UMS Chancellor Candidate Visits Orono Campus
By Aimee Dolloff, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Jan. 26–ORONO — The first of three candidates vying for the title of University of Maine System chancellor visited the flagship campus Thursday to meet with students, staff and faculty and to share a vision for the system.
Warren Fox, 60, serves as executive director of the Office of Higher Education, Policy and Planning for the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
He said he’s ready to come back to the United States.
“I’m very interested in the University of Maine System,” he said Thursday before the public session at the University of Maine. “I think it’s a very good system on the verge of getting much better.”
Fox has not lived in Maine, but the father of two boys has vacationed in the state and said he and his wife would like to raise their family here.
“I think it’s a great place to live,” Fox said.
About a dozen people, including UM President Robert Kennedy, attended an hour-long session Thursday afternoon that was broadcast by satellite to other UMS campuses. UMS is the umbrella organization for the state’s seven university campuses, 11 outreach centers and more than 100 interactive distance education sites.
Having worked in higher education his entire career, including positions in Nevada, Texas and California, Fox said one of his key focuses is access to public education.
“My general theme is that the students benefit, the states benefit, society benefits, and the economy benefits,” Fox said.
While in the Middle East, Fox had the opportunity to help create a higher-education system similar to the U.S. model.
The United Arab Emirates lies along the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Qatar to the west and Saudi Arabia to the south and west.
“We’ve sort of been able to lead the world,” Fox said.
He reviewed his employment history for Thursday’s audience, pausing to discuss his work in Nevada and that state’s similarity to Maine in population and geography.
“I think a lot of that is applicable to Maine,” he said.
Fox has served as a faculty member and associate dean at the University of Nevada, and later as vice chancellor for academic affairs for the state’s university and community college system.
The majority of the questions Fox was asked Thursday dealt with the UMS role in state education, the intent of cooperative outreach programs, and how he sees communication among the chancellor, campuses and faculty.
“What I like about Cooperative Extensions is the collaboration,” Fox said.
Campus outreach programs allow researchers, faculty, businesses, students and residents to work together and can benefit issues ranging from urban health care to rural agriculture.
If made chancellor, Fox’s plan is to spend time on campuses, but he doesn’t want to micromanage everyday operations.
“I want to make sure the policies we’re pursuing are having an impact,” Fox said.
Maine has a bright future, but like the rest of the nation is facing funding challenges, and faculty salaries remain below average, he acknowledged to Jim McClymer, a UM faculty member in the physics department and president of the faculty union.
“The chancellor is such an important person in the system,” McClymer said.
“You need a person who can work with the board of trustees and be strong with them,” he said. “It’s also about respecting people’s opinions.
Fox began the interview process Tuesday and will continue through Friday.
The other two candidates who are scheduled to visit next week are James Applegate, vice president for academic affairs at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, and Richard Pattenaude, president of the University of Southern Maine.
The public is invited to participate by attending a public session or observing a session by university videoconference. Sessions will be videotaped and made available on the UMS Web site beginning Tuesday.
The complete schedule is at www.maine.edu/chancellor/ChancellorSearch.php.
To provide feedback, members of the public should contact the search committee by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, by mail at Chancellor Search, c/o James Breece, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, 16 Central St., Bangor 04401, or by e-mail at chancellorsearch@maine.edu.
—–
Copyright (c) 2007, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.