The University of Oregon will start the 2012–13 school year with a new leader.
In mid-June, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education announced that Michael Gottfredson will be the school’s new president.
Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner said he’s confident Gottfredson will lead the school to great achievements.
“I hope and am convinced that Dr. Gottfredson will lead the University of Oregon effectively and successfully, and that UO will be distinguished by the success of its Oregon students,” Pernsteiner said.
“He will make sure that UO is a university for Oregon and for Oregonians and will work collaboratively with OUS and other Oregon universities to achieve the state’s ambitious education attainment goals. He will be an active partner with OUS, with Portland State, with Oregon Health and Science University and with Oregon businesses to spur economic vitality for our state,” he added.
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Gottfredson is currently executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of California, Irvine. He has also taught at UCI since 2000 as a professor of criminology, law and society.
“Dr. Gottfredson has a long and distinguished record as both a scholar and a successful academic leader,” Pernsteiner said.
Gottfredson will begin his term Aug. 1 but will be working alongside OUS starting this month in order to begin the process of transitioning.
Board members voted unanimously to appoint Gottfredson as UO’s 17th president during a meeting via telephone June 15. Board member Allyn Ford said, “We were blessed with a pool of candidates…nine for interviews…then we narrowed down the candidacy to Gottfredson.”
According to a statement released by the board, the ideal president for UO would have a passion for the education of students, a clear vision of the future of higher education, and the imagination to envision the possibilities for a clear future for the university.
Not only does the president act as the chief executive officer of the university and oversee faculty, the president must also understand the shared governance throughout the university that includes the students, alumni, faculty and the community.
The president must act as a champion of diversity and embrace the many cultures within the university community, said both Pernsteiner and Ford. Gottfredson fits the bill, Pernsteiner added.
“He has a deep understanding of commitment to public higher education—and has shown it in the success of UCI, in serving a very diverse student population and building a first-rate research enterprise. He was able to put the challenges and opportunities that Oregon faces into a national context very effectively and cogently,” Pernsteiner said.
According to OUS Director of Communications Diane Saunders, the process of choosing a new president for UO was accelerated from the usual 9–12 month process to only six months. The OUS wished to select a candidate before interim President Robert Berdahl left the position.
Berdahl was appointed to the temporary position Dec. 2011, after the board moved to fire then-President Richard Lariviere.
The main complaint lodged against Lariviere in the board’s hearing was that his actions during his time in office reflected an allegiance to UO rather than to the OUS as a whole.
“We cannot be a great state without a great University of Oregon, but we also cannot be a great state only because of a great University of Oregon,” said Board Director James Francesconi at the 2011 hearing. “Our state needs more.”
The board has spent the last six months looking for a permanent replacement for the UO presidential position. According to Saunders, there are two forms of presidential search that can be conducted: an “open” search and a “closed” search.
During an open search, a committee looks for good prospective candidates, generally two to four candidates per campus, who then interact with a university campus by holding forums.
The candidates then are interviewed by Chancellor Pernsteiner before deciding if they wish to continue. Altogether, the candidates spend up to two days on a university campus. After this process, the board takes a vote.
This election, however, was a rare closed search, leaving a sole candidate at the end for the board to vote on.
“The problem with a closed search is that it does not provide as rich of a candidate pool as an open search does.…Search firms really help with the process of finding candidates since they are able to inform good candidates of the position or ask for recommendations,” Saunders said.
At the time of publication, Gottfredson was unable to respond to interview requests.
Since 1976 Gottfredson has worked at many different educational institutes and held many positions, such as director of the Criminal Justice Research Center in Albany, New York; assistant professor at the School of Criminal Justice at State University of New York in Albany; associate professor of sociology at the University of Illinois in Urbana; and associate professor at Claremont Graduate University.
He has also held several positions at the University of Arizona, including interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, and vice provost and vice president of undergraduate education.
During his time at UCI, Gottfredson led efforts to increase enrollment and add new faculty, degree programs, facilities, schools and departments, as well as attempts to expand campus infrastructure and find ways to combine state, campus and private support.
From these efforts came the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, which included a $55 million research facility and a new public law school. Gottfredson has also worked to increase representation of women and minority faculty and administrators as well as amplify the undergraduate experience of a large research university.
“We were looking for someone to come with the experience to, in other words, hit the ground running,” Ford said.
“The board was looking for someone to keep up with the university’s academics and who was familiar with the West Coast since our culture is a little different from the rest of the country.…California does not have institutional boards, and Gottfredson understood the importance of collaboration within the university system. We wanted someone who could speak out…which is good for the state of Oregon.”
Students also have a voice at OUS board meetings and when universities are choosing new leaders. Saunders said that meetings are public and regularly have open forums where students and the community can express their concerns or ideas about university issues such as tuition or issues within particular buildings. Anyone interested in attending these meetings can go to www.ous.edu for meeting schedules and locations.