Commentary: Presidential experience separates Whitmore

By: Kimberly Tsao

Posted: 5/8/08

Jon Whitmore, an SJSU presidential candidate sported the university's colors on his tie and stood in the middle of the stage ready for questions during a public forum in the Engineering Auditorium on Wednesday.

Whitmore separated himself from another candidate, Elizabeth Grobsmith, in his stance on SJSU President Kassing's suspension of blood drives on campus. While Grobsmith talked about possibly reversing the suspension, Whitmore said he has no plans to overturn Kassing's decision because he feels it's in line with the university's values.

This came as somewhat of a surprise at first since Whitmore last worked in Texas, a conservative state. In retrospect, however, his reasoning for supporting the suspension fits with strict, uncompromising values.

SJSU supporters of the blood drive suspension can only hope Whitmore is a man of his word lest the university's nondiscrimination policy be reduced to a bunch of words.

Since 2003, Whitmore has been serving as president and professor of theater at Texas Tech University, which has a student population that closely mirrors SJSU's. This could be a reflection of Whitmore's management skills.

He is the only finalist who has experience as a president of a university. This gives him a bit of an edge over the two other candidates. Eduardo Ochoa and Grobsmith are both currently provosts and vice presidents for academic affairs at their respective universities.

Louisiana State University is also considering Whitmore for a chancellor position. When audience members brought it up, Whitmore said he never submitted an application and he's never talked to any of those concerned.

He remained tight-lipped about the issue. Perhaps he was worried he didn't present a foolproof case that would quell the doubts some SJSU faculty and students have about his commitment to the position, which has had trouble being filled in the past.

While he doesn't have a history of being a runaway president, Whitmore did turn in his resignation from his current position at Texas Tech after the university was on accreditation probation. He is leaving Texas Tech because, as he said, he finished the five-year agenda he set for the university.

The quality of the people at an institution is the quality of the institution, Whitmore said.

He discussed on his record for dealing with academic problems some athletes faced. He referred back to his other workplaces, such as Texas Tech and West Virginia University, which are big on athletics.

He said the athletes at Texas Tech are in the top ten in terms of graduation success, which is a factor in alumni donations. In light of the budget cuts, fundraising skills may be helpful for the incoming SJSU president. Whitmore said he worked at two universities where he helped raise $1 billion.

Some people in SJSU Athletics could have reservations about whether Whitmore was responsible for that, seeing as his specialty is theater.

I'm not afraid to ask somebody for help, he said.

It was significant to bring that up, however, because the SJSU football, men's cross country and soccer teams all scored less than 900 in two consecutive NCAA's academic progress reports, according to a May 6 article on the ESPN Web site. If those teams were to produce a third set of low scores, they would strike out for postseason competitions.

His actions clash with his words, however, since he created 43 open faculty positions, in addition to giving raises as part of his agenda, according to the Texas Tech Web site.

He has produced 27 endowed chairs, said Judith Lessow-Hurley, chair of the Academic Senate who introduced the presidential candidate. Whitmore said he's had experience working with faculty unions, referring to his time at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Whitmore made a smart decision in bringing up the fact that he hasn't only served at universities in Texas, but at the State University of Buffalo and the University of Iowa as well.

He spoke to the diversity of the campus by acknowledging the importance of study abroad programs and increasing the recruitment number of students who are minorities. He conceded that Texas Tech hadn't accomplished his goal of improving the recruitment process until later.

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