Vice president for research narrowed to three applicants

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "Both the provost and the president believe there are many highly qualified faculty- that would do an outstanding job in the position." Michael Gottfredson UA Vice President for under-graduate studies

Michael Gottfredson, University of Arizona vice president for undergraduate studies, said time constraints and an abundance of qualified faculty members on campus were reasons for the decision.

"Both the provost and the president believe there are many highly qualified faculty on the campus that would do an outstanding job in the position," Gottfredson stated in an e-mail interview. "The current VPR is leaving the post at the end of the year, so it is more timely to do an internal search."

Gottfredson was responsible for the search to replace Michael Cu-sanovich, who submitted his resignation in April, to be effective Dec. 31.

Cusanovich had said he wanted to step down so he could return to the classroom and laboratory.

There were 10 applicants for the position, Gottfredson said. The three finalists - Richard Powell, director of UA's optical sciences center; Tom Hixon, dean of the UA Graduate College; and Lynn Nadel, psychology department head - will each partake in separate 90-minute open forums this week.

The 16-member search committee will present a report to UA Provost Paul Sypherd after the forums are completed.

Sypherd and UA President Peter Likins will make the final decision, Gottfredson said. The vice president for research reports to Sypherd.

Although administrative positions are often revamped when new people take over, Gottfredson said he did not expect any significant changes this time.

"These essential features of the position will always be the major part of the portfolio," Gottfredson said. "There are no plans for changing any of these, but universities are dynamic organizations and some change is always possible given the interests of the vice president."

The three finalists, who are all tenured faculty members, bring different backgrounds to the table.

Nadel has 30 years of interdisciplinary research experience working with universities, medical schools and research institutions. He said his experience with the UA psychology department and his research background have prepared him for the job.

"I believe my experience in helping faculty be more productive, in creating interdisciplinary opportunities, in dealing with tough problems of space and funding in a research-intensive department and in dealing with 1,300 undergraduate majors ... provides a background of wide experience and diverse problem-solving that prepares me for the position," Nadel stated in an e-mail interview.

Powell, who has 35 years experience and specializes in the development and application of lasers, said the diverse aspects of his field make him a qualified candidate.

"I have dealt extensively with intellectual property, conflict of interest and conflict of commitment issues through serving on the Tech Transfer Advisory Committee for the past six years," Powell stated in an e-mail interview. "Also, I have been involved in building multidisciplinary university/industry centers of excellence that involve many different issues of resource allocation, evaluation and reward and maintenance of academic integrity."

Powell and Nadel differ on what the position's top priorities should be. Hixon could not be reached.

"In my opinion, there are two ongoing challenges for the vice president of research: building unique, outstanding programs and communications," Powell said.

He said the university needs to expand multidisciplinary programs and build partnerships between UA departments - and between the university, industry and government.

Nadel said the position's immediate challenges are more numerous.

The perception that research is less important than it used to be needs to be reversed, he said. Nadel also said space and funding need to be addressed, as well as defining the school's strengths, expanding on them and educating the public on the role of research.

"It's hard to pick one of these as the biggest challenge - all are important, and will occupy much of the time of the next VPR," Nadel said.

Anthony C. Braza can be reached via e-mail at Anthony.C.Braza@wildcat.arizona.edu.