Stan Albrecht This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Provost to President - The Statesman - Campus News

   www.utahstatesman.com/news/200 - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/31/2005   Last Visited: 2/1/2005

   Albrecht said he is putting students first with the decisions he is making. Albrecht will begin his presidency with a breakfast with student leaders Tuesday.
   
   When Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall announced he had accepted a job in New York, his successor, Stan Albrecht, was in Florida considering sabbatical.
   
   Having finished second behind Hall in the university's last national search, Albrecht wasn't concerned about surviving another.
   ...
   Albrecht was looking to go back to the University of Florida - the school that gave him his first job as a professor - to study, research and work with the Florida Farm Workers Association.
   
   Growing up in the small, southern Utah town of Fremont, population 1,098, Albrecht said he developed a love for farming, for agriculture and for "watching things grow."
   
   It was that love that excited him about the possibility of returning to Florida.
   
   But Albrecht was the obvious choice to fill Hall's shoes, and his colleagues knew it. University faculty voted unanimously to support him, forgoing a national search; Hall himself dubbed Albrecht the "logical choice."
   ...
   Burdened with the task of finding presidents for three of the state's major institutions, the State Board of Regents heeded the words of the faculty and, on Jan. 18, named Albrecht the next president of the university - bypassing a time-consuming and costly national search.
   
   "I was overwhelmed, humbled and taken aback by all the support," Albrecht said. "I'm just honored and excited to have an opportunity to work with the students."
   
   So for now, Albrecht will have to put his sabbatical on hold, settling for the role of president of the university and gardener of the home he's still moving into.
   
   "One of the first things we'll do is dig up some of the turf at the Institutional Residence," he said, "plant some tomatoes, maybe some rose bushes, give it a bit more of a human touch.
   
   "I'm not a farmer anymore, but I can be kind of a gentleman farmer."
   
   Legislature
   
   The door to the Provost's Office is open and his table is covered with notebooks and papers - legislation that may or may not pass. With Hall in Albany, NY, and the Legislature in session, Albrecht has been stuck on Interstate Highway 15, commuting back-and-forth between Logan and Salt Lake City, trying to juggle two jobs.
   ...
   Albrecht had worked closely with Hall over the past four years in what Albrecht called a "unique and special president-provost relationship."
   ...
   In the face of budget cuts and tuition hikes, Albrecht said this legislative session could be crucial for the future of Utah State University.
   ...
   But Albrecht said the 19 percent was a worst-case scenario and would only come about if higher institutions received no legislative funding.
   
   "I wouldn't worry at all about that," he said.
   
   In a speech following his appointment, Albrecht said, "We must find ways to insure that no student who is prepared and who desires the opportunity for a Utah State University education is turned away or denied that opportunity for financial reasons."
   
   Albrecht said there is "wiggle room" in the numbers used to estimate tuition increases, and, he said, the university is taking a proactive approach to minimize increases.
   
   "We're not just waiting for the stars to align," he said. "We're looking at some other things we may be able to do."
   
   In the next three to four weeks, Albrecht said he would be prepared to reveal more accurate numbers.
   
   With enrollment of Idaho students down more than 50 percent, House Bill 331, which makes residency requirements more difficult, is another item of concern for Albrecht.
   
   "Clearly House Bill 331 has impacted Utah State in the negative," he said. "If we increasingly become a Utah university then I think it limits somewhat the issues of diversity that are important to this university."
   
   Still, Albrecht is doubtful the bill would be repealed, as Rep.
   ...
   "I don't think we'll see House Bill 331 repealed," Albrecht said.
   ...
   Academics, which include higher admissions standards, will continue to come first, Albrecht said, but students interested in being a part of the USU experience will not be turned away. By utilizing campus extensions and continuing education program, Albrecht said he hopes to have a better prepared student body in Logan.
   
   "We were in a situation, when I became provost, where Utah State had almost embarrassing low retention rates," he said. "One of the reasons was there were a number of students being admitted that weren't ready.
   
   "We were bringing them in, taking their tuition dollars, and sending them back out the door at the end of the semester."
   
   Over the past four years, retention rates have jumped from 61 to 75 percent, Albrecht said, and improving the quality of the Logan campus will continue to be a priority.
   
   "There really are ways for Utah State University to have a Logan campus that is high academic quality, Research I, lots of really exciting things going on," he said, "but at the same time, students in other places having access to a Utah State experience in another way."
   
   Extending collaboration between USU and the University of Utah is another item on Albrecht's agenda; a partnership he said will "help drive the economic engine of the state of Utah."
   
   Tuesday morning, when Albrecht official takes over, his first act as president will be a breakfast meeting with students in leadership positions.
   
   "I hope that's more than just a symbolic expression," he said. "It's going to be an open-door policy and we're going to work as closely as we can to make this a quality experience for our students."
   
   After all, Albrecht said, "students are the reason we are here."