DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/12/08
The weighty credentials of the two finalists read more like those of a candidate for top job at a prominent medical institution.
Instead the two are vying for the top spot at Georgia State University, Georgia's largest urban research university.
 Syracuse University | ||
| Deborah Freund former provost at Syracuse University in New York. | ||
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| Harris Pastides is vice president for research and health sciences at the University of South Carolina. | ||
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On one CV: Adjunct professorship of pediatrics and orthopedics, expert on Medicaid and HMOs.
On the other: Consultant to the World Health Organization and author of a book on cancer epidemiology.
Academics Deborah Freund, an expert on health care, and Harris Pastides, an epidemiologist, compose the short list of candidates to replace GSU's retiring leader, Carl Patton, who plans to leave office at the end of this month.
Both candidates have extensive experience in medical fields and both have been considered for college presidencies in the past.
The selection of finalists with such strong research portfolios was no accident, said Susan Herbst, the vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University System of Georgia, which oversees GSU and the 34 other public institutions in the state.
During Patton's 16 years at the Georgia State helm, the onetime commuter school evolved into a destination university for undergraduates and graduate students, becoming a more traditional college campus with on-campus housing and, soon, even its own Division 1 football team. GSU is now looking to "move to the next level" in research, Herbst said.
The two candidates were pared from dozens of names in a monthslong process that isn't over.
The search was narrowed to two after finalist Guy Bailey, the chancellor of the University of Missouri at Kansas city, pulled out late last week.
Regents policy requires that finalists be named 14 days before board members choose a new president — but there's no rule governing how long the process can go past two weeks.
Pastides, vice president for research and health sciences at the University of South Carolina, is also in the running to become USC's next president, an issue that could cause some pressure should GSU hope to snap him up first.
Pastides said he plans to keep his name in the hat for USC, but is serious about the Georgia job as well.
"I don't view this as a competition, nor do I think any university should be pressured — that's not fair to anybody," he said from the road Friday. "I don't have an offer from either university and I'm just really honored to be considered seriously by two outstanding universities. Fate will bring one along before the other."
Last month, Pastides withdrew his name from consideration as the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he spent 18 years teaching.
Jay Moskowitz, the president of Health Science South Carolina, a public-private partnership that oversees health care in the state, said Pastides understands well the connection between fields like biology and engineering.
He praised Pastides' building of USC's organizational research initiative and said the administrator "has a finesse about him that is real. He's extremely honest with a tremendous amount of integrity."
Freund, a distinguished professor of public administration and former provost at Syracuse University in New York, also has been a candidate for other college presidencies.
She was in the running to become the chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles in 2006, but abruptly withdrew from the process. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that she withdrew her name because her husband, a professor at Syracuse, was not offered a professorship. She was also considered for the top job at the University of Arizona and the University of Iowa.
Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw, the past chancellor of Syracuse University, said it's not unusual for academics ready for a college presidency to make the rounds in searches.
Freund, he said, "is more than ready for a presidency and Georgia State would be a great fit."
Shaw called Freund a compassionate leader who balances commitment to strong undergraduate education with research.
Freund said she spent the first nine years of her career in the South, at the University of North Carolina, and would like to return.
"It was an unbelievable experience," she said. "I'd like to come back to the South where it all started."
Freund said she's tracked Georgia State's rise and appreciates both its diversity and how the school has served the state.
"It's been phenomenal on every level."
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