Robert A. Easter, Interim Provost and Vice- Chancellor for Academic Affairs Campus Priorities...
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Transcript of Robert A. Easter, Interim Provost and Vice- Chancellor for Academic Affairs Campus Priorities...
Robert A. Easter, Interim Provost and Vice-Chancellor for Academic
Affairs
Campus Priorities2009-2010
My Background – Unusual for a Provost
B.S. at Texas A&M in Agriculture, M.S. in Animal Nutrition, Ph.D. from Illinois in Animal Science – I joined the Illinois faculty in 1976. My research is in the area of swine nutrition – feeding pigs. We are proud that Illinois is a major intellectual center in this discipline & my colleagues and I have populated the world with our Ph.D.’s
It is fair to say that I am also a general agriculturist with work/lecture experience in more than 40 countries. I currently hold a presidential appointment as Chair of the Board on International Food and Agricultural Development that advises the US Agency for International Development
In 1996 I became Head of the Department of Animal Sciences
In 2001 I was first named interim dean then dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Today marks the first day of my tenure as interim provost.
Welcome to Leadership at the University of Illinois
The campus leadership profoundly appreciates your willingness to take on your responsibilities
What you and your fellow leaders do will in significant part determine the future of our institution.
In a very real sense it is my responsibility, along with those in the Office of the Provost to do everything that we can to allow you to be successful….. We take that role seriously
My predecessor, Provost Linda Katehi, placed great emphasis on building cohesion and a sense of “team” and we have been able to have conversations and make decisions that would not have been possible otherwise.
LeadershipLeadership is fundamental to the success
of any endeavor involving two or more people
“The art of direct and indirect influence and the skill of creating the conditions for sustained organizational success.”
MANAGERS – Strive to achieve goals
LEADERS – Inspire others to achieve potential
Management can be relatively simple, Leadership isn’t
Individually we must be both leaders and managers.
The greatest challenge for me has been to grapple with the realization that it isn’t about me… and finding pleasure in their success
Leaders are:Standard bearers -
Accept the reality that you ARE the College are the Department in the eyes of many.
Provide vision and certaintyEstablish the ethical framework
Honor commitments – Let your yes be yes and your no be no
We academic’s love to parse words – be absolutely clearDevelopers of human potential
Teachers and coachesTeam builders
Create common intent and shared vision – I had the privilege of growing up on this campus under a department head who exuded excellence – there was no compromise
Leaders must:- Have a pragmatic understanding the
economic/industrial/social/resource context.
- Anticipate change
LeadersContinually hone their professional skillsHave unabashed integrityKnow their “people”Find greater satisfaction in the success of
others than themselves
Governance:Faculty have much to contribute and are
the long-term essence of a unit….. Our consultative process is bulky, tedious
and dependent on administrative leadership.
Success or failure, in the long term, depends on our ability to engage faculty in the creation and implementation of change.
Not unlike the story of sight-impaired individuals who each touched an
elephant and described what they sensed – a tree, a wall, a rope….
We each have our definition of what a great public university should be and that in turn will have impact on the
decisions that we make…
Concept of the University
To Enlighten
“To bring light where there had previously been darkness, to replace opinion, i.e., superstition, by scientific knowledge of nature….”
Alan Bloom (1987) The Closing of the American Mind
We are a Land-Grant University
Some mistakenly believe that means we focus on agriculture– we do but the title comes from the simple fact the Morrill Act passed by the US Congress in 1862 and signed by Abraham Lincoln grant public lands to each state which was then to be sold and the income used to establish a university “for the people”
Over time there emerged a Land-Grant philosophy
Access by the qualified not the privilegedState-supportedCommitted to:
Quality educational programs Fundamental and problem-oriented researchSignificant communication of knowledge to
the citizenry of the stateState and regional economic development
This is an unbelievable placeFew if any public research universities are as well-
positioned as the University of Illinois tobe at the forefront of breakthrough discoveries.
Our campus is opportunity-rich The profound change in the past decade is the
extent of cross-campus conversation – we embrace interdisciplinarity.
Great departments (colleges) are characterized by:
A faculty that shares a common sense of purpose.
A culture that accepts nothing short of excellence in individual and collective performance
Individuals whose lives enrich the environment for all
The Year Before us….Bring to quick and clear resolution of the admissions
issues that have been with us for the past several months
Budget – 60% of our base-budget is tuition, what is appropriate
use of the dollars that students and their parents send to us?
We are a well-resourced campus by most peer measuresHow can we be more efficient?Are we doing things that should no longer be a part of the
portfolio?
Accreditation – team visit 2nd week of OctoberFourth year of strategic plan
The Year Before UsFaculty and staff recruiting and retention
We will protect the faculty excellence ,TOP and partner programs.
Much will be determined by the anticipated fall session of the legislature and the success or failure of the proposed tax increase.
There is good news:Construction projects – Lincoln Hall!
We anticipate about 18M in remodeling money from the state – significant focus on energy savings and crisis repairs
Student fees allow additional correction of deferred maintenance
Efforts to address utility conservation have yielded (my view) remarkable success -- about 10% reduction
GoalsProtect and grow excellenceFind ways to invest in areas of startling
opportunity