News
 

Langland drawn by UH's growth

Provost candidate says she can manage development while maintaining diversity

By Portia-Elaine Gant
Senior Staff Writer

Diversity and rapid growth drew provost candidate Elizabeth Langland to the University, and she said those are areas with which she would be equipped to deal if she becomes UH's academic chief.

"I have discovered how much I really love working with administration, because it's really great to make something happen together," Langland said during an open forum Tuesday at the University Hilton. "I love working with people, and I'm drawn to Houston among the select group (of universities) that I'm looking at because it's a multicultural campus."

Langland, the dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Davis, said she's well-versed in dealing with rapid growth.

"I've been responsible for delivering curriculum to a large and growing number of students," Langland said. "The University of Florida is growing rapidly; the University of California, Davis has been growing equally rapidly in the five years I've been there, and of course the University of Houston is another institution that is facing rapid growth."

Langland also said she realized trying to balance tenure-track faculty, adjunct faculty and lecturers, and finding room for all of them on campus, will be a "very big challenge." She said she has advocated the hiring of women and minorities where she has worked and will bring that to UH if she's hired.

"Minority candidates who are looking for jobs are very, very tuned in to all networks, and they know exactly what the climate is like, so you will attract those minority candidates only if you have a climate that is very receptive," she said.

Langland said she feels she is a "very good negotiator." She said she had a 100 percent acceptance rate for job offers she extended last year at Davis.

"You've got to keep a whole lot of balls in the air at one time, because there are a lot of things that are important when hiring a new dean," Langland said. "It's not just about salary and rank."

Langland, who has a bachelor's degree in English and master's and doctoral degrees in English literature, said writing is important for all students. She also stressed the importance of undergraduate students and their impact on the economy.

"Growth alone doesn't drive a city; growth with education drives a city," she said. 

Langland is the first of two people recently added to the list of provost candidates. The other, Sharon Stephens Brehm of Indiana University Bloomington, will meet the campus in a public forum at 4 p.m. today at the University Hilton's Shamrock Room.
 

 Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu