M: Why UCSD?
C: Firstly because of its reputation, and then because it is
one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. I have had the
chance
to visit the chemistry department as a seminar speaker a couple of
times, and the
quality of that department is absolutely first class. I have also
had a lot of contact with UCSD faculty through the National Academy
of Sciences and they are first class people: mathematicians, environmentalists,
geophysicists, in fact all across the board in science and engineering.
The thing that I found most impressive when I visited campus was
the interplay between the disciplines, addressing problems that don’t
fit neatly into one disciplinary box. I am particularly pleased to
see that the arts and humanities have increasingly become participants
in this kind of interdisciplinary
scholarship—more so than any place I know. When you have such
a great faculty and also a cooperative community and a place where
there are resources available to bring them all together, that is
the best kind of option a chancellor could have.
M: We often hear from alumni
and the student body that UCSD lacks a sense of community when
compared to other universities.
Have you dealt with this problem before on other campuses?
C: Yes. I have come from two
big campuses. UT had over 50,000 students and NC State is a little
bit smaller, at about 30,000,
which is where UCSD hopes to be by 2020. I’ve found that
the most important thing is
to develop ways in which a student can participate in a group,
a way in which his or her presence really makes a difference. It
doesn’t so much
matter what that activity is, just so there is somewhere that the
student, as an individual, can have growth and recognition. So,
in a school like UCSD, one would imagine participating in arts
or humanities, undergraduate research, student government or playing
intramural sports or even intercollegiate athletics. There are
a lot of ways that students can participate.
That is the way friendships are built, and identification and loyalties
to an institution nurtured.
M: How important is athletics in giving
the University a national profile?
C: It was very helpful here at NC State in developing that kind
of brand name. In a football season there are certain events that
occur naturally, but I think it is possible to achieve the same
things without a football team. At UCSD, we have to make more of
an effort to have events that play to our strengths. In particular,
involvement in the arts is a good substitute. When our alumni participate
in the active intellectual life on campus, that can help take the
place of a game.
M: UCSD has been designated a growth
university. How can we manage growth so that there is a balance
between the projected
student population of 30,000 and a personalized educational and
social experience?
C: Firstly, we have to maintain the emphasis on academic studies,
teaching and research. We have to support our faculty and make
sure that the student/faculty ratio is expressed in a way that
student learning is enhanced. However, any great university also
needs to have the amenities that build a campus community. We are
going to have to worry about housing on campus. We need recreational
facilities. We need access to the arts. We need parking. If a student
can’t come back safely at night and park to participate in
activities, he or she is going to find something else off campus,
and it is going to be that much harder to pull them back into the
campus community.
M: UCSD is perceived nationally as a
science and engineering campus yet it also has high profile in
the arts
and humanities.
How can we adjust that perception so that UCSD is seen to provide
a truly rounded education?
C: It is a little bit about the brand and a little bit about the
self-image. It is recognizing that those who participate in the
sciences and engineering are not really well educated unless they
do have a familiarity with the arts and humanities. It is recognizing
how vital the humanities are to the education of every one of our
students—history, communication, writing, speaking. So, this
academic consilience, as E.O.Wilson called it, is going to be very
important in bringing together and bridging the gulf between the
sciences and the arts and the humanities and that will improve
the quality of education. It will give us a focus around which
the community can gel, and it will improve the quality of life
for all members of the community. You ask how we are perceived
nationally—one thing we can do is to recognize what an incredible
achievement has taken place at UCSD since its founding, both in
the quality of work done and in its reputation. We need to find
a brand that captures that. We need to work on that brand name
recognition. This is a terrific community of scholars in one of
the world’s most beautiful places. It is idyllic. It’s
a world-class university that attracts students and faculty from
all over the world. So, how can we fail?
M: You have been very proactive in the
creation of links between academic research and industry. What
changes do
you think
the next decade will bring in this relationship between industry
and the University?
C: That is one of the things that I am proudest of here at NC State,
and I see it already happening in San Diego, where UCSD is surrounded
by an incredible array of partners in biotechnology, telecommunications
and the environmental sciences. The question is how to make sure
that we continue to build those relationships and make sure that
the University doesn’t construct barriers that would inhibit
those interactions.
