General Assembly

Minutes from February 23rd, 2006 Presidential Finalist Ralph Kuncl

Download Word File: Minutes 02/22/06 - Presidential Finalist

General Assembly Meeting

February 23rd, 2006

Johnson 200, 11:30 - 12:30

Notes by Grace Canby

Presidential Finalist Meeting - Ralph Kuncl

Welcome remarks from Kara.

David Burkis:

Ralph Kuncl is a 1970 graduate from occidental. He studied biology to and worked his way up to an MD. Ralph worked at Johns Hopkins researching neural diseases. He has a strong history in research and funding. He is now provost of Bryn Mawr and is happy to be called Ralph.

RK:

I expect to learn a lot more about you than you will learn about me during this session. This is a learning institution and I am a student myself. I want to know what the student experience is here. What are your dreams and goals? I’ll tell you a little about my own past. I’d like to thank Brett and Stephanie for representing the students during this process. Also, Kara and Matt for hosting me. I want to thank the GA and the current brand new version. I want to put to rest an obvious assumption about an alum, that somehow I might come with all the answers and that my experience is something I would like to relieve. That I want to make your experience like my experience. A previous president said that he wanted to build a bridge back to the past, and I don’t necessarily want to achieve something like that. I want to look toward the future. I want to help the students experience excellence and equity at Oxy. I am pleased with my memories of this place. There are only one or two things that you remember about Oxy when you get older. You will remember one or two people. Faculty that you had an individual relationship with and who changed your life. Liberal education will help you with flexibility later in life with jobs etc. I want you to dig deep into me and have a conversation about what means most to you.

Question 1:

I asked this question yesterday. Do you have a special project that you want at your time at oxy, a pet project of sorts?

RK:

That is a dangerous question because it asks for my vision for Oxy. I need to do a lot of listening...to you and to faculty and trustees. So, this dream is not going to be about building buildings or memorable spaces. The dream I would have for the next generation concern the things we will read about everyday in the newspaper (Middle east and East Asia). How will you, as students, prepare yourselves for a global experience in a global world? Today the headline was about port management and if it should be a national or international practice. I want you to know lots about the Middle East and China. Since Oxy is reaching out to the community...I want to also get into the global community through work in global affairs and the United Nations.

Question 2:

Who are the two people that influence you?

RK:

Dave Kohl and Ben Cully (spelling may be inaccurate). Kohl talked about tolerance and diversity. He cared about me and was my advisor and mentor. He helped me with the Kent State shootings emotionally. I went to David Kohl and had a unique individual experience with me. Even though he is now in his 80s he mentors me. He knew me after the first week of orientation. He ran a student loan fund out of his pocket for things like gas money or key dates. He always said, “Remember...its the honor system. If you don’t give back I wont have anything to give back to the rest of the community.”

Question 3:

Occidental has an international perspective on the world. With this increased interest what will be the impact on the political science and DWA programs? Lots of non-majors take these classes making the classes impossible to take for those who need them. What is your experience with class size burdens?

RK:

I’m used to loving a place where students experience an individual education. You didn’t pick a big school with TAs or auditorium style lectures. You wanted professors to know your name and to help you with life. You wanted a residential experience. And right now we are ruining you dream and disappointing your parents. The work of any administration is to manage the expectations of the students. To manage the experience of intimacy and individual education when there is a clash between faculty and students is difficult. There is a clash between anthropology and critical theory and social justice. Can a college decide to change a program? That would be a large part of my job and I deal with it every day. If you have a lot of classes with enrollment over 50, that is not good. It isn’t good when you have many courses with large enrollment or classes with too few students.

Question 4:

What is your plan for the capital campaign? How do you plan to increase the endowment? And finally, how do you plan to energize funding and alum network (money and job connections)?

RK:

I want to start by celebrating our success as a college. There has been a huge increase of alums funding your experience and the numbers have almost doubled. I have a huge advantage because I already love this place and I won’t screw it up. I already have it in my heart to energize the alums. It’s hard to do this at Bryn Mawr when I’m an outsider. I don’t have a good hold there like I do here. It is difficult to build a network of alums. I get calls from Telefund twice a year. This is a big thing. I never fail to give in that situation. But how many alums do we now have? So when you disperse as alums its hard to travel the country to do the networking that is possible. We can create local clubs. I just had lunch with someone who was trying to build a new network in Philly. It’s tough, but I relish the idea of traveling and meeting alum groups.

Question 5:

What are the challenges and learning experience that you have gathered from working at an all female college (Bryn Mawr)?

RK:

Typically at an all female college the presidents are women, role models are female faculty and provosts are male. I look at it as a daunting challenge. First thing I was handed by the assistant to the president was a book titled “How Women Learn”. She said to me, “You don’t know anything about this. Read this book.” I said I was a student and I read that book. Then I was given “The History of Bryn Mawr College and It’s iconic presidents”. She said, “You don’t understand the history and the culture. Read this book.” And I did. I think most things can be learned. I Belive that as a student and a teacher. I wanted to learn the culture and the traditions.

Question 6:

Financial institutions don’t recruit out of Oxy like they do out at Pomona. What are three things you can do to rectify that?

RK:

I’m surprised to learn that. You are telling me something new that has not been part of my experience. My guess is the reason they go to Pomona is for the density. One stop at Claremont will give them multiple colleges at once. They also have a more directed commerce program for recruiters to see. I would try to create a collaboration to increase density with a recruiter. We can form a bond with Whittier or another smaller school. We will make it attractive for them to look at Occidental students.

Question 7:

I liked that you were specific about an international focus. What are your ideas/proposals about making study abroad more available to oxy students? There is a rising demand and the numbers continue to grow. What are your thoughts?

RK:

What are the blocks right now?

