Dr. Harris Pastides, President of the University of South Carolina

MidlandsBiz:
You came on board as President last summer at the beginning of all the news in the national economy?  How is the university being affected by the economic downturn? 

Harris Pastides:
In the words of Dickens, These are the best of times and the worst of times.  That may be provocative because a lot of people these days are saying these are the worst of times, but one of the amazing advantages of being a university president is that you are constantly surrounded by the optimism and the vitality of the students. If the students are willing to persevere and carry on, then I know I can, too.  Their positive attitude towards our future is inspiring to be around. 

We lost $52M or 23.8% of our budget.  To put that in perspective, the state that was second most deeply cut was Alabama at 10.8%.  South Carolina has cut higher education more than any other state.  We have probably been cut more than any other public university in the United States, and certainly no other university in South Carolina lost as much money as we have.  South Carolina legislators made a choice to cut funding to higher education in favor of protecting funding to K-12 and, separately, healthcare. 

MidlandsBiz:
Any suggestions about how to better fund higher education?

Harris Pastides:
The General Assembly is currently rethinking the best way to collect revenue in this state.  That is their job. I’m not a politician and won’t weigh in on that debate other than to say that rethinking the revenue streams is a good idea. 

Advocating for higher education is my job. As far as making the case for funding higher education, a university degree is as vital to the future of economic development in this state as is K-12.  If you think that a 2-year degree at a technical college, or a 4-year degree at a university are important elements of our economic future, then I suggest that you speak up and encourage our law makers to better support higher education. 

MidlandsBiz:
What is your leadership style?

Harris Pastides:
I love learning.  I love listening (and I’m a good listener, I think).  I love emulating, and I am willing to copy a good idea (as long as it is not patented). 

Too many leaders think that leading is about coming out of a room with a brilliant idea.  Surround yourself with smart people who are willing to debate and discuss and more than likely you will come out of the room with a brilliant idea.  I believe in my team.

I am also a leader who is in a hurry.  I’m impatient when I cross the street, or waiting in line to buy a ticket.  I’m not proud of that, but that is who I am; I am originally from New York, what can I say?  With respect to the university, I’m impatient with the pace of the progress that we are making. 

Leaders need to make decisions quickly.  If they turn out to be wrong, that’s okay.  Not every decision that I make is going to be an immediate home run, and I’m willing to change course.  But if we change course, I want to do that quickly, too. 

MidlandsBiz:
Six months into the job, what are the areas that are in most need of improvement at the university?

Harris Pastides:
Three areas.  One certainly is continuing to enhance the quality of our educational product. The professor in me is enthusiastic about the revisions that we are currently making to the general education curriculum at the university. 

Secondly, I want us to be clicking on all cylinders when it comes to the number of new business start-ups being generated out of university technology; also in the recruitment of new business partners to the University.  That is a huge priority for me.

Thirdly.  Regardless of the department, I want the university to be a supportive community where innovation and creativity can thrive.  I also want us to be environmentally and energy conscious.

MidlandsBiz:
What is the mission statement of the university?

Harris Pastides:
Throughout our history we have been chartered and publicly supported.  Our mission is simple: to educate in large numbers and to do it well.  We seek to provide a knowledge base and a platform for economic development, to conduct research and advancement not only in the sciences and engineering, but also the humanities and the arts. 

Some of the mission statements that you will see on university web sites can be overly pretentious, but the founders of this university said it well: A faithful index to the fate and fortunes of South Carolina.  That is what we will be. 

MidlandsBiz:
What metrics do you use to measure your success at the university? 

Harris Pastides:
First of all, I believe in transparency and accountability.  If you can’t measure it, it’s not a goal.  We are busy right now in a major strategic initiative, the largest that the university has ever undertaken, called Focus Carolina.  Started last September, Focus Carolina will take one year to complete and will utilize objective and quantitative criteria to evaluate our areas of strength.  We have faculty-led committees in five areas: teaching and learning, research, reputation, quality of life, and service.  We are currently moving from the goals, to the action items and establishing the metrics.

The end result for the university will be a shift into our relative areas of strength.  We will do more of what we do well, and less of what we don’t do so well. 

MidlandsBiz:
 The University is, hands down, the key asset in the future of Columbia’s economic development, particularly in the hydrogen economy.  Talk about the birth and the future of Innovista.

Harris Pastides:
Firstly, whoever said that, I am deeply indebted to.  Better to hear those types of comments from outside the university walls than from inside.  Columbia needs to start preparing itself for a great coming out party.  It’s going to happen, and the university is proud to be a key part of that future success. 

Despite these budget cuts, every decision that we have made, and will make, has been about not compromising the opportunity to bring high wage earning jobs both to the Midlands and to the state of South Carolina as a whole.

In honor of our new baseball stadium, let me speak in baseball metaphors.  Sometimes you come up and hit a home run with the first swing.  That is not Innovista.  Right now, Innovista is hitting singles and doubles and it’s the bottom of the second inning.  We have started to fill up our first private building called Horizon II and have leases signed with knowledge-based employers, fuel-cell partners, insurance and technology companies. 

As far as Innovista is concerned, the university is here for the whole nine innings and even extra innings if needed.  Innovista is one of my strongest commitments and I will never abandon the project.  But everybody realizes that we need to put some runs on the board in the middle to late innings if we are going to win the game.   

MidlandsBiz:
You have also used metaphor to describe the coming together of a number of different elements here in Columbia.  Talk about Columbia as a Renaissance city. 

