Michael O’Brien presented Wednesday his vision for the University if he were chosen as executive vice chancellor and provost, emphasizing his belief in transparency and openness as a university administrator addressing growing financial problems.
“The last thing somebody should do is walk in here and tell you what to do,” said O’Brien, the current dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri.
O’Brien said his primary goal if chosen as the University’s second-in-command is to foster internal discussion between schools and colleges and to be transparent with administrative decisions.
In Missouri, he said he views his current role as a faculty member first and a dean second, and he would maintain the same attitude as the University’s provost. O’Brien said he would place importance on daily communication with faculty and staff.
“I’m not a power-hungry person,” O’Brien said. “The title doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s what you get done.”
Like past candidates Kevin Carman and Bobby Schnabel, O’Brien highlighted a financial strategy that focused on an increase in private funding from alumni and other invested individuals.
Increasing out-of-state enrollment could be another source for increased revenue, he said. At Missouri, a decrease in high school graduation rates led the school to shift focus to attracting out-of-state students, he said.
O’Brien said adding more non-resident students resolved Missouri’s problem of decreasing enrollment numbers.
This could be applied at LSU, he said, though enrollment has been increasing over past years, according to the Office of Budget and Planning.
O’Brien highlighted many of Missouri’s successful past efforts, including a focus on bringing back prominent alumni as faculty.
He addressed the same faculty problems as previous candidates in past forums, but O’Brien made it clear he wouldn’t equalize differing pay between disciplines because economic demands across the country make some disciplines more profitable than others.
What he would work toward is ensuring “living wages” for all University employees, including faculty on a non-tenure track, who he said have unharvested potential.
O’Brien, who studied anthropology at Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin, said his academic background plays a role in how he interacts and makes decisions as an administrator.
“It does teach respect for other people,” he said. “Anthropologists understand diversity.”
O’Brien is the third candidate to emphasize diversity and name it as an area in which the University could improve.
He said he would like to see more involvement from international faculty in attracting students from their respective countries, and the University could be more attractive to out-of-country students by honoring hours earned at international schools.
Louisiana’s culture has much to offer to international students and faculty, O’Brien said.
He said he has strong ties to the University, where he almost studied for his undergraduate degree, and he has many relatives in Louisiana.
The open provost position could be the “job of the century,” he said, and the state plays a large role in the University’s potential.
“I would come in and help you develop good — and hopefully big — ideas that come from you,” he said, adding he would be proud of working with the University community. “You have to figure out the needs of students and faculty, and then adapt, and not the other way around.”
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]