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Scott Scarborough welcomed as new UA president

NATALIE PEACOCK
Legal News Reporter

Published: September 26, 2014

Amid the festive sounds of bands playing outside EJ Thomas Hall along with warm receptions and iced cookies shaped like UA’s mascot Zippy, Scott Scarborough was sworn in as the 16th president of The University of Akron.

Scarborough, 51, came from The University of Toledo and served as their provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He officially became UA’s president on July 1, 2014.

“This is day 81 for me as president,” Scarborough told his audience. “And what a wonderful first couple of months this has been.”

In his speech “The Power and Promise of Public Higher Education,” Scarborough, talked about the American dream and the role that public universities play in it.

“I sometimes ponder how radically different my life would have been had my grandfather not chosen to attend a great public university,” he said.

His grandfather, a refinery worker, who had lost his own father at the age of 3, moved his family to a public university town so he could attend school. He worked several jobs, graduated with a degree in pharmacy, opened his own pharmacy and ran it for 47 years.

“While he was still alive, he made sure that all his children and grandchildren had a chance to go to college and realize their dreams,” he said. “Today you have made his grandson the president of a great public university.”

Scarborough said that while he appreciates the private universities, he greatly values what public education can do for everyday people.

“I am truly grateful for the Harvard universities of the world,” he said. “But at this university, we do not aspire to be Harvard. We aspire to be more than Harvard: we aspire to be a great public university.”

The university has great strengths, Scarborough said, which he said he is eager to build on and nurture. He referred to the university’s seal, hanging above the stage, which included a lamp of learning set against the city skyline.

“It represents the strength of our teaching and research in so many fields,” he said. “But especially our contributions to polymer science and engineering, which helped to light a path for Akron out of the economic darkness of the 1970s and ‘80s.”

Scarborough warned against the effects of cutting funds for public higher education. Since 1987, state governments have reduced funding from an average of $10,000 per student to $6,600 per student.

“If we continue to permit it,” he said, “higher education will drift beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, beyond the reach of people like my grandfather, and with it, I fear, goes the American Dream.”

In his introduction for Scarborough, friend and chair of the Ohio Board of Regents Vinod K. Gupta identified Scarborough’s listening ability as the most important quality of leadership.

“I am very confident that his profound listening ability will result in a detailed action plan, reviewed and approved by the board of trustees, that is rooted not in the vision of a single person but rooted in the vision of the entire university community.”

Following the investiture ceremony, Scarborough explained why listening to the people of the institution is so important to him as a leader.

“You’ve got a lot of smart people around here,” he said. “They’re not only intelligent, they’re passionate about the place. Many of them have invested decades of their life at this institution, so if you can listen, they’ll help you understand the challenges that the institution has and if you can get everyone on the same page, they’ll help you get there.”

Even though he is following President Emeritus Luis M. Proenza, who was popular with students and faculty, Scarborough says he’s not at all nervous.

“Luis did a great job. Fifteen years as president of a place, he took it from one level to the next. When I took over from him, he looked at me and said, ‘hey, don’t try to do what I did. Do what you can do because what you can do is what this institution needs now.’ You have to believe for every moment in time there’s a good fit for a leader. I’m just hoping that I’m that good fit.”

While there are many new challenges ahead, Scarborough, whose expertise is in accounting and strategic management, said he feels prepared.

“I’ve been in higher education leadership for about 20 years now so even though it’s a big step from provost and executive vice president to president, I’ve had the benefit of managing so many different pieces of the university and when you add it together, I feel really prepared for the idea of it all being under my responsibility.”

Scarborough said the greatest reward of his new position is the students.

“Anytime I can spend time with the students and just either hear their dreams or help them realize their dreams, that’s the best part of it. That’s what energizes me.”

Scarborough enjoyed the daylong ceremonies but wanted to be sure to keep the spotlight on the university as well.

“We try to make it a celebration about the university about its past and its future,” he said. “For me personally, it’s hard to get all the attention so it’s important to try and focus on the institution. It was very emotional, any time that I talk about my grandfather I get a little bit emotional. Of course I had my family from Texas here today so it was a great day for my sake.”


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