In the more than six months since university President Wallace Loh pledged his loyalty to the Terrapins, the mascot is one of the few things on the campus that hasn’t changed.
Several offices in the Main Administration Building will be occupied by someone new. The athletics department is hardly recognizable, with its most visible positions all turning over. Officials gave the general education curriculum a total facelift, and there are more new housing projects in the works than ever before.
It’s a new era for the state’s flagship university, and many students, officials and community members say it’s off to an encouraging start. With several new initiatives off the ground and the continued pursuit of many existing ones, Loh is both embracing and facilitating the transition, they said.
His progress can be measured by the new policies he’s signed, officials said, such as the Good Samaritan policy that became official this semester after years of stagnation.
But more important, some of his colleagues said, are the many positive indications thus far that demonstrate Loh has the drive, talent and vision to ensure his tenure will be as productive as that of his predecessor, former university President Dan Mote.
Mote had a vision that guided his term: turning the university into one of the best public research institutions on American soil. Enter Loh, who picked up right where he left off, extending that goal to becomeone of the premier research institutions in the world.
In the 2010 fiscal year, the university received a record-breaking $545 million in research funding through grants and contracts. Several people said it’s the ideal time to welcome a president with Loh’s priorities — innovation, entrepreneurship, research and student achievement.
Those are the tenets of Loh’s recently released four-point program — which he envisions as the future direction of the university — and are symbolized by a new project he announced last month, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Rather than a physical complex, the center represents the culture of business-oriented mindsets and forward-thinking ideas that Loh said began under Mote. In the coming years, Loh said he plans to dramatically increase that emphasis by encouraging widespread use of the business incubator — a space that allows researchers to develop and commercialize their ideas for profit. And in a tribute to his predecessor’s legacy, Mote will preside over the center’s activities.
“In the old days, faculty were rewarded for publishing in journals … but we never rewarded faculty for taking their ideas and turning them into a practical useful product that, you know, could make you huge amounts of money,” Loh said.
Some professors said such a strong focus on using knowledge and research primarily to turn a profit may turn off some people with different values. And although Loh said those studying arts and humanities can also market their ideas, history professor emeritus Parliamentarian Marvin Breslow said that may not be the best avenue.
“We all want economic prosperity, but with regards to arts and humanities, in some ways they may lend themselves to entrepreneurship, but that’s not their central mission,” he said. “… Your life is more than just earning a living.”
With Loh also comes a new start on East Campus development and a fresh outlook on options for the Purple Line — marked departures from the situation under Mote. Officials had long disagreed about which potential alignment for the Purple Line rail would be best for the university, with Mote firmly against one going down Campus Drive.
Because the project is contingent on state funding, Loh said he favors whichever route wins the favor of lawmakers.
Tight budgets are a significant issue facing Loh’s administration as the university enters what officials said will be a very influential period, primarily because construction of the East Campus development will likely begin during Loh’s tenure.
Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement also said Loh has been instrumental with handling the “incredible turnover” within the university’s top ranks. The upcoming months will bring a new provost, vice president for administrative affairs and chief diversity officer, among others.
Loh’s leadership strategy, which revolves around listening to others, has helped smooth the transition, Clement said. This tactic helps him soak up the immense diversity of opinion at the university, Loh said.
However, not all university populations have been so impressed. Craig Newman, the secretary for the union that represents university staff — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — said Loh hasn’t tried to meet with his organization. He noted union representatives have not reached out to Loh, either.
“Listening implies that there’s going to be some kind of action to what you’ve considered, but for staff issues we really haven’t seen it,” he said.
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