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NEWS
| October 28, 2003
Presidential Search
McDavis: UTA has potential, needs
passion
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| The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade |
| Presidential finalist Roderick McDavis
speaks with reporters Monday morning in Davis Hall. The
third of five finalists to visit campus said money is
the university’s largest problem. |
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By Danny
Woodward
The Shorthorn staff
Passion is a buzz word for Roderick McDavis — passion for
research, passion for education, passion for just being UTA.
Dr. McDavis is the provost and vice president for academic affairs
at Virginia Commonwealth University and the third of five presidential
finalists to visit campus.
The Shorthorn asked him 20 questions:
Question: What are your impressions so far?
Answer: This university has a very strong foundation. It has a lot
of potential. The unique part about UTA is its location in the Metroplex,
right here in Arlington. There are all kinds of research opportunities
just in that.
Q: What about UTA is so appealing to you?
A:There are so many similarities between Virginia Commonwealth University
and UTA. They’re both major urban universities. They’re
both keen on research. Both universities want to provide students
with resources. VCU has about 26,000 students; UTA has 25,000. If
you throw out the medical center at VCU and architecture at UTA,
the universities are very, very similar.
My interest is in being at a university in an urban area that wants
to be top tier.
Q: In your opinion, what is UTA greatest asset?
A:That’s a good question. There are three. The first is that
there’s an array of academic programs. There are more than
190 academic offerings here. The second thing, I think, is that
UTA has always provided opportunities for education for students
who may not have otherwise received one. And No. 3 is the diversity
of the student body.
Q: On the other hand, what is the university’s biggest
problem?
A:M-O-N-E-Y. The financial resources need to be improved, whether
you’re talking about state revenue, endowments or research
revenue. They all need immediate attention. On the state end, the
university needs added revenue because of its growth and where I
expect it to go. It needs a much larger research budget.
Q: In your opinion, how important is athletics to a university?
A:Athletics can play a very important role in shaping the public’s
image of a university. But you don’t want to go broke trying
to shape the public image. If you do it right, you can have great
student athletes and great athletic programs. They can get you the
kind of public attention that you can’t pay for in many circles.
I’m a great believer in the value of athletics to a university,
and I would look for ways to improve athletics at UTA.
Q: Because you’ve never been a university president,
do you have experience working with governors and state legislators?
A:Oh, yes, definitely. VCU just opened a campus in Qatar, and we
had to get state approval. The legislature had to vote in favor
of that, and the governor had to approve it. They did. I’ll
take some credit for that. We had another project ... where we spent
a lot of time trying to get earmarks from congress. We’ve
been successful a lot of the time.
As a dean at two universities — at the University of Arkansas
and the University of Florida — I’ve worked on ... several
initiatives with state and local elected officials. I’ve had
the privilege of knowing and working with several governors in three
states during my career.
Q: Do you have ties in the UT System?
A: No, I don’t. I’ve known some people who have worked
in the system at one time, but I don’t currently have any
colleagues in the system.
Q: How would you foster ties between UTA and other system
institutions, particularly UT-Dallas and UT-Southwestern Medical
Center in Dallas?
A: Communication is essential. Part of what’s exciting is
the communication opportunities in research convergence with respect
to UTA and UT-Southwestern Medical Center, as well as other universities
in the area. You can’t get them unless you’re willing
to get out there and talk with people, whether it’s one-on-one
or in a group. And I’ll be doing a lot of both kinds.
Q: How would you foster ties between UTA and the city of
Arlington?
A: Again, it’s about communicating. I want to be a fixture
in the community. I want to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce,
I want to be in the business community. I want to create avenues
with businesses that are win-win so that it’s not a one-way
deal. Lets find those opportunities.
Q: Do you have specific plans for boosting research?
A: Sure, and part of it is continuing what’s already going
on here. The conversations UTA has had with the Sandia National
Laboratories are excellent. Nanotechnology and the Technology Incubator
are excellent, as are the robotics institute. Now, it’s an
issue of finding partnerships so you can expand what you’re
already doing.
The first thing I’d do is attach to UT-Southwestern as quickly
as I could because there are so many opportunities there with the
National Health Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
If we could do that, in five or 10 years, there’s no reason
we couldn’t be in excess of $100 million in research expenditures.
But that’s not going to happen by ourselves.
