University of Virginia Library

APPENDIX B

A REPORT FROM THE STUDENT COMMITTEE
TO THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE
BOARD OF VISITORS ON THE NOMINATION OF A PRESIDENT
MAY 4

This report represents the efforts and thoughts of the Student Committee on the Nomination of a President. The Committee has sought to present a student viewpoint on (1) what personal qualifications the next President of the University of Virginia should possess and (2) what problems he will face as well as tentative suggestions on their solution.

In the preparation of this report, the Committee has sought the ideas of students, faculty members, administrators, and alumni. Each of these groups expressed different concerns as to what the role of the President is or should be. This report attempts to express these concerns from the perspective of the Student Committee.

I. The Qualifications for the Office of the President

The Committee feels that the Office of President of the University of Virginia is one of extreme importance, not only to the University, but also to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The University's position within the State has been and continues to be unique, and the President must reflect the University's character both in his private and public images. The Student Committee does not feel, therefore, that it is appropriate or necessary to suggest restrictive qualifications at this time. Rather, the Committee hopes that each potential candidate might be reviewed on the basis of that combination of qualities or attributes which would make him the most appropriate choice.

There are certain qualities which are obviously desirable ones for the next President. The next President will most certainly have to be responsive to both student and faculty problems. He will certainly have to be a person of stature who will command respect not only at the University but throughout the State. He must be an administrator capable of directing the University and of securing the necessary funds both from the state legislature and from private sources to further the University's ambitions in its search for excellence.

To accomplish this, this Committee feels that the President should be approximately thirty-five to fifty-five years of age. He should have academic experience and should have attained a terminal degree in his field. He should have had experience with or exposure to professional schools. He should have administrative experience or have clearly demonstrated in his work an ability to lead and inspire others.

The Committee further feels that politicians or former politicians should be reviewed with great care. While the Committee feels that great emphasis should be placed on the President's ability to work effectively with the legislature, it recognizes that Virginia is no longer a one-party state. A person selected today because of his partisan ties with the party or persons in power might well find himself and the University without such ties in several years. The Committee is concerned that the disadvantages posed by such a situation may very well outweigh any immediate advantages such a candidate might provide.

An attribute which the Committee feels should be weighed favorably in the consideration of any potential candidate is his ability to relate to both the University and the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is not to imply that such a person must have attended the University or have been a resident of Virginia, but rather, that he appreciate the position of excellence and leadership which the University has long maintained among colleges and universities within Virginia and accept the University's goals in its role of service to the State and nation.

The most important qualification for a potential candidate should be his personality. The President of the University is a public figure and as such conveys this image of the University wherever he is present. The President should be able to command respect if not agreement among diverse constituencies. We seek a candidate who is honest, innovative and one who strives for a personal contact between himself and all sectors of the University.

II. The Role of the Presidency

The Student Committee has found it advantageous to divide the various duties of the President and the problems we feel he will have to face into four categories. These include athletics, the student body, the faculty, and relations with the state legislature.

THE PRESIDENT AND ATHLETICS

The Student Committee feels that the next President of the University should continue to build an athletic program which is competitive within our conference, but one which also places emphasis on building leadership characteristics in the individual participants rather than glory for the school. Athletic excellence isgoal to be relished and appreciated only after the athletes themselves are distinguished as leaders among their fellow students. The President must seek to implement a successful athletic program without sacrificing any of the academic standards which the University has maintained throughout its history.

The Committee feels that the next President should place renewed emphasis on the development of recreational facilities and programs, integrating athletics into all phases of student life, and that he should conscientiously coordinate the establishment of a fully developed inter-collegiate athletic program for women.

The Committee further recognizes the importance of the athletic programs at the University both in improving public relations and in obtaining financial aid for the University. Moreover, the Student Committee strongly urges that the President accept ultimate responsibility for all phases of the athletic program.

THE PRESIDENT AND THE STUDENT BODY

The students should be a major concern of the President. A student's educational experience depends on a mature and well-guided program under the President's direction. The rate of student growth has been a major concern in recent years. Uncontrolled expansion, with poor planning, produces overcrowded classes, intolerable living conditions, and an irreparable loss of community and personal interaction. The students at the University are concerned with this problem and will require the next President to be responsive to student efforts to maintain an environment of scholarly pursuit in conjunction with a meaningful living experience.

