Campus community sizes up first finalist
for chancellor

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

Elizabeth Capaldi, provost at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a finalist for chancellor, makes a point during an open forum on Tuesday afternoon at the Mullins Center. (Stan Sherer photo)

romising to be the campus's "chief fund-raiser, enthusiast and cheerleader" if she is appointed chancellor, University at Buffalo provost Elizabeth Capaldi capped a marathon day of interviews and closed-door meetings with a public forum where she was peppered with questions about topics ranging from research to childcare to student protests.

     About 130 members of the campus community listened as Capaldi shared some perspectives from her years as provost at UB and the University of Florida.

     "This is a wonderful campus with a bright future," she said, explaining why she would leave UB after just two years as its chief academic officer. "Opportunities like this don't come across my life that frequently."

     In other states, UMass has an "excellent academic reputation," she said, and ranks about equally in many ways with Rutgers University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

     Based on her meetings earlier in the day with faculty, staff, students, alumni and administrators, Capaldi said she was impressed with the atmosphere of the campus.
Every group is clearly dedicated to this place," she told the crowd. "There is great potential here to move forward."

     Capaldi acknowledged the fiscal problems facing the campus and assured the audience that other institutions across the country are facing similar challenges. "I've dealt with budget problems before," she said, noting that UB had a $12 million shortfall when she arrived. Since that time, she said, she led efforts to overhaul the budget process and make decision-making more open.

     "The important thing we need is a team spirit," she said, noting that a dean of one UB college offered money to the college of arts and sciences because of its importance to the university's reputation.

     Winning state support requires positioning, said Capaldi. "You need to figure out what you do that fits the state's priorities." As an example, she said, UB lobbied for a $150 million bioinformatics facility, which is expected to boost the lagging western New York economy.

     Citing the difficulty of getting lawmakers to visit Buffalo, Capaldi said UB has actively promoted its programs at the state house in Albany. "One legislator didn't know Buffalo had a medical school," she said. "I wanted to shoot him."

    Capaldi said UMass should harness the support of alumni and the business community in its campaign for state funding. At the same time, she said, the University needs a "sophisticated, systematic annual giving program" to boost alumni donations.

     But to maximize revenues immediately, she said, the University needs to bring in federal, corporate and foundation support. And for any institution to expand its research base, she said, it must be bolstered by a strong core faculty and a sound enrollment-management plan.

     "You need faculty to compete for grants," said Capaldi. "But money's money. You can fund faculty with non-state funds."

     Because Massachusetts doesn't have tuition retention or fund expanded enrollment, Capaldi said UMass faces different challenges than other public universities such as Florida, where the state bankrolled a huge growth in the undergraduate population.
UMass needs to emphasize both teaching and research as "twin missions," she said, using resource funding to reinforce teaching whenever and wherever possible. "Spending money properly is probably the hardest part of university administration," she said.
Capaldi emphasized the need to develop measurements of quality for all campus programs and emphasized that faculty should play a leading role in determining what standards should be used. High-quality programs should be supported, she said, and those showing improvement should be rewarded.

     Capaldi avoided criticizing recent decisions to close the childcare program and Foreign Language Resource Center, but did question whether a planned merger of foreign language departments would save much money. She also expressed little familiarity with the UMassOnline distance learning program but said such efforts need to be targeted carefully to succeed financially.

     She also stepped around the issue of resident assistant unionization, but declared she's always had "good relations" with unions at UB and Florida. "Communication is important on a campus this big," she added. "I like to meet regularly with various groups. .. I like to keep in touch. That's something I wrestle with now."

     Capaldi also backed off published comments that UMass shouldn't pursue membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU). While the University certainly ranks with other AAU institutions, she said, the organization is not seeking to expand and pushing for membership could drain away resources. "It has nothing to do with the quality of UMass," she said.

     To improve diversity among faculty, Capaldi suggested finding creative ways to hire underrepresented groups. As an example, she noted that she was first hired as a half-time visiting assistant professor and eventually earned her way into the tenure track.
Before departing for Boston to meet with President William M. Bulger, Capaldi wished the audience luck, assuring the crowd that "you have no where to go but up."
The other finalists, William E. Hogan II and John V. Lombardi, are scheduled to visit campus Thursday and Friday.