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Two presidential candidates visit UMaine

Foster, Feiss go on whirlwind tour of university; meet and greet faculty, students

By Ernest Scheyder

Posted on Monday, April 4th, 2005, 12:00 am

steven knapp

HERE´S THE STORY - University of Maine presidential candidate Geoffrey Feiss talks with students about his fascination with universities and elaborates on his credentials with personal anecdotes.

laura giorgio

FAIR DEAL - University of Maine presidential candidate Brian Foster discusses his ideas for improving higher education if he is chosen for the position. Behind him is search committee member Ross Bartlett.

The University of Maine is one step closer to selecting a new president. Two candidates, Geoffrey Feiss and Brian Foster, visited campus last week and met with staff, faculty and students in a whirlwind tour designed to introduce both the campus and the candidates to one another.

Foster visited Memorial Union’s Multipurpose Room on Wednesday to a crowd of approximately 20 students. Foster explained that for the first part of his life he wasn’t even planning on a career in academia. He didn’t attend college until his late 20s and previously was employed selling everything from insurance to cemetery plots.

“[Going to college] changed my life in an indirectly powerful way,” Foster said.

He explained his passion for higher education and ways in which he could bring some of his ideas for change to fruition as president of UMaine.

“I’d like to provide access to high-quality education,” Foster said.

Foster fielded a variety of questions from students on a plethora of topics during the meeting. He said that a college degree used to be the key to unlocking the door to success, but now it is fast becoming a necessity.

“That’s changed the way higher education works a lot,” he said. “The future is going to be set by places like Maine.”

When asked to explain his feelings on research at a university, Foster said he feels that research is linked to the nature and mission of higher education.

“It’s important to understand how complex research universities are,” he said. “I’m very committed to high-quality research.”

If chosen as president, Foster said he would make a concerted effort to meet with and reach out to students.

“It’s very important the president have time with students … though there’s only 24 hours in a day,” he said.

The meeting with students was interrupted by a call on Foster’s cell phone.

“Hello? Can I call you back? I’m in a meeting,” he said into the phone.

Also during the meeting, Foster praised student-athletes and said they offer a lot to a university setting.

“Athletics are a hugely important part of the public perception of a university,” he said.

Feiss spoke to a slightly smaller crowd Friday afternoon. He took some time to explain his past as well as his current post as provost of the College of William and Mary. He has spent eight years at William and Mary and was at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill previously. Feiss noted that he initially wasn’t interested in the presidential position, and changed his mind only after a headhunter pursued him.

“I think this is a high-quality institution,” Feiss said of UMaine.

He noted that he has spent a good part of his life visiting the state. He learned to ski at Sugarloaf, spent summers near Greenville as a boy and has a daughter that lives in Brunswick.

As president, Feiss said he would strive to create a culture of giving and philanthropy by tapping more private sector funds. He also would push for more research at the university, calling it a productive way to attract more people to Orono.

“Creative people will go where creative things are happening,” he said.

Feiss said he is also interested in working closely with University of Maine System officials in a cordial and friendly manner to advance UMaine and UMS as a whole.

“One of the first things I’d do if I came here would be to drive to USM and have lunch with their president and say: ‘How do we work together?’” Feiss said.

Feiss fielded a question on diversity and differing viewpoints in a university setting.

“The interesting thing about universities come when we have competing values,” he said.

The next two student forums for candidates Mary Ann Rankin and Robert Kennedy will happen this week. Rankin will talk Tuesday from 11:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Kennedy will hold meetings on Thursday from 11:30 am. to 12:30 p.m., both in the Multipurpose room.