
semester.
Those incentives, he said, could include child-care services or
not paying above a certain amount of tuition, no matter how many
hours a student takes.
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search, visit the Data
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