Scott Green wants to tell our story — the story of Moscow, the story of Idaho, the story of our university — and he wants to tell it to the world. Moscow is far from foreign to Green, an Idaho native who grew up with Memorial Gym as a self-described second home.
“I plan to stay as long as you’ll have me and as long as I’m having value,” Green said. “The State Board (of Education) has something to say about that, you have something to say about that. Where would I go if I came here? I’m a non-traditional candidate. I know no other fight songs.”
Green graduated from UI with a BS in accounting in 1984 and an MBA from Harvard in 1989. He went on to work for several well-known firms, including Deloitte & Touche, Goldman Sachs and ING Barings, according to his resume. He currently serves as Global Chief Operating and Financial Officer for Hogan Lovells, an international law firm, in New York City.
Green emphasized to the UI and Moscow communities the importance of diversity in creating strength for UI going forward. He discussed the importance of women, racial and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA community, low-income students and first-generation students as he discussed diversity at the Open Forum on Friday.
“The key for us is to keep that pipeline (for minority groups) intact and that means not losing those folks who would help us attain our goal,” Green said. “That takes a support system. That takes programs. That takes affiliation groups. That takes everything you need so folks can make it to that end goal. That means having partners who understand the needs of those that are still trying to join us.”
He compared his work operating law firms to work as a university president. He discussed the importance of communicating with staff and faculty to create an environment of shared governance as opposed to a “command/control environment.” One example he used was the comparison of people seeking partnership with a law firm to faculty seeking tenure.
“I would not, if I was fortunate enough to be your president, I would not be in a position to say what faculty should be getting tenure and are technically ready for that,” Green said. “I would expect faculty to put their names forward, I would expect department heads and the deans to vet them and eventually the provost to vet them.”
“I do think it would be my job to make sure that those faculty represent the values and the culture of the University of Idaho, he said. “That they’d be collaborative, that they’d have runway, that they’d continue to reflect well on us, and at the end of the day that they’re in line with the strategies of the mission and university.”
Green sees the growing economy and population of school-age children in Idaho as an opportunity for UI to extend the reach of its mission — to educate the people of the state of Idaho. He emphasized stronger marketing throughout the state and telling the story of the faculty and programs UI provides.
“I learned something very important out on the East Coast,” Green said. “That is that an education from the state of Idaho — K-12 — and a degree from the University of Idaho will enable you to compete anywhere. I never felt like I could not compete, I never felt like I was a fish out of water, I never felt inferior to anyone else because I was well-rounded and this place gave me a great education. We really need to pay that forward.”