Fund-raising key to future success, says new leader

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

John Lombardi (Stan Sherer photo)

ig-time, major league fund-raising" is needed to move the University to a "higher level of quality" that cannot be achieved by dependence on state support, according to John V. Lombardi, who was appointed this week as the campus's next chancellor.

     Speaking at a candidate forum at the Mullins Center on April 5, the former University of Florida president repeatedly stressed the need to develop a "culture of giving" at the Amherst campus. About 125 people attended the meeting, the last of three sessions allowing members of the campus community to quiz the finalists.

     Lombardi, who headed the University of Florida from 1990 to 1999, said the fiscal difficulties facing UMass mirror those weathered by other public institutions across the country. Elsewhere, he said, many universities reached a point where it became apparent that "the states won't support their aspirations to move to a higher level of quality." The most successful institutions geared up their fund-raising efforts to achieve their academic goals, he said.

     Under Lombardi, UF's total budget increased from $800 million in 1989-90 to $1.5 billion in 1998-99. UF also saw its sponsored research funding more than double to nearly $300 million annually. The school's endowment increased by nearly 400 percent to more than $500 million and a capital campaign raised $750 million.

     "There is no question that [UMass] has to get ready for the next campaign," he said. "You need money. If you don't ask, no one gives it to you."

     While campaigns do not instantly generate revenue and actually incur some costs, Lombardi said, the true value of a major fund-raising effort is bringing the focus on the institutional goals, strengths and aspirations. "A university must decide what it is and wants and needs and decide where to get different kinds of money."

     At the same time, the state should still meet its obligations to the University, he said, including funding maintenance of buildings and facilities. "This is the state's responsibility."

     However, he added continued support from the Legislature and the public requires educating people about the role of the institution within the Commonwealth. "The University is an investment, and people expect a positive return," he said.

     "The good news is that your president is speaking out," he said. "But you have to sell what is positive. ... When selling the University, you need to find a quality message."
As for enhancing the political muscle of the Amherst campus, Lombardi suggested the opportunity is still within reach, more than a decade after the UMass system was expanded to include the Lowell and Dartmouth campuses.

     "The system has not congealed into a rock-hard form," he said. "This campus is still the flagship, with an obligation to help define the appropriate relationship with the system and the state."

     "You need to look at the models that are the most effective" in other states, he said. "The difference is that UMass [Amherst] doesn't have a story that is unique and effective."

     Fielding and answering questions in a rapid-fire manner, Lombardi quickly staked out positions on most issues, though he professed little first-hand knowledge about resident assistant unionization, which was raised by several students.

     Pressed to comment on the Univers-ity's refusal to bargain with the RAs, Lombardi said, "I would check with the lawyers, but if the University is breaking the law, they should stop breaking the law."

     Lombardi also stopped short of criticizing plans to merge five foreign language departments, but declared that "there is no question that language and culture studies are critical to any big-time research university."

     Before considering any consolidation, he said, it would be useful to solicit opinions from the academic departments involved. "If it's a bad idea, go home," he said.

     If the merger is aimed at saving money, Lombardi said the issue should be studied to see if the economy is real. "Many [mergers] don't save money," he said. "You need good data and information. Is it worth the angst and anxiety?"

     Consolidations should also be examined for their impact on students and other programs, added Lombardi, who said such decisions should not be affected by the chancellor's search. "If it's right to do, who does it is not a critical issue."

     Top-notch institutions find a way to blend both basic and applied research, said Lombardi. At Florida, he said, the medical center created a multidiscipli-nary brain center that harnessed the power of basic and practical research. Similarly, UF developed an agricultural genetics group that tapped expertise on both sides.

     While practical research applications "are easier to explain to constituents," Lombardi said that there is no substitute for having all research evaluated "by the best people in the world."

     Lombardi said he favors a system that measures the quality of research, teaching and student achievement.

     "You measure annually, and you reward people who work hard and improve," he said.
As for teaching, he said, "quality is best defined by the guild, by the departments and programs."

     Universities should help tenure-track faculty "to assemble the dossier they need to succeed," Lombardi added. "If a faculty member is assigned to do 50 percent teaching and 50 percent research" and their review shows only half of the assignment is complete, "it should be measured appropriately."

     But, he added, "Good management is assigning people to their best skills." Lombardi said agriculture faculty at Florida are assigned only to teaching, and tenure reviews reflect the quality of those duties.

     Lombardi said he doesn't favor any one administrative model over another and would tread softly before making any sweeping changes. "Every university has a traditional set of relationships. You need to respect and understand those before mucking around with them."

     "My model is to delegate as much authority to the lowest level possible," he said. "When you direct from the top down, then you usually end up wrong. ... You need to get faculty and staff to do what they know, then look at what they've done."

     Lombardi reported differing results with privatization at UF. Food services at the Gainesville campus were privatized at the request of students, who conduct the competitive bidding process. UF's bookstore was privatized last year, he said, after long opposition by faculty. But changes in the book business gradually eased faculty concerns about textbook issues and the store was contracted out virtually without comment, he said.

     But a proposal to privatize building and grounds services was dropped because of UF's concerns about workers, he said. "The university is the primary major employer in the area," he said, and contracting out services would have eliminated jobs. "We didn't like the picture. It was not socially responsible."

     He did say some specialized service areas, such as elevator maintenance, were privatized.

     Probably the most significant example of privatization at UF, he said, is intercollegiate athletics, which is operated by a corporation "that can't draw a nickel from the university."

     Under the arrangement, the UF athletic association pays the university for services, said Lombardi, bringing in between $1 million and $2 million annually. "The athletic association is one of the few that makes money," he added. "I'm not sure it would work here, but it sure as hell worked there."

     Lombardi became very deliberate when questioned about a 1998 incident in which he called the African-American chancellor of the university system an "Oreo." He said, "I made a racially inappropriate remark, which I regret. It was not one of the better things in my life, but it was educational. I learned humility before the people who had the capacity to forgive and did."

     The incident threatened Lombardi's term at UF, but the board of regents placed him on probation for six months. Eighteen months later, he stepped down as president.