UNI presidential finalist Theobald touts ‘shared governance’

CEDAR FALLS - Shared governance, or the idea that both administrators and faculty members have a stake and a say in the way a university is run, was a central tenet of University of Northern Iowa presidential finalist Neil Theobald's public presentation Tuesday.

Theobald, 59, told more 200 UNI faculty, staff, students and alumni that it was his commitment to shared governance that cost him his job as president at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Answering a question he posed himself about why he is the former president of Temple, Theobald said he was directed to hire someone as dean without faculty input and with opposition from the provost.

'I chose not to break the covenant of shared governance, which as I mentioned earlier, I have found to be essential in operating a university,” Theobald said. 'The consequence of standing up for that principle is I had to leave, and I am fine with that.”

He disputed media reports that he was forced to resign due in part to the fact he dismissed the provost following a cost overrun in financial aid.

According to Inside Higher Education, Theobald's board of trustees voted no confidence in him after faculty members protested the provost's firing.

Tuesday, Theobald said he thought it was in the university's best interest not to hold a news conference following his resignation as president, and so the reports have been one-sided or 'simply not factually accurate.”

Theobald acknowledged coming into some challenges when he assumed the duties of Temple's president in 2012, but mostly focused on the improvements made under his leadership.

Focusing on issues important to UNI, Theobald said under his presidency Temple saw an increase in enrollment, four-year graduation rates, fundraising and student diversity.

Theobald shared five principles he said he is committed to, should he get the job as UNI's 11th president. Among them was shared governance, but the other four also referenced a commitment to many of the other entities that make up a campus community.

The remaining principles he listed are a rigorous faculty, a diverse student body, understanding and tackling budgetary issues and focusing on the university's mission first in everything.

'The role of the president is to take the mission as it exists and then within shared governance to develop meaningful and successful solutions to … that mission,” he said.

Theobald grew up in Peoria, Ill., and was the first in his family to attend college. He said he's passionate about education - he's also a professor of education - because it helps others achieve the success he found in leaving home for college.

He stressed a college education should not be seen as a private good but as a public one.

Theobald also acknowledged his need to learn more about the Cedar Falls university and its surrounding community. He pledged to listen to interests throughout the campus and community. He said he would not be one to simply sit behind his desk.

'My fervent interest in being your president is not driven by the notion that Indiana (University) ideas or Temple (University) ideas can simply be transplanted here,” said Theobald, who also had an administrative position at the Bloomington, Ind., university. 'No, we would have to look at the mission here, the context here, the realities here and develop UNI solutions to those problems.”

Theobald is the first of three finalists for the job who will hold public meetings on campus this week. The Board of Regents is expected to hire one of them next week to replace former UNI President Bill Ruud, who resigned earlier this year to lead a private college in Ohio.

Theobald's public forum is available for replay at iowaregents.edu.