CENTER FOR COMPUTATION & TECHNOLOGY

Harold Silverman came to LSU with his new wife 26 years ago as an assistant professor of zoology and physiology. In October, he became the interim LSU provost. On Friday he discussed his plans for the university's future if selected from four finalists to become the executive vice chancellor and provost. Silverman, 57, told faculty, staff and students at an open forum that LSU is a good university that must become great. “Louisiana deserves a national research university,” he said, and the future of the state depends on it. “It is our responsibility to build that,” Silverman said. The other finalists for the provost job are Jeffrey Vitter, brother of U.S. Sen. David Vitter and dean of the College of Science at Purdue University; Astrid Merget, dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University; and Ronald Rousseau, chairman of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The provost position is LSU's chief academic officer and second-in-charge after Chancellor Sean O'Keefe. Silverman was the second finalist to interview. Rousseau had been grilled by faculty about whether he would support the humanities in light of his engineering background. Silverman did not allow those questions to arise. He spoke early about the importance of the liberal and performance arts in both research and community outreach. He also discussed policy issues and funding. Silverman referred to Gov. Kathleen Blanco's education funding proposals saying, “We thought we were in good shape.” Blanco has since announced she will not run for re-election. But he does remain optimistic about an influx of new funds, he said. Silverman said LSU eventually needs to look seriously at moving beyond flat admissions requirements and instead use them as minimum guidelines from which to shape the right class. Essentially, that means just meeting LSU's admissions requirements would not guarantee entry for a student. Silverman cited LSU's expanding Center for Computation and Technology and its renowned director, Ed Seidel, as the ideal arrangement for groups on campus that can help LSU distinguish itself from its peers. LSU needs about six more success stories similar to the computer center, in areas from the sciences to the humanities, to truly stand out, he said. Silverman did take some questions from faculty on topics such as LSU's poor recruitment and alleged mistreatment of international graduate students. Silverman said LSU must do a better job of recruiting and retaining all graduate students, including international ones. He is helping finalize a new graduate student health insurance program that would represent a strong step in that direction, he said. Once all four candidates have visited the provost search committee, it will recommend three of the finalists in no particular order to O'Keefe, who will make the final decision.