Leadership Statement Final (June) Verson UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Presidential Leadership Statement The University Among those who know it, the University of South Alabama is o en referred to as a[.]
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Presidential Leadership Statement The University Among those who know it, the University of South Alabama is o:en referred to as a “hidden gem” Currently celebraAng its 50th anniversary, USA is a comprehensive public university enrolling approximately 15,000 students Offering 49 bachelors’, 30 masters’, and 10 doctoral degree programs, as well as the Doctor of Medicine, it is a major insAtuAon of higher learning on the central Gulf Coast As just one indicator of its insAtuAonal quality, consider this: In the preliminary report of its just-‐completed Southern AssociaAon of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaccreditaAon review, the on-‐site commiWee not only le: USA with but one recommendaAon (an rare and enviable outcome), but were extremely complementary about almost every aspect of the University, most notably the enthusiasm and hospitality of faculty, staff, and students alike As its Carnegie classificaAon of “Research University/ High AcAvity” would suggest, research, and creaAve acAvity more broadly, is a priority at the University of South Alabama CreaAve excellence flourishes across the USA campus, in fields as diverse as cancer research, coastal engineering, entrepreneurship, disaster response & recovery, cybersecurity, the arts, and STEM educaAon The University currently generates $56 million in sponsored research, and for the past three years, revenue from licensing royalAes has averaged almost $2 million annually USA’s commitment to discovery is perhaps best reflected in the naAonal renown of its faculty (e.g Jesmyn Ward, winner of 2012 NaAonal Book Award), in the internaAonal stature of its research centers (e.g USA Center for Lung Biology), and in the major research insAtuAons (i.e USA Mitchell Cancer InsAtute and Dauphin Island Sea Lab) that operate under the USA umbrella Despite such research emphasis and apAtude, the University of South Alabama is equally renowned for its small-‐campus feel, with very few classes of over 100 students, and a median class size of under 30 (overall Student:Faculty raAo is ~ 21:1) This formula of student-‐scaled educaAon has helped USA establish a reputaAon for great teaching, which in turn allows it to aWract promising students from across the state, region, and, increasingly, the naAon The average ACT score of the most recent entering class was 22.3, somewhat higher than the naAonal average of 21.1, with 116 students (6% of class) scoring a 30 or above A more tangible indicator of the University’s educaAonal quality is its students’ very high pass rates -‐ well above naAonal averages, and o:en at or near 100% -‐ on professional qualifying exams all across a disciplinary spectrum ranging from allied health to educaAon, nursing, and business South Alabama students are refreshingly diverse on many dimensions, with about half of the freshman class living on campus and half commuAng from points as far away as Western Florida and coastal Mississippi In addiAon to its main academic campus and a satellite campus in Baldwin County, the University of South Alabama also includes an extensive health system component, comprised of two hospitals (USA Children’s and Women’s, and USA Medical Center), the aforemenAoned Mitchell Cancer InsAtute, and an academic physicians’ pracAce group, USA Physicians The health system alone employs over 3,400 employees and serves the Gulf Coast with a level one trauma center, a regional burn center, a stroke center, a neonatal intensive care unit, and a host of pediatric specialty services Though a neophyte at football (USA’s Football Bowl Subdivision team was launched in 2009, and will this season compete against such schools as Tennessee, Navy, and Tulane), South Alabama has a long history of Division I NCAA intercollegiate athleAc parAcipaAon, fielding teams in 17 sports USA’s Baseball, So:ball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Golf, and Track & Field teams each boast mulAple Sun Belt Conference championships and have each made numerous NCAA regional tournament appearances University athletes train and compete in outstanding faciliAes, such as the Mitchell Center -‐ the Jags’ 10,000-‐seat basketball arena -‐ and are disAnguished by their performance in class as well as on the field, with over half of University teams demonstraAng a combined GPA of over 3.0 this year The University of South Alabama is located on the beauAful Gulf Coast in Mobile Alabama A city with a populaAon of over 200,000, and a metropolitan service area of closer to 300,000, Mobile can boast of short winters, a vibrant downtown, nearby beaches, a colorful history, and disAncAve culture It is also an awakening hub of economic acAvity, especially in the aviaAon/aerospace, chemical, shipbuilding, and hi-‐tech sectors Mobile is proving to be a magnet for internaAonal investment, with over 35 foreign companies, represenAng 19 different countries, now operaAng in the Mobile area, including Austal Shipbuilding (Australia), Evonik Chemical (Germany), and Airbus (France), which is presently building a new fabricaAon facility to assemble its A320 line of passenger jets close to downtown Mobile USA is an integral part of this growth, both in its willingness to partner with outside firms and in its efforts to culAvate local businesses through our on-‐campus Technology and Research Park, Melton Center for Entrepreneurship and InnovaAon, and soon-‐to-‐open business incubator The Opportunity In its 50-‐year history, the University of South Alabama has had exactly two Presidents, Frederick Whiddon from 1963-‐1998 and Gordon Moulton from 1998 -‐ 2013, a