The first thing I’d do is find partnerships in the medical
community. The next thing I’d do is find partnerships in the
university community; then in the business community. I’m
talking about in the Metroplex and around the country.
Q: You’re curriculum vitae is loaded with instances
of your service on minority educational committees, with speeches
you’ve made on minority educational opportunities, with administration
of African-American centers. Why have those opportunities been so
important to you throughout your career?
A: I’ve been black my whole life. So I have a deep understanding
of what it’s like to be different. Education is a ticket out,
and so it’s very important. When I look back at the breaks
I’ve gotten along the way, it’s because of the education
I’ve received. I see how different my life is because of my
education.
I’ve always felt a responsibility to give back. What can I
give back? I go talk to junior high and high schools about education,
even sometimes colleges. I think this all comes from my early experiences.
Q: You’ve talked about beginning a major private-sector
capital campaign here. What would that entail?
A:A strategic vision. You’ve got to have a plan in place.
It can happen here, and it’s real important that it does.
You’ve got to identify your strengths and assets and working
on making them actualize funds. My goal is at least $100 million.
Q: You have said that several colleagues urged you to apply
here. What did they tell you about UTA?
A: Hum ... that’s a good one. I think what they did was look
at me, and they knew that I wanted to be a university president.
And I think they took a look at UTA and saw that it was a lot like
where I was coming from, and that’s what got me excited. We
are a lot alike.
Then through research I did on my own, I saw that this was a university
that’s trying to be a top-tier institution. And that really
made me want to come here. I would love to be part of a leadership
team that helps a university like this get there.
Q: One difference, though, is that VCU has one of the top
graduate schools in the country. What does UTA need to do to get
there as well?
A: There’s no magic formula. It’s a lot of hard work
and recruiting top-notch faculty and top-notch graduate students.
When I was at Florida ... I had the honor of serving as a faculty
member in the No. 1-rated graduate school in the country, and that’s
something I’m very proud of. You’ve got to get people
with a shared vision all in the same program. You’ve got to
get an academic program that’s cutting edge, that’s
different than other academic programs.
Q: One of the first things you’d have to do, of course,
is reassemble a leadership team. What would be your plan for that?
A: I would immediately institute a national search. I would encourage
everyone to apply, and everyone would be judged on the merit of
their work. I don’t have a group of people waiting in the
wing that I’m planning to bring down with me.
I want to find the best people for the job, and that is people who
want to be at UTA. This isn’t the kind of place to come to
and retire or just stay a few years and leave. You’ve got
to be passionate, because that’s what this place needs: a
little bit of passion.
Q: Would you increase the academic standards here through
vehicles such as stricter admission standards or other policies?
A: We’d look at it. Everything is open to review. Nothing
is static, nothing is too sacred. Now, to get to that next level
of excellence, it’s time to look at your students and if you
need stricter standards. And if so, then where do you make exceptions
in those standards.
Q: It’s fairly obvious that tuition needs to increase
because of the substantial drop in state funding. In your opinion,
how much does it need to increase?
A: It’s clearly a look at what the market can bear and what
students can bear. You don’t want to price yourself out of
the market.
I need more research to answer that specifically, and I’d
like to look at what other universities in the region are doing,
and what other universities in the UT System are doing. But I believe
students should get what they pay for. If that’s a higher
level, that’s fine — as long as they’re paying
for what they get. If they’re not, then I’d have a problem
with that.
I would begin by supporting what the administration here has already
done and getting that off the ground. But anything else that happens
would be on my watch, so I’d take a hard look at that.
Q: Where will UTA be in 10 years if you’re its president?
A:Tier 1 or Tier 2 in U.S. News and World Report’s best colleges.
It would have a research budget of at least a million — I
mean $100 million, I would hope it would have a least a million.
It would have endowments of $100 million. It would have a lot of
partnerships with universities and medical schools and businesses
in and out of Texas. When you say UTA, people would say “Yeah.”
It would be known for its quality of its academics.
Q: Why should you be UTA’s next president?
A:I have the experience. I have the passion. It’s the right
time and the right place for me.
Q: This would be your first presidency, and you’re
55. Would it be your last job?
A:It would be a job that I’d work at until I was finished,
if that’s 10 years or 15 years. Let me answer it another way
— I just thought about this. President Nedderman, I think,
is the longest-serving president here (1972-92). I’d like
to beat that. I want to set the record for the longest-serving president
at UTA.
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