Mainly budget concerns.

RK:

Is that because financial aid doesn’t travel with the student?

No. We can only send a certain amount because of operating funds for the college. Also, IPO is given a budget every year that is smaller than other schools. That amount decides how many students can go abroad. Even if students qualify it doesn’t guarantee they will get a spot abroad.

RK:

There are a million solutions to this problem. What’s the value about going abroad? I said one of my dreams is international education. How do you do that? Not through internet or brief experiences. You do this by immersing yourself into another culture for an extended period of time. I didn’t do that while I was here. I now know the value. I think the goal should be 50%...right now it’s about 30%. Let’s set the goal higher. Without the established goal we wont achieve anything. So what’s the goal? We should present arrangements for tuition and financial aid. Sending more students frees up space and allows a more intimate experience on campus. It’s hard to predict huge variations. With careful planning this can work. This should be a cornerstone to how we see ourselves.

Question 8:

Diversity is key to this school and the mission initiatives have become a central point. If you were to come here how would you further development within the administration and the faculty? How have you dealt with diversity in your past?

RK:

I want to have diversity in the upper levels of this school. Diversity in the student population is important, but if the faculty doesn’t reflect that then the rhetoric becomes empty. I am the product of your faculty. What they are sending you is what I have. I have lived and worked in diverse environments but its hard to maintain diversity by the numbers. It is not about the numbers. It is about the environment and it’s about your learning, your advising, your interaction and opportunities for study abroad. It’s about outcome, graduation, and retention when you compare minorities to non-minorities. If there are gaps there is a problem. How we work and live together requires dialogue and conversation. New plans are good, but they aren’t essential. I would like to talk about racial diversity as well as gender, socio-economic diversity. Socio-economic diversity is typically bimodal. We have the very wealthy and the poor. I want more variation. Religious diversity is also important. I have maintained faculty diversity at a very high level. There has to be a huge pool of selection for faculty members. Those that you appoint reflect the school. I refuse to accept the finalists if there aren’t minoritities. So…you’re looking at a white guy finalist. What could I care about diversity? I work hard to match my heart and my behavior. I have appointed an African American dean as well as other minorities.

Question 9:

This is hearsay, but I heard the school was going to focus on intellectual diversity not racial diversity. I am assuming that is because we want to raise more money. What are your experiences with something so difficult and how can it be navigated?

RK:

That is a horribly complex issue. If you being with intellectual diversity and trying to achieve that through financial aid to maximize opinions in a room. Can an admissions officer do that? Can the intellectual bent of a 17 year old match that of a 21 year old? That’s like if you compared a chief justice at the start and then watched how they changed their opinions over time. How can you hope to balance the intellectual community? You can’t. They, the admissions officers, choose socio-economic diversity, race, religion, gender. It’s not about gaining national stature, its about different ways of thinking. Someone from rural Nebraska or Prescott, Arizona wont have the same views but they will show diversity. I come from an institution that is elite and 90% of those students are need blind. We are need sensitive. The ability to pay for education is not necessary.

Question 10:

The master plan is looking for an environmentally stable campus. What are your thoughts on this?

RK:

I am not responsible for those issues in my current job. I focus on the academic issues. I am at a green campus right now and the students are involved with fertilizer choices and weeding that occurs. They are environmental stewards in their community. The master plan’s ideas for sustainability are impressive. We can afford to teach the next generation of students. I don’t view greening and sustainability as a flourish...its survival. You have to do it.

Question 11:

The center for community based learning is on the cutting edge of service. Oxy is moving to integrate with the LA community. Do you have any ideas about fostering relationships with other schools and learning outside classroom?

RK:

This is an important trend in education. Outreach in my generations meant getting in vans to travel to downtown LA. Service learning didn’t occur. What is the percentage of students who have a learning community off campus?

There are only a few classes that incorporate this aspect.

Is there a requirement?

No, but there can be. It can be involved with frosh core classes.

You have to be careful what you wish for. Do you really want another requirement embedded in your already heave core requirements?

Let’s say only 10 to 20 percent have a substantial service learning experience. Trustees can help with this. They are stewards with this community and this college. If you increase the network you can develop connections with the community. But, don’t spread it out everywhere. Pick one community to have one trusting relationship. Take Glendale, for example. You become so well known there that they will want more and more of you. They will depend on you. The more trust relationships you have the better. The monetary cost more and is it worth it? Community based learning is important in the real world. We want to develop active engaging citizens and how can you do that if you aren’t out in those communities. You have an extraordinary opportunity to do that. Barnard is the only other college like us in an urban environment.

Question 12:

Why did you decided to attend Oxy?

RK:

It’s hard to look back that long, but I will try. I knew that I was a well directed person. I can delay gratification for decades to reach a goal. I wanted to plan for the long term. My favorite high school mentor got his degree at oxy and he told me that the most important part of college was a track record of broad education that allowed students to do anything after. It wasn’t about prestige or size. He said look at Oxy. It’s the Swarthmore of the west. Broad education and a long track record of students getting into grad schools. There were, and still are, small intimate relationships. That’s what I got and as a result I will never forget it and it determined my career.

Question 13:

How do you want to transform the college? Where would you lead the school?

RK:

The major transformation is in the identity and core mission. Back when I was here Oxy valued academic excellence. They said they sought to train the world leaders and critical thinking. Every college seeks this. So what is it that makes Oxy different? Excellence and equity. Equity was not a part of what college was like in the late 60s. It was a time of intellectual diversity, not much pluralism there. Not in terms of religion, politics or socio-economic status or minority status. It was tough to learn about real diversity and equity. It doesn’t come from professors but from your peers. Diversity in the student body transfers into the intellectual fields. You’d have to trust me to not sacrifice that mission.