First provost candidate
speaks at forum
By Laura Pelner
Campus
Editor
The first of the four candidates for provost, Steven
Leslie, spoke at an open forum Wednesday for a room full of Purdue professors,
faculty and staff.
Leslie, who is the dean of the College of Pharmacy
at the University of Texas at Austin and a Purdue graduate from the
School of Pharmacy, offered his ideas for making Purdue a better University,
specifically through research in interdisciplinary initiatives.
Leslie said that Purdue is a premier research University
and that interdisciplinary science is becoming more important in the
scientific world and should be a focus at Purdue as well.
In the beginning of his speech Leslie addressed
comments to each of the sectors of the Purdue community - the students,
faculty and staff.
"I left Purdue 27 years ago and I want students
to know that I owe so much to this University. It's a place where students
can rub shoulders with experts and be surrounded by excellence," said
Leslie.
Leslie credits the University's excellence to its
faculty. "The real creativity that comes out of this place is from the
faculty," he said.
And to the staff Leslie said they sustain the University.
"Over my 27 years I've recognized how important the staff is. A university
cannot keep going without (a good one)," said Leslie.
The open forum's purpose was to give the Purdue
community a chance to ask questions directly to the provost candidate.
Marne Helgesen, the director of the Center for Instructional Excellence,
asked the first question about the role of teaching and teachers at
a research university.
"Teaching represents a critical element. The classroom
experience really represents what a place like Purdue is all about,"
said Leslie.
The head of the department of biochemistry, Mark
Hermodson, asked about the barriers that can prevent communication among
university administrators, especially in interdisciplinary systems.
In response, Leslie offered a personal example.
"When I started at the Institute for Neuroscience at Texas, I reported
to six deans and it wasn't pleasant," said Leslie. "Now we've changed
to a 'lead dean' approach where the (person running the study reports
to the dean of the) college that the program resides in (and it goes
up from there)."
One of President Martin Jischke's focuses for Purdue
is fund raising, and accordingly Gordon Mork, the head of the history
department, asked what Leslie would do during a time of financial challenges.
"There are ups and downs in terms of available
resources. I believe that it's easy to lead and manage when money is
plentiful — the real mark is in tough times," said Leslie.
Regarding diversity Leslie said he believes Purdue
needs to reach out and bring in all people who have talent, not just
those with affluent backgrounds.
To sum himself up Leslie said that his style is
to get information to help understand situations. "I would want to sit
and talk to faculty and leaders to see what's going on."
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