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González draws on academic acumen

Decisions on budget should be backed by conviction, 
candidate for UH provost says

By Portia-Elaine Gant
Senior Staff Writer

Cristina Gonzlez, a senior adviser to the chancellor at the University of California, Davis and candidate for UH provost, said her experience as a faculty member and administrator will be beneficial if she becomes provost here.

"I was a part of the faculty, so I think like a faculty member," González, a native of Spain, said in an open forum at the University Hilton on Wednesday. "I have acquired a different way of seeing things in administration, but I never lost the faculty perspective."

González got a great deal of experience as faculty member and administrator as the UC Davis dean of graduate studies from 1997-2002 and chairwoman of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. At UMass, she also chaired the College of Humanities & Fine Arts personnel committee.

"I came to the U.S. from Spain in 1976, and I was amazed by the beauty of the (Indiana University) campus; they couldn't get me out of the library," González said. "I fell in love with the American university system."

González has also learned about the university system from positions in organizations like the Association of Graduate Schools Executive Committee and the Council of Graduate Schools Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Still, she declined to disclose a vision for the University.

"I don't have a vision because I think those are developed collectively; otherwise, they might become nightmares," González said. "My impression is that (the University) could move up fast and far if (it) gets (its) act together. I can appreciate the diversity of the student body that you already have, along with other considerable strengths and qualities you have to work with."

UH's urban setting is something González said she saw as being superior to that of other universities'.

"You have a lot of things going for you," González said. "You all have location. Geography is destiny. You are in the heart of an important city in an important country at a time when universities are doing better in an urban setting."

The audience brought up the allocation of funds, an important issue for any potential provost at a time when the University is trying to deal with the effects of state budget cuts. González offered examples from her past experience to illustrate her position -- especially when it came to funding for the arts.

"The fine arts are the most misunderstood part of the University," said González, whose background is in the humanities. "Some areas look a lot like sciences, but they have their own issues. It's important to know that that's the case. Some of the arts are more expensive, and you have to understand the technicalities of what's needed."

When it came to more specific questions about budgets for particular colleges and programs, González said she had no established criteria. She said she would rely on a variety of factors in such decisions if made provost, like she did when presented with a similar situation at UC Davis.

"The size of the college, the ranking, information from program reviews and my personal interaction with the college were all factors I used to come up with a list that I was not ashamed to explain and defend," González said.

"That is my advice to all deans," she said. "When you make a decision, it should be one that you can defend."

The next provost forum, for Richard Edwards, will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the University Hilton's Shamrock Room. Edwards is a distinguished professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Social Work and served as interim provost at UNC in 2000-01.

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