M: Do you think there are any negative
aspects to these interactions?
C: I know there are concerns that commercialization will distract
or create conflicts of interest with faculty, but I am a firm believer
that it is possible to have these collaborations in such a way
that the academic mission of the University and the commitment
to improving the human condition can still be matched effectively.
The academic mission can be expressed in internships for students,
cooperative experiences and volunteer options. These help round
out a student’s background so that he or she is very well
prepared to be entrepreneurial upon leaving the University. The
thing I love about it is that we have these incredibly talented
people that are an expression of Richard Florida’s idea of
the creative class, where the three Ts are brought together: technology,
talent and tolerance.
M: In many of the great research universities
there is tension between the role of teaching and research. How
does a university
ensure that undergraduate teaching remains a priority for its faculty?
C: That has been one of my interests for a long time. I do think
there is a rather disturbing urban myth that great researchers
can’t be good teachers. That is wrong. It is true, of course,
that major research efforts are very time intensive and there is
the temptation to shift time demands away from other things to
focus on research. It is here that the University can help by providing
the infrastructure, whether that is teaching assistants or having
a center that provides helpful information or just in supporting
the faculty’s commitment toward classroom and laboratory
instruction so that it is parallel with their research. It is very
important in a large university with substantial undergraduate
enrollment to pay attention to undergraduate instruction and learning.
I also want to encourage our great researchers to become involved
in teaching even lower division courses, to the extent they feel
it appropriate. It is also important to recognize that the act
of conducting research with students or postdoctoral fellows is
itself teaching in its finest manifestation. It is a form of master-apprentice
teaching for graduate students in particular and it is very effective.
M: As a woman, especially a woman with
children, you have been in a minority as a scientist, and as
an administrator. What
changes could be made in academia to ensure that other women have
the opportunity to carve a successful career and still have a family?
C: I have always said, “If you can raise five boys to maturity,
you could probably do almost everything.” I often comment
that at one time we had seven cars and two motorcycles in front
of our house because of all the kids. It is a combined family,
so their ages overlapped and they all got driver’s licenses
while they were all still at home. But, more seriously, any active
career is time intensive. Not only academics face this question
of balance between what they want to do in their profession and
what they want to do in their home life. While it is true that
I have been in a discipline that is dominated by males, and I have
been on boards where I am the only woman, I think that the expertise
of the individual is more relevant than the gender. But we need
to be responsive to conditions as they take place in people’s
lives—to provide support, to make sure that there is parental
leave available for women and men and that their tenure clock is
not impacted negatively by a family crisis.
 M:
What is your idea of diversity?
C: It is important that you have a plan to develop a critical mass
of those who are under-represented. That isn’t only racial
minorities. That includes women in engineering and men in nursing.
It is African-Americans and Latinos in almost every discipline.
We have to have a structure that looks broadly and recruits deeply,
building on what Bob Dynes and Marsha Chandler have done so effectively
in the last several years. I think Bob called himself the Chief
Diversity Officer. I am certainly going to do the same thing, which
is assume responsibility for overseeing that we take diversity
very seriously. It is important that that is a top-level commitment
at the University.
M: Are you saying there are many ways
to define diversity?
C: Yes, I think that is true. One of the first things that we did
when I came to NC State six years ago was to have a retreat. I
have similar parallel retreats scheduled with the academic leadership
in San Diego the last week of August because we need to define
a small number of goals on which we need to focus. One of these
is diversity. Diversity is really inclusiveness—including
lots of individuals that have different characteristics. Those
are not only racial, but they involve groups and individuals who
have different backgrounds—urban, rural—and have different
interests. It also includes those with different life viewpoints,
sexual orientations and religious beliefs. In my opinion the whole
idea of diversity is to provide an environment that allows those
different characteristics to enrich the lives of everyone. So it
is not an environment of conflict, but one of growth together.
That means mutual respect and personal growth.
M: California is a unique political beast
with a distinctive culture. Give me a sense of how it differs
from the states in which
you have worked.
C: There are probably more similarities than differences. The focus
on initiatives in California is something we don’t have elsewhere.
