The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will be re-engaging its students in "a broad-based or liberal education" to become a transformative 21st century school, Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said Thursday.
"The world has changed, and universities used to just be in the business of teaching and doing research," he said in an earlier interview. "Now, they need to show students how to apply knowledge. You can go on the Web and find as much knowledge as you need, but how do you apply it in a real-world setting?"
He spoke of the importance of giving students a broad understanding of the world, along with context and ability to use their knowledge to solve real-world problems. Many students will earn a bachelor's degree and look for a job in an unrelated area, he said. But with a broad-based education, university graduates will have "soft skills" that employers are looking for and will then have the upper hand.
Rogerson, 64, relayed that commitment during his investiture ceremony -- a formal welcome as UALR's chancellor -- on Thursday. The Scotsman is rounding out his first year as leader of the 11,665-student university.
In the search that led to Rogerson's hiring, University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt said, a group wanted someone who understood UALR's mission as a metropolitan university, who understood the importance of student success and who understood and could weave his way through the funding challenges that higher education institutions are facing.
"Simply put, we found a chancellor who not only met these criteria but also far exceeded my expectations in this search," Bobbitt said. "Dr. Rogerson's experience could not be more in line with the mission and values here at UA Little Rock."
Thursday's investiture was attended by fellow college and university leaders in Arkansas and from California, along with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark. During the ceremony, Rogerson received a medallion, which bears the names of the university's previous nine chancellors.
He started Sept. 1, arriving from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif., where he worked as provost.
Ruben Arminana, now president emeritus of Sonoma State, said Rogerson is "this rare combination of scientist and artist." Rogerson is a microbiologist who paints -- mostly landscapes, which are on display through the end of the month at the university's art gallery in the Fine Arts Building.
"But most importantly, he is an optimist who sees solutions where others just see problems," Arminana said during the investiture at UALR. "In the years we worked together, he never came to me to discuss a problem for which he had not already devised a solution."
Rogerson is committed to the success of all students and promoting the university's role in its community's economic and social development, he said. Arminana came to the United States from Cuba at the age of 14 with "only a dime in my pocket and a change of underwear" and credited public education for his success in life.
"Andrew understands this well as he comes from humble beginnings in Scotland, and now he is your chancellor," he said. "Similar opportunities for success are what he wants to create for each student here."
In an earlier interview, Rogerson said the words on every chancellor's lips -- including his own -- are access, affordability and success. In his first year, he has forged partnerships with local school districts, including Jacksonville/North Pulaski and Little Rock, to create the Trojan Pathway, a way to show high school students that there is an affordable path to college, he said.
The partnerships provide advising and other assistance to participating high school students. Attending local universities can reduce costs by 70 percent, he said.
The campus is also finishing up a strategic plan, which includes five "lofty" goals for the university in the next five years. The goals are to prepare students for success; to strengthen and support the human resources and infrastructure necessary to fulfill the university's mission and vision; to encourage and support research and creative endeavors; to serve as an active partner in the community; and to improve diversity, inclusion, equality and global understanding in the campus community.
Rogerson said he wants to expand research or "signature experiences" -- a kind of creative activity with a faculty member over a semester-long period -- to all undergraduates who want it. It could be research in a science lab, a history project in a library, an internship or even a discipline-specific project in the community.
"Some significant experience involves collaboration, involves critical thinking, innovation, a degree of entrepreneurship and good communication," he said. "And that's what employers are looking for."
He has also called on faculty to start re-imagining the university's curriculum, including adding more multidisciplinary approaches to undergraduate degrees.
"One of the successful combinations I've seen in a previous institution is when you have your science students also doing a minor in theater, which may not seem like a great combination at first," he said. "But scientists, when they become successful and go on in science, have to be good communicators, and they have to give presentations. And the confidence you get from doing a theater minor sets you up well in the future."
Apart from the strategic plan, UALR has also set a "15 in 5" goal -- getting to 15,000 students by 2022.
The university is in the beginning stages of a capital campaign -- homed in on student success -- to help UALR move the needle on its five goals. All of the goals can be met "to some degree" without extra resources, he said, but it's a matter of how quickly.
"The message is clear: invest in UA-Little Rock, and you are investing in the city and the region," Rogerson said. "Let's be fearless as we move towards becoming that transformative 21st century university."
Metro on 05/12/2017