University of Idaho presidential finalist Diane Chase spoke about student life, athletics and university responses to sexual assault in the first candidate forum with the top five finalists Monday, while not having answers to enrollment related concerns.
Chase, executive vice president and provost at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that there may be a campaign out there to help, and that it could be similar to one she helped employ at UNLV called Start by Believing, a global campaign focused on changing the way sexual assault is responded to.
UNLV currently holds an annual Start by Believing public awareness campaign based on the message “we hear you and are here to help you,” according to the UNLV website. She also said the university needs to be responsive when students come forward when there is an issue.
“I certainly wouldn’t mind speaking out on the topic and its importance,” Chase said.
Chase’s statement came after a faculty member raised concern about sexual assault’s prevalence across college campuses.
“The evidence suggests that is pretty widespread across university campuses,” said Deborah Thorne, associate professor of sociology.
Thorne said there is a position for the president to lead on this type of issue.
Diane Chase, executive vice president and provost at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas speaks to faculty, staff and students at the Monday presidential forum.
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
Chase also touched on enrollment concerns, saying she hasn’t had enough time to learn about what has been done about enrollment and what the actual issues are at UI.
“Enrollment has been an issue across the U.S. of late,” Chase said. “It is something I have spent a fair amount of time working on in my past lives.”
Chase went on to say enrollment and marketing are areas she would definitely be engaged in, but she can’t speak to what the issues are.
Chase also took a question on where she stood on two recent policy areas, program prioritization and market-based compensation.
Chase said that that she believes market-based compensation is important.
“Paying people a fair market value is an incredibly important thing to do, and it’s a thing you can’t do quickly,” Chase said. “I was pleased to hear the university was engaging in those efforts.”
Chase also said that she understood that resources were limited because of low student enrollment, but she hasn’t spent time with anyone to go over program prioritization and didn’t have an understanding of where things stood.
Later, after hearing concerns about athletics from a staff member, Chase said she is under the impression that things are getting better for athletics.
“The issues that U of I is facing is similar to issues that exist elsewhere,” Chase said. “I agree with what folks say frequently, athletics is a front porch to a university, it can be a front porch it is important for a variety of reasons.
Robert Anderson, director of facilities, said athletics on campus were a central issue to campus, and student support for it is “anemic at best,” adding that it was clear “that a complete overhaul is really needed in the culture.”
In regard to hiring a new athletic director Chase said that she will need a lot of help but knows what a good athletic director can be in terms of a great partner for the university.
Chase said for any position whether it be president or athletic director, integrity has to come first, along with concern for students’ well-being.
“And for god-sakes it has to be someone who can help you win and fill the seats,” Chase said.
Ellamae Burnell can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EllamaeBurnell