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The search for the new University of Toledo provost is drawing to a close after all four candidates have visited and presented their ideas to the UT community. Each candidate had different focuses and issues, all based on their evaluations of the UT community. A search committee will review all the community input from the visits and according to the website for the provost search, and an offer will be extended sometime in February.

Charles Robinson

Robinson held three positions at the University of Arkansas, and is currently the vice chancellor for diversity and community for the University of Arkansas. Coming from the school where President Gaber previously served, he has already worked with her in the past on several issues, including diversity.

“I think that she knows me and my commitment to [diversity] and me, and some of the ideas that I have to try to promote and build a more inclusive campus,” Robinson said in a phone interview.

According to Robinson, his experience isn’t limited to working with other administrators. He has also worked with faculty during his own time as a faculty member, which he said is critical to understanding faculty issues, as well as working with students at several academic levels. Robinson said he feels this has given him a good understanding of student needs and related enrollment issues.

As provost, Robinson said one of his focuses and biggest responsibilities would be facilitating communication, whether that meant fostering conversations between faculty or making sure students feel heard.

While Robinson addressed many issues on a broad range of topics, one of his focuses was on UT’s need to broadcast the opportunities and special things about the university more clearly to raise awareness about the university. Robinson suggested several ways to accomplish this goal, including marketing campaigns and getting articles into higher-education publications.

“UT has to do a better job of telling a story. You know, one of the things we said at Arkansas is that we’re one of the best-kept secrets, but we don’t want to be a secret, and I think that UT has kind of the same problem,” Robinson said. “Getting that story out there in a variety of ways it definitely is something that is a must-do of the institution.”

Christopher McCord

McCord focused his forum presentation around the question of how to move the university forward, including how his qualifications are suited for that as well as plans to elevate UT.

As a native Ohioan, McCord grew up in Marion and received his undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University. McCord said he has spent considerable time working in higher education, and he is the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Northern Illinois University. McCord drew several comparisons between NIU and UT regarding the type of university that both were.

“What I’m passionate about, what I’m committed to, is the shared place that the UT, Northern Illinois university, and many other institutions that I value very much, where we are in public higher education,” McCord said. “We are mid-tier, public research universities that are committed to diversity and committed to our communities. That’s the place in higher education that I value the most.”

In order to achieve the best result for UT, McCord broke his goal down into a two-part process: creating a shared vision and then bringing that vision to life. He centered much of his planning around the university’s own strategic plan.

“Creating a shared vision has to be grounded in your mission, has to be grounded in the people that are your university, has to be grounded in all the environmental factors that inform and condition where we are,” McCord said. “What you get out of the process is not just the plan, if you will, it’s the process of going through it that helps shape the community.”

A large part of McCord’s process was built on the idea of involvement and engagement from all parts of the university, whether that meant working with community members or with faculty members. McCord gave an example of this by discussing how, in his position at a previous university, he sought out position papers on various issues to get a range of input. The idea of shared governance among faculty was one McCord said he respected.

Several other issues McCord addressed were diversity and inclusion, non-traditional student enrollment, and the various ways higher education benefits both the student and the university outside of simple monetary benefits. Overall, McCord said his job was to help UT bring their mission to life, which was made easier by the fact that UT has a succinct idea of their mission already.

“We face demanding challenges and exciting opportunities at this place in higher education. We’re being pressured like never before to balance our enduring values against a rapidly changing environment,” McCord said. “We have to have a sense of vision, and we have to execute on that vision to make it matter. The role of the provost is to help define and articulate that vision, but most especially to help lead the campus in bringing that vision to life.”

Andrew Hsu

Hsu said he thinks of himself primarily as a faculty member because of his experiences, where he enjoyed research and teaching. However, Hsu has also served as an administrator, and currently works as the dean of engineering at Jose State University.

UT’s position as a “research university” was one of the focal points of Hsu’s presentation, where he emphasized that being a research university puts UT in a unique position with individual struggles and opportunities.

“A research university must provide both excellence on one hand and access on the other. It’s a seeming dichotomy that conflicts with each other; often times when you are excellent when you become exclusive,” Hsu said. “I found myself wanting to help the redefining the American research, public research university and I think there’s no better place than the University of Toledo to achieve that.”

Access to education, especially for what he termed “underprivileged groups,” is a personal passion to Hsu. According to Hsu, he grew up having to work in the fields of China for five years, and after missing out on those years of education, he said he made it his mission to make sure students have access to education at all levels.

As with several of the other candidates, engagement and involvement were both primary focuses of Hsu, who talked about how a university can foster growth if utilized correctly.

Hsu also addressed concerns about budgets by suggesting that the deficits could be solved through entrepreneurship and innovation, acknowledged the importance of shared governance, and emphasized increasing enrollment by boosting freshman retention rates through mentoring and supporting the freshman class.

Hsu said he believed embracing the strategic plan contributes strongly to a university’s success, and cited as an example his work on four other strategic plans for different institutions regarding issues like student enrollment.

“It’s to what extent you can execute and implement this strategic plan successfully that determines your level of success,” Hsu said.

Donald Siegel

While Siegel, like the other candidates, has experience as an administrator in his position as the dean of the School of Business at the University of Albany, he chose to use a different life experience to make many of his points: tennis. According to Siegel, tennis has taught him several important lessons about leadership, including leading by example, making sacrifices for the team, and leading through consensus.

Siegel compared himself to a bridge which connects different groups at the university across all boundaries in order to reach consensus.

The focus of Siegel’s forum was on fundraising for grants and donations, something he said he had extensive experience in. A few of Siegel’s goals were the expansion of funded research and the development of revenue streams.

“I think I’ve perfected the art of selling the academic enterprise. I think a provost is the chief academic officer of the university. The provost has to be able to ‘quote unquote’ sell what you do to any stakeholder that could potentially provide financial support for your unit or your departments or your colleges, and I like to think that I’ve been able to do that,” Siegel said.

Siegel’s ultimate vision for the university is to “enhance the stature and reputation of the university by capitalizing on faculty strengths, the university’s strong liberal arts core and its impressive portfolio of colleges and schools, and securing additional resources,” according to one of the slides he used during his presentation.

To achieve the goals he laid out, Siegel said he would emphasize collaboration within the university and with alumni and the community. As far as his experience with achieving goals, Siegel cited his time as a faculty member as well as a dean, providing him perspective on both sides.

“I’m excited to be here. I know you’re looking at some very fine candidates and I understand how markets work so I don’t take it personally if I’m not your first choice … I’m excited to be here; I really am excited to be here. This is a tremendous opportunity, but I think you need an entrepreneurial provost — that’s why I’m here.”