-VC candidate says
A well-functioning and internationally respected Univer-sity of Guyana can be built along the lines of the American system and modified to suit local conditions, Professor Rory Fraser told an audience that gathered to listen to his public lecture, ‘University of Guyana: Trans-formed and Transcendent’.
Fraser, one of the four candidates short-listed for the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, said on Wednesday that he believes that with the support of the entire university body, the institution can be transformed under his leadership. “The opportunity is now and I believe I can make it happen,” he posited.
During his presentation, Fraser said that it is the role of the VC to lead, inspire, and motivate the UG body and engage them in the kind of development that is needed. “We all have to be involved in the budgeting and financing of the university… We have to be able to speak not only among ourselves but with stakeholders….Build partnerships…Engage stakeholders,” he noted.
According to Fraser, political strategies need to be developed both on and off campus and to do so there is a need to reshape, redirect and change the control of the organization. Fraser noted that it is necessary to establish the core principles and values, realistic goals need to be set and clear targets need to be established. “We need to integrate an aligned part of the organization internally but which is connected to the education sector of this country. We have to design tactical plans to move this organization forward,” he further said. He also submitted that what is needed most of all is to become involved in a virtuous cycle where there is continuous assessment, allowing the results to encourage further change so that the transformation becomes increasingly better.
To do that, Fraser said he would follow the advice of the Association of Governing Boards which produced a task course in 2007 to look at types of leadership and the requirements to move American education forward. He said that this body recognized that there is a need for a new kind of leadership referred to as integral leadership.
“That require three things; effective leadership within the institution and that requires a President (VC) that can build and sustain strong leadership, share and engage in academic vision, achieve an authentic connection with students’ needs and aspirations and recognize the contribution of high quality staff. It requires secondly effective government. That is a strong relationship between the government body and the Vice Chancellor to build a clear and shared mutual understanding of expectations, responsibilities and the institutional culture. Third, a Vice Chancellor needs to demonstrate external leadership and form strong connections with key external stakeholders, it requires the engagement of the alumini, donors, parents…it requires establishing partnerships with policy makers and the business community,” Fraser explained.
Later, asked how long he believed it would take to transform the university, given its current circumstance, Fraser said he could not answer that. “A child depends on their parents to give guidance and assume responsibility and an adult takes responsibility. I think after 50 years, UG needs an adult to go on and I think then we can move on… How much longer after that has a lot to do with the commitment of people here to create the vision they want. This job will not be done by one man… It will take every single man on campus. Rory Fraser is not coming here to pull this graveyard by himself. Those who can’t pull will push and those who can’t push, we won’t carry them in the car,” he further explained.
Asked by another lecturer how he would imagine removing the high level of politicization at UG, the candidate said there is a need for professional development. “That is one of the things that display lack of professionalism in institutions. We will have to engage this. I was trained as a leader,” he added.
Fraser was commended several times on his presentation and was told by one listener that his input on moving the university forward can be considered critical, further promising commitment if he was appointed VC. He was asked what style of leadership he would apply to develop the university if he was given the job.
“Philosophically I believe organizations should be led by a thousand leaders. No matter what happens to one, the organization must move. If you’re going to be at a transcendent place, everyone must understand their role… Most important thing about leadership too is mentorship,” he stated.
Fraser was also asked what he would use for inspiration if given the position and he noted that it would come from the satisfaction of serving others. “Inspiration comes when you feel what you are doing is not about yourself, it’s bigger than you. There are people depending on what you do for them to succeed so I don’t have to worry about inspiration. I am charged by the people and if they are excited about what we do,” he said.
“I know you’re the person for this job. UG needs a leader that is courageous, a visionary, and in love with humanity,” another listener opined.
Fraser is currently Profes-sor of Forest Economics and Policy at Alabama A&M University. He is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick, Canada, and Pennsylvania State University and has spent 34 of the last 38 years in the UK, Canada, Jamaica, and the USA either attending or teaching at universities and working in forestry related fields. Since September 2009 he has worked on a number of projects related to the University of Guyana.
