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NEWS
| October 24, 2003
Presidential Search
Hoff: University must develop leadership
team
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| The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade |
| UTA presidential finalist Peter Hoff,
president at the University of Maine, talks with reporters
Thursday morning about his vision for the university if
chosen as the next president. |
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By Danny
Woodward
The Shorthorn staff
Peter Hoff sits at the head of the table, legs crossed, hands flying
as he speaks.
A university president, he’s commanding in his tailored suit
and enthusiastic smile. An English professor, he’s flowing
in speech and demonstrative in motion.
A politician and poet at once.
Dr. Hoff, the president at the University of Maine, is the second
finalist for the top job here to visit the campus. He arrived Thursday
for two days of meetings with university constituents.
The Shorthorn asked him 20 questions.
Question: What are your impressions of the campus so far?
Answer: Most of my impressions were formed when I visited in early
September. When I came, I had a very positive sense of the university.
I always have. But visiting the campus has exceeded my expectations,
and now I’m more excited than before.
Q: You’re obviously at a great university. What about
UTA is so appealing to you?
A: I believe that in the next 50 years, metropolitan universities
will make the biggest steps upward. To be part of that is an exciting
proposition. But potential is one of the saddest words in the English
language. Unrealized potential makes that a sad word. You need a
leader to make it happen. You need that collective vision.
Q: In your opinion, what is UTA’s greatest asset?
A: It has maintained its soul. It has always been a university dedicated
to access, and it’s provided an education for students who
couldn’t have otherwise been able to receive one. It has remarkable
diversity, and that’s one of the things I love. That, too,
is part of its soul.
Q: On the other hand, what is the university’s biggest
problem?
A: There are immediate acute problems and long-term problems. That’s
not to say it’s an institution filled with problems —
far from it. It’s a great university. But you’ve got
to assemble a leadership team. You’ve had so much turnover,
and that’s both a danger and an opportunity. You really need
to amp up the development options. Those are the top two issues.
Q: Most of the research money at the University of Maine
has come from opportunities unique to the institution, such as forestry
and marine biology. Are there similar opportunities here, given
the competition from other universities in the area?
A: It’s important to find niches. This university needs focus
on where it can excel. Nanotechnology, obviously, is a strength
here, and that ought to help the high-tech industries in this area.
Q: How would you improve retention, especially given the university’s
“commuter” tag and large population of nontraditional
students?
A: You want to give people an opportunity to succeed. It’s
not necessarily failure if someone achieves their education objectives
but doesn’t walk away with a diploma. The important thing
is to improve on a relative scale. You don’t do that by standing
on a street corner saying, “Hey, why don’t you stick
around here and graduate?” You need analysis.
Are we counting wrong? Maybe if somebody is married and has kids
and a job, it’s not feasible to graduate in six years. Maybe
it’s a 10-year graduation scale for some people, although
you want them to get through as fast as possible. But you need a
lot of analysis. I don’t think they don’t like us. Are
we offering classes at the wrong time? There are often economic
issues, so maybe we can find more scholarships or grants.
Having good research is the first step.
Q: During your presidency, Maine has opened new facilities
for track and field, football and softball and has spent more than
$1 million refurbishing its volleyball venue. The university has
some of the finest athletic facilities in the Northeast. In your
opinion, how important are athletics to a university?
A: In a lot of different ways, I think athletics are important,
but it’s not the end-all, be-all. It’s part of a really
great university. The public knows a university by what its athletic
teams do, and you may say that’s not fair. But it’s
a truth. If you want to have a good marketing image, then it’s
arguable that you should support athletics.
There are 70,000 alumni living in this area, and if only 5 percent
— one in 20 — showed up for a game, then you’d
be overwhelmed.
Q: How successful have you been working with governors and
legislators?
A: I’ve been fortunate because Maine is a small enough state
that a university president can have a personal relationship with
the governor. It’s important to be as active as possible when
given the opportunity. It’s a priority for me, although I
think there’s probably a lot more competition for the governor
in this state.
You also need to stay in contact with the legislators from your
area, and I understand the ones here really come to bat for the
university. You also have to keep in mind the federal delegation
from your state.
Q: Do you have ties within the UT System?
A: You know, I really don’t. Chancellor (Mark) Yudof and I
actually worked together on the Kellogg Commission [regarding the
future of land-grant universities, 1997-2000]. I know him as a colleague.