There is also incredible diversity in the state. Also, California
seems to be more liberal and more conservative simultaneously.
Most places have moved to the center where Californians have kept
sort of socially responsive. They have such beautiful natural resources
that the environment does become a much more significant question
than elsewhere.
M: How do you envision you will interact
with state government in California?
C: I suspect that the routine kind of interactions that I ended
up doing here in Raleigh, because of the university’s proximity
to the state government, will be done by the UC system. I will
of course be involved when there is an issue of particular relevance
to UCSD. I expect there will be other major issues—stem cell
research, the support for major state
initiatives such as Cal-(IT)2, and of course the environment when
there are political issues about preserving coastal lands.
M: UCSD alumni have been historically
disengaged from the University. How do you see the role of alumni
during your tenure?
C: We want alumni to help improve our programs, and that means
getting them to serve on boards and provide critiques. We need
to ask them—what would bring you back to the campus to participate,
to be a continuing member of this community? That’s a dialog
that really needs to happen. We want them to provide feedback on
the quality of their education and advice on how that education
can be improved in the future. They also can be very instrumental
in making the case for higher education, to help us make clear
to local legislators, state legislators or federal legislators
just how important higher education is. And of course we also hope
that as our alumni become more and more involved and understand
our programs more clearly and align themselves with the mission
of the University, they will become active donors. We hope they
will not only provide moral support, but also provide financial
support. I regard that as one of my major responsibilities, to
engage alumni.
M: Do you know what a Triton is?
C: I do. In fact, it is the demigod who carries the three-pointed
trident. It is interesting that UCSD has a demigod and a Sun God
because of the connection to the sea and the connection to balance.
The Triton is a great mascot. And the Sun God is wonderful. I am
looking forward to one of those Sun God festivals. That’s
an event that can bring alumni back.
 M:
You have five sons; what have you learned from living in a house
full of men?
C: There’s a country and western song called “The Truth
About Men.” It goes “they ain’t wrong, they ain’t
sorry, and they’re probably going to do it again.” That’s
flippant, but having five sons has taught me that there is more
than one way of looking at almost every question and that has served
me well professionally. My sons range all the way from hardcore
engineers to chefs. Being a mother is a part of my life that I
would not have given up. I always encourage women to not defer
their family life decisions. If they want to have children, they
should have them whether they’re 28 or 35 or 40.
M: Have your sons kept you up to date
with contemporary culture?
C: They do, although I must say I don’t share their tastes.
They also kept me up to date with language, terms they use that
I wouldn’t otherwise hear.
M: What are your favorite foods?
C: I like anything that I’ve not cooked. Remember I have
one son who is a chef. My husband is a very good cook. I did my
years of cooking and they are over.
M: How do you relax?
C: I have a very highly scheduled day, so just having free time
is wonderful. My idea of an idyllic afternoon is being able to
sit in an armchair and lean back and read a book that has nothing
to do with what I do all week. I used to swim a mile a day when
I was in Austin. I also golf, rather poorly, and I like walking.
I must say I am not sufficiently athletic that I would be a major
competitor in the Chancellor’s 5K Run, although that is certainly
an event in which I want to participate. Maybe they’ll have
a fun-run part that is basically walking. I can do that.
M: Is it true that you are going to drive
out to California?
C: Yes. I’ve wanted to drive across the United States since
I was 18. But when I was 18 I had time and no money; now I have
money and no time. However, we’ve decided to do it. I told
my husband that we ought to go down to the Atlantic so that we
could drive from sea to shining sea. But he said, “That is
the wrong direction.” Of course, that is correct; you have
to go east from Raleigh. Anyway, we were at a scientific meeting
together in Washington, D.C., and we figured that crossing a river
that goes into the Atlantic Ocean would count. Right? So, we crossed
the James River in Richmond. We crossed the Noose River here. And
when we crossed the rivers we sang “America The Beautiful.”
M: So you have already started the trip.
C: We have. Crossing the James and the Noose. We are going to keep
a diary of how many times we sing “America The Beautiful” as
we drive to the West and wind up at Black’s Beach.
|
