THE FLACK FILE

* On dealing with controversy and sensitive issues: "I sometimes wish I could really let people know everything that goes into a decision. But sometimes I must protect the institution, the integrity of it. To that extent, a university is kind of like a family - there's a public side of your family and there's a private side."

* On racism: "Racism is still one of the most forceful phenomena in our society. It drives decisions and perceptions. (It is) still one of the powerful shapers of opinion in our society, and I don't expect it to be different at Wright State or in Ohio."

* On the demands of his first presidency: "In my first year, I think I made close to a hundred speeches. It really kind of got to the point that I was at my limit. I got tired. I ran out of new things to say."

* On his level of tolerance: "I think I'm kind of a softie.... People should be given opportunities and chances. I do have lines I draw in the sand and say, `You can't go any further than this,' but up until that point, I'm fairly tolerant."

* On one academic quarter he spent as a student at Ohio State in 1963: "I missed a couple of classes and got involved in a fraternity.... I became proficient in all the latest dances.... That was the quarter I got a 1.87 (grade point average). That was my wake-up call - I never did that again."

* On his music and composing: "My greatest getaway is to compose a piece of music. I can do it for three hours, and it seems like 10 minutes."

* Family: Married to Mignon Flack for 10 years, the second marriage for both.

* Children: Harley Flack II, police officer in Montgomery County, Md.; Christopher Flack, 26, graduate assistant at Howard University; Oliver Palmer, accountant in northern Virginia; Michael Palmer, who lives in Fairborn, works part time and attends WSU.

* Education: Bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Ohio State University; master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Kent State University; doctorate in counselor education/counseling psychology from the State University of New York in Buffalo.

* Employment: Has served as assistant dean of health professions at SUNY-Buffalo; dean of Allied Health Sciences at Howard University; academic vice president of SUNY College at Old Westbury; and executive vice president and provost at Rowan College of New Jersey, formerly Glassboro State College.

* Annual salary: $153,000.