He’s a very intelligent and thoughtful person.
Q: As the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs in the California
State University System, you developed the “Cornerstones”
strategic plan. What did that entail?
A: It’s a very broad-based strategic effort involving system
administration, campus presidents, leaders, students and the Pew
Trust. There are 23 campuses and over 300,000 students, so you can
imagine the complexity of it. There are four cornerstones, which
were quite a bold experiment. The cornerstones are educational results,
access to higher education, financial stability and university accountability.
Q: In August 2000, Converge magazine honored you as a pioneer
in using technology in education. How do you use technology?
A: Honestly, I don’t know why they singled me out. I don’t
consider myself to be a complete technological geek. But I always
tried to push technology [as vice chancellor for academic affairs]
at Indiana-Southeast. It’s commonplace now, but it wasn’t
in the ’80s — I tried to make sure every professor had
a computer. I’ve always been very strong in faculty development
to make them be the best teachers they can, and a lot of that means
technology to make teaching more effective. So I try to stay on
top of technology.
Q: One of your goals has been to visit every high school
in Maine to stress the importance of attending college. Have you
been successful in that?
A: Not quite yet. I’ve been to 120 out of 150.
Q: Is that how you were able to increase the size of Maine’s
entering class by 53 percent?
A: A lot of people think so, but I tend to discount it. I go to
all these high schools because I had never lived in Maine, and I
wanted to know literally where our kids were coming from. I’m
not necessarily telling them that they need to come the University
of Maine. But it can’t hurt enrollment.
Q: What’s your leadership style?
A: I think that’s the kind of question others can answer better.
I don’t think consensus is a dirty word. I honestly think
that anytime I can get consensus, I will go for it. But when it
comes right down to it, I will make the decision.
Q: You’ve been at Maine almost seven years —
the longest tenure of any president there in 30 years. In speeches
you’ve made, you’ve specifically pointed that out. Why
is that so important to you?
A: Longevity is important for so many reasons because there are
so many things a university can’t do without a stable leadership.
Fund raising comes to mind. Recruiting. Construction and maintenance
projects. A stable leadership is important to any university.
Q: One of the proposals for tuition increases being considered
now calls for additional increases to the per-credit-hour cost in
engineering and nursing. What do you think about a tuition structure
in which some degrees effectively cost more than others?
A: Well, it simply costs at least twice as much to provide instruction
for engineering as it does some other courses. The same is true
for nursing. They’re both very expensive fields. Now, I don’t
think this makes one degree more valuable than another. And I don’t
think we should use this to attempt to fill a quota for the job
market.
People say, “Well, we need more engineers or we need more
nurses.” I say, hell, we need more poets, too. But the fact
is that most universities are doing anything in their power to maintain
the quality of education, and I don’t think that diminishes
the spirit of the role a university is supposed to play in society.
Q: The university and city have forged a partnership aimed
at using research to fuel economic development. Do you think it’s
appropriate for a university to be saddled with the task of creating
jobs?
A: Even though we’re in Texas, I don’t think saddle
is the right word. I think it’s a great opportunity, and I
think there are great things in store for both the university and
city. I’ve never seen a community that “gets it”
as much as Arlington, never seen a city that understands how important
a university — a complete university — is to the development
of a city.
That kind of advocacy is a godsend. It would be different if this
partnership required us to bend the mission of a university, if
we said, “Screw Liberal Arts, let’s do economic development.”
We’d be a trade school then. But I don’t think anyone
thinks UTA should do that.
Q: Where will UTA be in 10 years if you’re its president?
A: There’s a saying that says he who looks into the crystal
ball eats glass. I’m like Yogi Berra: I’m not going
to make predictions, especially about the future. But I think the
university here can be tremendous. There’s an analogy at the
University of Central Florida, where everything they’ve done
has mushroomed. Everything they do is just taking off. That could
be a pattern for what UTA could do. The sky’s the limit.
Q: Why should you be UTA’s next president?
A: I’m excited by a challenge that would allow me to spend
seven to 10 years leading an exciting university.
Q: This would be your second presidency, and you’re 59. Would
it be your last job?
A: Oh, yeah. I hope it will be a destination. UTA isn’t a
steppingstone to anywhere.
— Managing editor Brad Rollins contributed to this article.
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