Choosing a new university president occasions a form of collective soul searching that provides a space for asking ourselves such large questions as what we are, who we are and who we want to be. Given our history and our present, the following are seven traits that constitute a desired portrait of a university performing effectively in today's globalized world:
1. A global university. The UA is a university whose concerns and aims are global, not merely local and national. In a world of fragile boundaries - economic, political, social and cultural - the UA rightly devotes itself to the search for solutions for the globe's most important problems, including water and environmental sustainability, human health, crop improvement through biotechnology, drug development, nanotechnology, cross-cultural and religious understanding and diplomacy. Indeed, universities that have a global reach have the best hope today of bringing home the best solutions to local, state and national problems.
2. An egalitarian university. The era of egalitarian universities in America began in 1825, when Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. With the subsequent establishment of more state universities across the nation, education in America has since been available to the masses and is no longer confined to an elite. The UA faithfully continues this tradition in American education, despite the state share of its budget having declined to only 35 percent.
3. A democratic university. The UA is committed to the proposition of shared governance. Implemented through the Faculty Senate and the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, shared governance attests to the wise notion that "collective intelligence enables the university to make better decisions, and that reaching consensus about decisions enhances unity, which creates a stronger institution and helps achieves its goals."
4. A diverse university. Fortune magazine once quoted Ivan Seidenberg, then CEO of Bell Atlantic, as saying, "If everybody in the room is the same, you'll have a lot fewer arguments and a lot worse answers." Diversity, of the broadest type, catalyzes personal and communal creativity and vitality. A most eloquent exponent of diversity, Salman Rushdie once insisted that, "Melange, hotch-potch, a bit of this and a bit of that is how newness enters the world." Far from being a mere paean to political correctness, diversity is a present, if incomplete, reality at the UA.
5. A productive university. The UA has successfully embraced its three-fold mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. Indeed, the UA has become one of the nation's top 20 public research institutions, and it is one of only 62 members in the Association of American Universities, a prestigious organization that recognizes universities with exceptionally strong research and academic programs. More, however, needs to be accomplished, especially in the area of nurturing and harnessing intellectual properties and patents and even in establishing spin-off companies that would enhance economic development.
6. A growing university. Achieving a sustainable growth for the UA in terms of teaching, research and public service over the long term constitutes the UA president's paramount challenge and cardinal responsibility. As the carrying capacity of a university is dependent on the availability of financial resources, it follows that the UA needs to become more creative and aggressive in raising unrestricted funds through private donations and other sources. Only with unrestricted funds can today's universities be afforded the flexibility that they need to adapt quickly and decisively to fluctuating risks and opportunities, and thus remain highly effective.
7. An accountable university. Accountability breeds credibility and loyalty. The UA should strive to continue to practice and demonstrate accountability to all its constituents and stakeholders. For instance, instituting outcomes-based assessments for all its educational programs to ensure academic excellence would also establish the proof of value that students and parents receive from their tuition investments. The UA also needs to continue to find ways to improve its student retention and graduation rates. Helping more students obtain scholarships and financial aid is also critical, and providing fair and adequate compensation to all its faculty and staff is simply a must.
In more ways than one, the UA still has a way to go in perfecting these seven traits, particularly the last three. It is clear, however, that despite certain shortcomings and some struggles, the UA continues to march on quite effectively, energized by its portrait of a desired collective identity in continual renegotiation with itself. On close inspection, the foregoing seven traits not only apply to a highly effective UA, but represent the seven traits of all highly effective universities at the beginning of the 21st century.
Joel L. Cuello is a member of the Faculty Senate and an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.