President talks about challenges, keeps focus on future
By Diane Knich
The Post and Courier
Monday, December 7, 2009
Clemson University President James Barker celebrated his 10th anniversary as the school's president Sunday. As the university's leader and its 14th president, he's increased the academic profile of the student body; boosted the school's ranking in U.S. News and World Report; increased alumni and other giving; launched the International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville; and dramatically improved the school's reputation nationwide.
In recent years, he's navigated the university through some choppy financial waters. His moves at times have stirred controversy, but Barker said he's going to continue moving Clemson forward by focusing on students and economic development in the state. Following are Barker's responses to questions about Clemson and it's role in South Carolina. His comments have been edited for conciseness.
Q: What's the biggest challenge in your job today, compared to when you started 10 years ago?
A: When I started, the biggest challenge we had was self-concept. We needed to see ourselves as the best.
Now, the biggest challenge is financial. It's a completely different landscape.
Ten years ago, 40 percent of the university's budget came from the state. State support has dropped to 15 percent.
But we're not whining about that at Clemson. We never have.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I'm most proud about increasing the quality of our students. The school now attracts very bright students with high grades and SAT scores. When you start with really bright kids, you get great faculty members.
And more of those students graduate because they came in more prepared.
The ratio of in-state to out-of-state students hasn't changed much in 20 years. So Clemson has not improved the quality of the student body by bringing in students from other states.
The university simply attracts many of the best students in the state. And, many good South Carolina students who might have enrolled in out-of-state schools in the past are now staying in the state and attending Clemson. That has a lot to do with lottery-funded scholarships. The scholarships don't bring in operating money to the university, but they have helped boost the quality of the student body.
Q: On what have you received the most positive feedback?
A: Again, it's on bringing in better students. I often hear from alumni that the value of a Clemson degree has increased.
Q: Have you and your staff been brainstorming ways to compensate for cuts in state support?
A: Yes. Last year, we lost $50 million. The state cut $45 million from our budget and we lost $5 million in income from our endowment.
I formed 11 task forces and asked members to come up with ways to either cut costs or bring in more revenue in their particular areas. In June, we took that information and created a plan. The plan is about tapping lots of little streams of revenue. If there was a river of revenue out there, someone should have kicked me for not finding it.
Then when the plan was done, we said, "Let's get back to work." Since then, we've focused on the future.
And we have talked about bringing in more out-of-state students who pay higher tuition rates. We've had discussions on fair and equitable ways of approaching that.
Q: Some of your critics have said the university is focusing too much energy on your goal of becoming one the top 20 ranked public universities in U.S. News and World Report. What would you say to them?
A: In 2001, we were ranked 39. Today, we're at 22. Criteria that make up the ranking include: graduation rates, class size and faculty salaries. These are all measures of quality. You can't point to a president who's not focused on those things.
And we believe in accountability. We have improved and we can prove it. We wouldn't pay attention to criteria that were meaningless.
We're not driven by a ranking. We focus on getting a little better every day.
Q: Will tuition continue to rise, and do you have solutions to the problem of skyrocketing tuition?
A: That's a great concern of ours. There's a connection between state support and tuition. Schools are increasing tuition as state support declines. We're continuing to look for new revenue streams.
Q: Are your plans for a wind turbine lab on the old Navy Base in North Charleston based on the model used to build the International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville?
A: Yes. However, it might be a bit more challenging. We approached businesses who were part of an established automotive industry in the Greenville area. But there isn't an established wind power industry in Charleston. There's no cluster there, so it took more courage on my part. We have to invent a cluster there.
But we got a $45 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the wind turbine lab that we didn't have for ICAR. The grant was a tremendous vote of confidence.
Q: What do you think of the profile of athletics at colleges and universities? Does it detract from the true mission of a school?
A: It doesn't detract at all. In fact, it increases energy in other parts of the university. People want to support a winner. The math department benefits from the success of our basketball team. And the basketball team benefits from the success of our math department.
Q: How long do you think you'll remain in the university's top post?
A: I made a commitment to stay in the job for 10 years. But, I think I need to stay longer because the university needs the stability. But I promise, there will be a 15th president at Clemson.
Q: What will you do when you eventually step down?
A: What I really want to do is be a faculty member in architecture at Clemson.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: Yes. When we celebrate anniversaries, we tend to focus on one person. But the gains at Clemson were a group effort. And, anniversaries may be a time to reflect a bit. But, I don't spend my time looking in the rear-view mirror. I'm looking through the windshield.
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