Published: Saturday, October 8, 1994
Page: 1A
By: By Mark Fisher DAYTON DAILY NEWS
NEWS
In a 2 1/2-hour Nutter Center ceremony punctuated with music, fanfare and healthy doses of humor, WSU's fourth president gave more than 1,500 university officials, community leaders and local residents a peek at his vision for the university's future, a vision that revolves around "competence, collaboration and caring," Flack said.
Flack called for:
* The creation on WSU's campus of a state-supported residential high school for gifted juniors and seniors. The proposed Ohio Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities would allow students to earn credit for the first year of college while they're completing the final two years of high school. The school would be the first of its kind in Ohio, though 11 other states offer similar programs.
* Partnerships with the University of Dayton, Central State University, Wilberforce University, Sinclair Community College and others in projects such as a Regional Teaching and Learning Collaborative, to support classroom teachers and parents; and a Metropolitan Resource Collaborative, which would provide research and planning to area businesses, governments, schools and civic organizations.
* An overhaul of how WSU faculty are evaluated and rewarded, with greater emphasis on faculty's role as mentor and guide rather than lecturer. He also called for greater faculty interaction with their colleagues at other universities in the Miami Valley and the world. In addition, he announced that WSU will begin a "campus-climate initiative" next week to examine racial, ethnic and gender relations and other campus issues.
* A Collaborative for Community Leadership that would help people develop listening, healing and mentoring skills, with an eye toward developing a degree program in leadership.
* The assembling of groups to devise a forward-looking statement called "2020 Vision for Wright State University," and a community-based group to map out long-term strategies and missions for the Miami Valley.
Flack evoked the words and deeds of Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Wright brothers throughout his inaugural speech, saying, "Where is that sense of boldness, of vision, displayed by Wilbur and Orville Wright when they dared the world to dream that men would fly? Where is the hope so eloquently conveyed by Dunbar when he challenged that, 'We must educate, we must educate'? "
Flack also touted the potential benefits of the Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute, an engineering graduate-program collaboration with UD and the Air Force Institute of Technology. He urged state approval for a Ph.D. program for the institute, which has been stalled at the Ohio Board of Regents level, and for state subsidies for UD and the Air Force institute as an "indispensable" part of the partnership.
Flack has served as WSU's president since Feb. 1. It's customary for colleges to hold inaugurations several months into their leaders' terms.
In Flack's case, the eight-month gap also gave the new president-musician time to compose an eight-minute musical piece specifically for the installation ceremony. The Nation: All Families was performed by the University Chorale, the University Chorus, the University Symphony Band, the Gospel Choir, a choir made up of preschool children and others. Flack received a standing ovation as he was acknowledging the crowd's applause following the performance.
"Things are sounding better around here already," Dayton Mayor Mike Turner said from the podium moments after the music ended.
Herman James, president of Rowan College in New Jersey where Flack served as provost before coming to WSU, told the crowd that, "If you're not 100 percent satisfied, please send him back - we haven't found anyone to take his place."
Lynn Wolaver, Fairborn's mayor, may have drawn the loudest laugh of the afternoon when he presented Flack with a key to the city - embellished, Wolaver said, with the following inscription: "May all your problems be little ones - that never come to the attention of the media."
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PROFILE: HARLEY FLACK
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* Age: 51.
* Employment: Prior to coming to WSU Feb. 1, Flack served as executive vice president and provost of Rowan College of New Jersey. He also served as professor and dean at Howard University from 1974-87.
* Education: Bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Ohio State University, master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Kent State University, Ph.D. in counselor education and counselor psychology from State University of New York at Buffalo.
* Personal: Born in Zanesville, Ohio, the son of an Ohio Bell janitor and a school teacher. Wife, Mignon; four sons, ages 22 to 28.
* Salary: $150,000.
COLOR PHOTO: Wright State's new president, Harley Flack,
applauds after performance of his musical composition, 'The Nation:
All Families'
CREDIT: By BILL REINKE/DAYTON DAILY NEWS
B&W PHOTO: Herman James, president of Rowan College, embraces Harley Flack after inauguration
CREDIT: By BILL REINKE/DAYTON DAILY NEWS