A small group of students met with the second of three finalists for the open provost position Monday.
Paul W. Ludden is the dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley and is on campus Monday and Tuesday.
Ludden said SMU would be a better university if it could improve its public image from an excellent but regional school to a school with international stature.
He also said SMU would have to increase its revenue in both grants and alumni donations to provide more resources for the university.
Ludden said he had experience building a donor base for a university because he faced similar challenges at Berkeley. He said keeping in contact with alumni from the moment they graduate is the best way to keep them involved in the university community.
Another way Ludden said former students could feel more connected to a university is by improving their undergraduate experience, particularly in independent study activities, including research opportunities.
Ludden said this could be achieved if SMU provided more research opportunities so more students and professors could work together on research projects.
Ludden said while SMU needs to improve its research capabilities and facilities, it should not come at the expense of undergraduate instruction.
“I don’t see it as research or teaching,” Ludden said. “Research is teaching if you involve the students.”
Ludden said he feels athletics are an important part of the undergraduate experience, but athletic departments can’t “drive a university or be the only thing about a university.”
He added that while athletics can be a point of pride for a university, he doesn’t believe the academic reputation of a school depends on its athletic reputation.
“Athletics are a part of the portfolio that brings attention to a university,” Ludden said.
Ludden said that in his current job, he coordinates academic events with athletic events to give faculty and students an opportunity to share what they are working on with alumni.
Ludden said he likes the amount of input SMU gives students in regards to communicating with administrators and faculty, and said it was important for students to be involved in discussions about curriculum.
“The provost isn’t going to sit on high and say how it’s going to be done,” Ludden said.
He also emphasized the importance of equality and diversity.
“I believe excellence, talent, drive, creativity and intellect are divided equally among the genders and races,” Ludden said, adding if any group is excluded from a university, it cuts off a reservoir of talent.
Ludden became an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin in 1981. After becoming an associate professor in 1985, he was promoted to director of the biochemistry graduate program at Wisconsin, a position he held for 14 years.
He later became executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1999-2002.
From there he went to Berkeley in 2003, where he teaches a freshmen seminar and carries an appointment as a faculty member at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in addition to his responsibilities as dean. He is an expert in biological nitrogen fixation and microbial carbon metabolism.
Gregory Sterling is the third finalist and will be on campus to meet with students Monday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. in room 108 of the Collins Executive Education Center at the Cox School of Business.
Sterling was recently named executive associate dean at University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters, and is a professor of theology.
Sterling was a finalist during the 2005 provost search that was convened after Ross Murfin announced his retirement. Robert Blocker was chosen from that search, but left SMU after only one year at the post.