The President should also be firmly committed to the concept of student self-government and participation in the decision-making processes of the University. To do this he must:

1) Constantly take a strong public stand in support of the Honor System and render all possible assistance to student leaders so that it will remain safe from attacks from outside the University.

2) Make sure that the University committee structure provides a meaningful system for both student and faculty input in the administrative decisions of the University.

3) Actively seek input from student leaders concerning the problems which students face. In every sense of the word he should be "concerned" with students and student input.

The next President must also strive to attain even higher levels of academic excellence at the University. He should continue to insist on the importance of out-of-state students and use his influence to preserve the national character of the University. At the same time he should recognize the responsibility of the University to the State in providing education to those from all socio-economic levels. He should firmly commit the University to the increased recruitment of minority students.

THE PRESIDENT AND THE FACULTY

The President's role with regard to the faculty should consist of the following concerns and responsibilities:

President should accept personal responsibility for the e faculty. Realizing that a first-rate faculty makes university, the President should hold himself for seeing that the University of Virginia has the uished faculty possible. In this connection, the President should:

A) establish the highest standards for the faculty.

B) actively recruit Visiting Professors and seek funds to pay for Visiting Professorships

C) personally review all cases of hiring or firing faculty, as well as all cases of granting or with-holding tenure or promotions.

2) The President should make every effort to make the faculty feel that he is interested in each and every one of them and in the work that each of them is doing.

3)e President should commit the University to substantially the number of qualified "minority-group" professors on the.

4) The President should be concerned about broad areas of curriculum (i.e. the establishment of new areas of curriculum) but should not be concerned about the establishment of specific courses.

5) The President should be actively involved in securing funds for the construction of new facilities whenever such faciliare needed and should be constantly aware of what new ties are needed by the University and their priority.

6)President should be concerned about and should hold himseponsible for improving the low-status departments at the University so that all departments at the University are distinguished.

THE PRESIDENT AND THE LEGISLATURE

The new President's duties will certainly be many and varied, but none will be more important than his relationship with the state legislature. The demands on state funds by the community college system and four-year institutions will be great in coming years. Justifiable efforts to raise the funding levels of these institutions could result in decreased funding for the University. The President must be an articulate spokesman in Richmond to prevent such a decrease as well as an able fund raiser within the private community.

Perhaps the greatest attributes that the new President can have in regard to his duties in Richmond as well as to money raising in the private sector are personal integrity and articulateness. The individual legislators must respect the President, and they must know that his budget requests represent fairly the needs of the University. If the President can engender the trust and respect of the legislators, then they will be much more willing to listen to his requests and to expend the funds needed for the continued improvement of the University.

In the past, the President's duties required that he present to the legislature a very detailed report of the necessary allo for the University. The future, however, will no doubtand a different kind of presentation. The detailed work will still be necessary, but that will be done mainly by the Vice-President for financial affairs and his staff. The University's requests will be forwarded to the State Council of Higher Education, and there will be less chance for a detailed presentation by the President.

The new President, therefore, will have to be an advocate of the University's needs publicly rather than in his presentation to the legislature. The image that the President portrays of the University will be largely responsible for the funds that the University receives from the state. He must assure the legislature that the University is known throughout American colleges and universities as an excellent academic institution. He must convince the legislature that if the University is to remain nationally renowned, the State must give a financial fair share to it; at present state appropriations as a percentage of total University revenues are well below the national average for public universities. Equalization of Virginia's colleges and universities, achieved by averaging appropriations for all institutions, can only result in mediocrity; the President should work for the goal of increased appropriations for all institutions of higher learning.

The new President must be active in a number of other issues with which the legislature is concerned. He must strenuously oppose any attempt to legislate a limitation on the number of out-of-state students which we can admit. He must also fight a disturbing legislative trend toward equalization of per capita expenditures for graduate and undergraduate students; legislators must be convinced of the tremendous benefits which accrue to the state through strong graduate programs, benefits which fully justify adequate funding. Finally, while duplication of programs and resources must be avoided, the new President must resist attempts to centralize decision-making powers in the State Council of Higher Education and other state agencies. The traditional autonomy of educational institution in Virginia must be preserved.

In conclusion, the need for a President, gifted with the ability to publicly articulate the University's position, will become even more necessary as the state's bureaucracy becomes more complicated and the political leadership of the state becomes less stable. The President must be able to put forward a well-thought out program of development for the University with continued emphasis on the University's role as the leader of higher education in the State.