Gregory E. Sterling, the third candidate for provost and vice president for academic affairs, visited campus Monday to meet with students and faculty.
Sterling currently serves as Executive Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Letters at Notre Dame University in Indiana. He received his doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and holds additional degrees from Houston Baptist University, Pepperdine University, and the University of California at Davis.
He is a professor of theology, focusing on the New Testament and early Christian origins. He is the author or editor of six books and more than forty articles and essays. He also sits on the editorial board of a major monograph series in Germany.
Sterling admits that he didn’t set out to be an administrator, but nevertheless became the acting director of the M.A. program in the Notre Dame Department of Theology in 1993.
“I took the job because I wanted to help the most people I could,” Sterling said. “I wanted to help shape the institution.”
During his career at Notre Dame, Sterling added two new degree programs to the Department of Theology, was named the Director of Graduate Studies, served on the Faculty Senate twice, and was appointed Associate Dean of the Faculty in 2001.
“Notre Dame is a great school with great students,” Sterling said. “But I am interested in the Provost position at SMU because the school is heading in an upward direction.”
Sterling noted that SMU has many qualities that make a university superior-good location, private funding, a solid community, and a tradition of being anchored in faith. What he means by the latter statement is not that SMU is a better school because it has religious origins, but rather because it “accepts faith as a legitimate discourse.”
After enumerating the many aspects that make SMU great, the discussion shifted to how Sterling views the role of the provost in assessing areas of concern. Sterling noted that SMU currently receives approximately $19 million in grants and fellowships, a number he believes should be much higher.
“A university should not only help students learn a certain discipline, but also help them know how knowledge is created within that discipline,” he stated.
Sterling noted three ways in which SMU could raise academic research: examine the Office of Research Administration, make scholarly research a high priority in evaluating faculty, and increase funding through endowments.
He further stated that it would be valuable to organize and implement a strategic plan for each college that would include a list of priorities and goals.
The subject shifted to the role athletics play in college life. Instead of commenting on SMU’s football record or game attendance, Sterling focused on the “philosophy between athletics and academics.” Sterling believes athletics serve a dual role. “Athletics can help fund academics and they can unite the student body,” he said. He is realistic about the role college sports teams play in building return to any university, and is fully behind a strong athletic program.
Other areas of concern that Sterling noted were low alumni giving and a relatively low first-year student retention rate-87 percent.
If given the position, Sterling sees himself taking an active role in building the SMU community.
