 |
|
Gary Forsee will start as the 22nd
UM president on Feb. 18.
|
EDITOR’S NOTE: Gary Forsee, the new president of the University of Missouri
System, recently talked
about his expectations and
the challenges of the job.
The following is an excerpt
from that interview:
Q: How did you become aware of the position,
and what interested
you in taking it?
A: Well, I was aware of it a
year ago when Dr. (Elson)
Floyd announced his resignation, and I was
actually asked by the
curators a year ago if there
were any business people
that I knew that would be interested. So, I was
supporting the process but wasn’t an active candidate
at that stage, obviously, because I was still at Sprint Nextel at that point in time.
Q: What is attractive about this position? Is it the challenge of overseeing this system? Entering academia, a place you hadn’t been before?
A: Beyond that, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the skills I’ve developed in 35 years. I think it’s an opportunity to give something back to the state, which I’ve spent most of my life being a part of, the university system, which I’ve been part of. And to hopefully make a difference and extenuate higher education in the state.
Q: Now that you’re preparing to come into the position, what are some of the challenges facing the system? Is it state funding? Is it salaries for faculty and staff? Simply put, what do want to tackle immediately?
A: I would say that the conversation in the state of Missouri about higher education needs to have a louder voice. That is something important in total: that our citizens know that higher education and our ability to support that from a lot of different aspects is important. Part of that is to reinforce the role that the University of Missouri plays in that. We have a unique requirement. We have a unique set of responsibilities.
The second point is that we have to be sure that our four campuses and University Health Care for the future have a very clear mission strategy and objectives. Not that they haven’t; I think they have. But as we look into the next few years, we have to be sure to paint a clear picture about what we want each of the four campuses to have as their principal set of objectives. There again, it won’t be Gary’s plan; rather, it will be our collective plan that supports that.
Our faculty has to be supported; we’re not where we need to be on faculty salaries. We have a significant request before the General Assembly now in support of faculty salaries and support of ranked faculty. It’s the highest of priorities I have coming in.
The final point that we have to prepare for is that we have some opportunities that are unique because we are in the state of Missouri. We have three of the great foundations in the world in our state — the Danforth Foundation, the Stowers Institute and the Kauffman Foundation — and our opportunity to declare that we are going to be world class in research development related to life sciences and that we’re going to be world class in the area of entrepreneurship. We have foundations that are ready to support the university’s vision in that regard.
Q: You mentioned that this is not “Gary’s plan” and more of a collective effort. Where does the role of the president fit in it? Are you there to act as a catalyst? Are you there as a sounding board for provosts and chancellors to express their needs?
A: The role of the president is a critical one as the principal policy spokesman as it relates to higher education in the state. To some degree, that is unique to the role the university system plays in our state. I think the role of the president has to be to ensure that the system has a strategic plan and a vision of the future. But that plan only gets developed as a result of the work by the four campuses, the chancellors and University of Missouri Health Care. The good news, and I think there is a general sense or recognition of this, is that we have momentum. Dr. Lamb did a very good job as interim president of making sure that we didn’t fall back or just wait until the new president was on board.
Q: Higher education experts say that the route the system has chosen to take in hiring someone with your nontraditional background, while not always the norm, is an increasing trend. Is this signaling a shift toward a pseudo-business model in which you market your institution’s strengths?
A: As I said and commented to some of your colleagues, in the perfect world you’d have a steep academic background, accumulated 35 years of business acumen and away you go. What I’m trying to bring into the role is that 35 years of business acumen, but the starting point has to be an appreciation for what we do as a university, which is educate and train our youth.
One of the first things I have to do is earn that understanding from faculty, earn that respect that they know I’m going to be their biggest supporter, their biggest advocate. Over time I’m going to gain an appreciation for the programs they work on. But out of the gate, I’m going to be the biggest supporter for what their needs are.
Q: You mention being more competitive for funding. What other avenues exist for the system outside of our traditional state dollars that we haven’t looked into?
A: We’re going to take every advantage we can to find out where those best practices may be residing around the country. I think if you look at where we are with economic development and working with the state, there are clearly other states making more progress turning intellectual property into an economic development engine for the state. Similarly situated state universities have either had a head start or whatever. So Mike Nichols, the new vice president, has that as a responsibility at each of the four campuses. There are things that we have started, and if we can accelerate those to create incubation for the intellectual property that we develop, that’s a very good opportunity. But a lot of businesses have scaled back research and development. What better way for businesses to take advantage of the best and brightest in the country by coming into the university system like the University of Missouri and form those kinds of relationships.
Q: So far in getting out to meet people around Missouri, what are they excited about regarding higher education? What are their hopes?
A: The enthusiasm has just been incredible. I’ve gotten literally hundreds of letters and phone calls since my appointment offering support. And that support hasn’t come with a corollary list of things to go work on. But it’s offering support, advice, perspective. I think that rings so clear that that support is out there and widespread. The second point is that what that implies is that’s an energy we have to go tap into. It’s a lot of people who can help convey the message about the university, and at the end of the day, what we want is not just a university that is the best not only for Missouri but one of the best in the country.
Q: There have been voices out there — whether they be in editorials, articles or out of faculty councils — that have said they are not too keen on a person with your background stepping into this role. How do you go about calming their nerves as the new president of the system?
A: You have to start by showing people that you respect what they do. That’s fundamental if you’re going to lead a successful organization, and you have to show that you respect the diversity of their thought. You have to engage with them and thank them for what they do. I said this at the announcement on (Dec. 20): People have expectations of leaders. They expect their leader to reinforce the brand — the institution in our case — and be the spokesman. They expect you to have a vision and long-term strategy. That strategy will be articulated over time. Then they also want to know how we’re doing.
Q: You’ve been many places in your career and done quite a bit — headed up local, long-distance, wireless and government divisions in telecom. What lessons will you draw upon during your tenure here?
A: You have to understand that organizations expect their leaders to be great communicators. During good times and bad times, a leader has to be out front. In the toughest times, the temptation is go away and close the door. But you have to be out front, be visible and communicating to the organization. You learn over time that every organization is a lengthened shadow of its leader. That says it’s 24/7; I don’t turn it off when I go to Jeff City tonight. I’m representing the 20,000 employees and our 60,000 students. That’s my role as part of the university.
Q: At Sprint, the pay is higher, the prestige greater and the notoriety more widespread. You’ve been in that world for more than three decades. Is there ever a temptation to return to that world?
A: No. I had a great 35-year business career. I had so many unique opportunities, whether it was running a global company in Europe; I ran the global operation for Bell South. I had great mentors, great bosses, great relationships along the way. I think I had a record of achievement. This opportunity is a chance to take those learnings and use them in a way that benefits our state and our university. And that’s what I intend to do.
— Matt Harris
Skip to top |
