Continuing our live (tweet) coverage of interviews of those vying to be next @floridastate president: Mary Ann Rankin, former senior vice president and provost, University of Maryland, College Park, takes the stage at Ruby Diamond.
@floridastate Rankin, speaking of AAU status, mentions leveraging the Mag Lab, medical school. Says use the location to recruit talent, "really important to be in a place nice to live," saying Tallahassee is a "really nice place to live."
@floridastate Rankin says FSU needs to decide which it wants to chase: NSF money, being "top 10," getting into AAU, being ranked by US News & World Report. How much to increase enrollment, how big are class sizes? All things to consider.
@floridastate Rankin on fundraising: Has a lot of experience & a lot of success at it. Loves doing it. "Helps faculty think of strategic planning...in a way that creates excitement and a vision...for what you're doing as a university."
@floridastate Biggest gift she was able to get: $360M. One panel member asked her to repeat the number, generating some laughs.
She also discusses getting top faculty and students means convincing them FSU is best for their success. They need to believe.
She also discusses getting top faculty and students means convincing them FSU is best for their success. They need to believe.
@floridastate She mentions a very large honors program at Maryland and how helpful it is to get students engaged. "They can be created anywhere."
@floridastate Rankin said "it's nice to be in the AAU, gives you stature." Her school is in the Big 10 and draws parallels btwn athletic conferences and research org.s, gives opportunity to cross-pollinate and share notes with colleagues at other schools.
@floridastate Rankin on diversity: Talks about experience starting Emerging Scholars program, reducing class size, using experiential learning, "peer mentors" to keep students engaged...Kids deemed "sure to fail" can be "sure to succeed" with the right help, she says.
@floridastate Rankin quote on balancing athletics and academics: "It doesn't have to be a competition - it can be a great symmetry."
@floridastate "We can't be stuck in our old ivory tower mentality," she says, talking about importance of experiential learning. Sidenote: Some universities use co-ops and externships to get students into the workplace, to learn while there and put what they know into practice.
@floridastate Closing statement: Rankin said she would, as FSU president, assess "real interest" in joining AAU, ramp up research but knowing what it will take. They look at funding, impact, then industry support, quality of undergrad education. But FSU must attract more talented faculty.
@floridastate "Vision without money is hallucination." she says, quoting someone she worked with. FSU must draw down more $$ from state, feds, foundations and elsewhere to enter higher tier. "It can happen fast but it's not free."
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