By Phillip Lentsch–
Neville Pinto – current candidate for U of L Provost – led an open forum discussion with students and faculty April 13. He covered student enrollment, the new centralized business office and faculty concerns.
While students were welcome to discuss relevant issues surrounding the university, no students attended. Pinto spoke to an audience of faculty on his credentials and plans for U of L.
One faculty member asked Pinto about his approach to the current situation with U of L President James Ramsey, specifically focusing on how to restore faculty morale after all the bad press U of L has received.
“I think we have to focus on the reasons we came here,” Pinto said. “There are factors we don’t always control, but we are in control of one thing: continuing our commitment to this university and this campus.”
The search for permanent Provost was conducted internally. A search team of U of L faculty was in charge of nominating a faculty member they felt would serve the university to the best of his or her abilities. Many faculty have voiced their concerns with this in previous faculty senate meetings, mainly citing the fact that they feel as though they don’t have a say in the decision.
“I initially came to U of L to be Dean of Engineering,” Pinto said. “But I stepped up when asked to be interim Provost because that’s what I felt I needed to do, and I’m doing the same for permanent Provost now.”
Pinto needs to be approved by U of L’s Board of Trustees in order to become permanent.
There will be a meeting with Pinto, Ramsey and U of L’s Associate VP for Finance & Business Affairs Susan Howarth April 15 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. It will take place in Strickler Hall, room 102.
The forum took place in Bigelow Hall in the Miller IT Center. Pinto will be available for another discussion April 15 at 11:45 a.m. in the CTR Building on U of L’s Health Sciences Campus.