record of stability which has in no small part facilitated USA’s excepAonal growth and development On March 2013, President Moulton announced his reArement effecAve 1 July 2013, and the search for his successor commenced President Moulton leaves his successor a once-‐in-‐a-‐ lifeAme opportunity to lead an excellent, but heretofore essenAally regional university onto the naAonal stage On his watch, USA has not only aWracted an outstanding faculty and built a regional reputaAon for research and teaching excellence, but also constructed the physical campus necessary to sustain such a university Under his leadership, the University has made major investments in new faciliAes and in infrastructure improvements, including most recently, Shelby Hall, a state-‐of-‐the-‐art Engineering and CompuAng building (2012), a first-‐class Student RecreaAon Center (2011), a living-‐learning residence hall (2012), a dining hall (2012) , a stellar Health Sciences Building (2009), a small but stunning Archeology Museum (2006), a world-‐class glass arts facility (2010), a major cancer research center (2008), and the tallest bell tower in the state (2010) among many other projects ConstrucAon of a new residence hall, a level-‐3 infecAous disease research facility, a major expansion of Children and Women’s Hospital, and a complete renovaAon of the Student Center are currently underway Impressively, President Moulton managed to make these investment while also establishing an enviable record as steward of the University’s finances Despite severe cutbacks in state funding, he has steered the university through the recent recession without faculty layoffs or furloughs, even while preserving most University reserves Together, the University and Health System currently have a total annual budget of over $700M (approximately evenly divided between hospital and academic units), and internal endowments of over $140M These funds are augmented by the USA FoundaAon, an independent enAty with current holdings of some $300 million, whose distribuAons to the University total more than $131M to date South Alabama’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign in 2009 neWed $94M, well above its $75M target A current 50th anniversary campaign to elicit 50,000 individual gi:s to the university has exceeded its goal several months early, and the University is confident that its just-‐launched campaign to raise $50M in new scholarship endowment money will be equally successful Such strong performance so soon a:er the incepAon of serious fundraising bodes very well for the University’s ability to conAnue aWracAng significant development funding far into the future The PosiAon The University of South Alabama seeks a leader who can catapult it onto the naAonal stage so that this gem is hidden no longer Among the most important qualiAes expected of the next president are: 1) A record of successful leadership at an insAtuAon similar to what USA seeks to become -‐ a leading research insAtuAon and major academic medical center; 2) The willingness and interpersonal skills to work with faculty, staff, students, and alumni to develop a shared vision for what the University is to be and how it is to get there, and; 3) The ability to communicate and promote that vision in ways that inspire both on-‐ and off-‐campus stakeholders to invest in the project The ideal candidate must thus be a great communicator, eager to engage with faculty, students, and the larger community on a frequent and meaningful basis She or he must have a demonstrated commitment to transparent and parAcipatory decision-‐making and ample public-‐relaAons and media acumen In much the same vein, it is important that the successful candidate be poliAcally astute so as to capably represent the University before state and naAonal lawmakers to facilitate its pursuit of public funds, and at the same Ame, a consummate fund-‐raiser capable of aWracAng increasingly important private sources of funding Business and financial savvy is criAcal to the effecAve operaAon of an insAtuAon of higher educaAon, especially during challenging economic Ames But it is also important that the candidate recognize that even as the modern University is a business, it is simultaneously much more than that Lastly, while it is desirable that the candidate have a terminal degree -‐ and have earned tenure -‐ in his or her academic field, it is absolutely imperaAve that she or he has the personal integrity and impeccable character to lead by example The Search Process The search commiWee is made up of fourteen individuals represenAng the gamut of University stakeholders: three faculty members, three administrators, two students, four trustees, one alumna and one community member This commiWee will be working through the summer to recruit and evaluate applicants, with an eye towards idenAfying a pool of finalists by early September The commiWee intends to proceed expediAously therea:er to recommend a candidate for approval by the Board of Trustees The goal is to seat a new President by 1 January 2014, if not before ApplicaAons and NominaAons While applicaAons and nominaAons will be accepted unAl a new president is selected, interested parAes are encouraged to submit their materials to our consulAng firm at the address below by 18 July 2013 to assure opAmal consideraAon Please address materials to: USA PresidenAal Search R William Funk & Associates 100 Highland Park Village, Suite 200 Dallas Texas 75205 Email: krisha.creal@rwilliamfunk.com Fax: 214/295-‐3312 ... constructed the physical campus necessary to sustain such a university Under his ? ?leadership, the University has made major investments in new faciliAes and in infrastructure... important qualiAes expected of the next president are: 1) A record of successful ? ?leadership at an insAtuAon similar to what USA seeks to become -‐ a leading research