Harris Pastides:
If you were an economic developer in the 1950’s, what characteristics in a city would you look for as the ideal predictor of future success: the milieu of a medium–sized state capital with an undeveloped river running through it (several rivers running through it to be more precise).  The importance of water and the river cannot be overestimated.

We have a city council, a mayor and frankly two county councils in Richland and Lexington that are supportive and willing to partner in this city’s success.  We have a local business community spearheaded by the local Chamber with Ike McLeese that is here to help. 

We have an international city –yes, an international city – where Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, French etc are spoken.  There are more speakers of foreign languages in Columbia than in any other city in South Carolina.  Think of all the connections with global businesses that have located here, and the countless number of students and researchers that have chosen the University of South Carolina/Columbia as their home.   That is a tremendous resource for this region and is far too often overlooked.

Columbia is not over-trafficked or over-priced.  You put it all together and we provide a phenomenal value. 

An artist needs to come up with a mock-up of the cover of a national magazine ten years from now:  Columbia, Renaissance City of the South. 

MidlandsBiz:
Faculty and staff, alumni, parents, students.  Describe what it is like being the head of such a large institution.  Who are your customers?  Who are your constituents?

Harris Pastides:
Even if they don’t set foot on our campus, I view every citizen of South Carolina as one of our customers.  We care about every citizen in the state.   

More directly, our students and our tuition paying families are our customers.  We look at where our tuition will be next year with great sensitivity and our pledge is to keep any increase as modest as is humanly possible. 

There are a lot of constituents when you are the head of a large university.  Do I keep them all happy on any given day, probably not?  But overall, I think the university does a good job of keeping all of its multiple stakeholders engaged and proud to be part of the Gamecock nation.  

MidlandsBiz:
According to the College Board, tuition at USC increased 9% this past year.  What long-term strategies does the university have in place to make sure that education is affordable?

Harris Pastides:
We have to fund education better at the state level.  You cannot say that you have a state university, not fund it, then turn around and say don’t raise tuitions.  What kind of business model is that?

We start setting the tuition in April and May.  We will be significantly more moderate than last year with any potential tuition increase; it’s a different economy.   Last year, although there were telltale signs on the horizon and everyone was tightening their belts, it was still a dramatically different environment. 

MidlandsBiz:
Will the stimulus bill help?

Harris Pastides:
Certainly, but earlier versions of the bill in the House had more money for higher education and infrastructure.  Under that scenario we could have possibly advanced our major building and maintenance needs, but we will take whatever help we can get at this point. 

MidlandsBiz:
The athletics department is contributing funds to the university.  Talk a little about the role of the athletics department at the university.

Harris Pastides:
Let me give you an example of the impact that the athletics department has here at the university.  Much of the money that we receive from donors is put into an endowment, and the interest that we earn on that pool of money is our scholarship money. 

The athletic department has contributed $1M a year of new money towards the base scholarship.  To put that in perspective, to spin off $1M a year in interest out of our endowment (assuming an optimistic 5% rate interest), you would need a $20M gift.  That is what the athletics department means to the university. 

I don’t buy into the argument about athletics being a drag on the university at all.  The enthusiasm about athletics allows us to grow a greater applicant pool, and it inspires donors and friends of the university. 

Even when the team is losing and when an avid fan takes time out of his busy day to write the President’s office with suggestions about what plays to run on 3rd down, that is still a small price to pay for the good times that we have at this university through the athletic department. 

MidlandsBiz:
Do you miss the classroom?  Describe a great professor? 

Harris Pastides:
I miss the classroom very much.  Great teaching is all about being both passionate and prepared.  The passionate professor who comes to the classroom ill-prepared is not going to do a good job; neither will the well-prepared professor who has no passion.  USC is always looking for great professors.   

Someday I would love to get back in the classroom; in fact, I would love to teach a course right now.  For the moment, I just need to push the pause button and focus in on my duties as President.  Someday I aspire to being promoted back to the best job in the universe, that of being a professor.

MidlandsBiz:
What leaders do you admire?

Harris Pastides:
I love the way Lincoln was able to let others come up with the good ideas. 

Bill Gates.  Here is a guy who is incredibly smart in his industry and is now moving beyond that to make an impact in the domain of public health. 

Einstein.  We all can’t be Einstein, but he was both brilliant and passionate about the world.  That’s a pretty awesome one-two punch for any one man to have. 

MidlandsBiz:
Your wife, Patricia, is often seen with you around town.  Talk a little about her relationship to the university and her role as First Lady.

Harris Pastides:
She is a great person and a leader who is constantly promoting sustainability and service to others.  We view ourselves as a team, a package deal, and we work well together.  This is a 7 day a week / 24/7 job and I simply could not do it without her.   

MidlandsBiz:
What are a few of your favorite books? 

Harris Pastides:
I’ll try to provide from fiction and non-fiction:

Fiction
The Magus (John Fowles)
White Palace (Glenn Savan)
The Bull at Sea (Mary Renault)
Just about anything by Shakespeare

Non Fiction
The Americans: The Democratic Experience (Daniel J. Boorstin)
A Team of Rivals (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)

MidlandsBiz:
What are a few of your passions outside of education?

Harris Pastides:
Cooking, travel, antique car shows, playing squash, all Gamecock sports, USC theatre and music.

MidlandsBiz:
Describe your relationship with the other university Presidents in this state?

Harris Pastides:
I’m a competitive guy, but these times call for complete collaboration.

I like Presidents Barker and Greenberg very much and respect all of South Carolina’s academic leaders.