Michele Wheatly pitched herself as a student-centric leader strong in the sciences and supportive of the liberal arts who is ready to be the next University of Toledo president.

The first of three university presidential finalists to visit Toledo for multiday job interviews stressed her academic chops, administrative experience, and accessibility in a forum Thursday with about 200 faculty, staff, students, and others.

The former West Virginia University provost spoke during the nearly two-hour session about collective bargaining, Greek life, diversity, and protecting students from sexual assaults, among many topics.

“We should never forget that the real purpose of an education is … improving the human condition,” she said.

PHOTO GALLERY: Presidential candidate Michele Wheatly visits UT

DAY 2: UTMC must balance quality care, cost, Wheatly says

UT’s merger with the former Medical College of Ohio offers the university leverage, she said, citing the intersection of health professions, engineering, law, and business — combined with arts and sciences.

“One thing that I noticed about this merger is that you are in the unique position, you have been recreated and reinvented within the last decade,” she said.

Courage is needed to lead the university in the face of state funding changes and the ways health-care reform will impact the university hospital.

“Do we have courage?” Ms. Wheatly asked the audience.

She repeated her query until the crowd responded with a sufficiently vigorous “yes.”

Ms. Wheatly drew on her background as a professor to connect to faculty, some of whom wore American Association of University Professors buttons. Contract negotiations have been ongoing for more than three years. Asked about collective bargaining, she acknowledged the issue sounds like it “could be disabling the institution.”

“We have to figure out a way to get past this, but we have to come to the table with a realistic idea of what capacity the institution has ...,” she said.

When a sorority member inquired about her views on Greek life, Ms. Wheatly expressed support for Panhellenic and other organizations.

On curbing sexual assaults, she underlined the importance of developing a culture of affirmative consent.

“We’ve got to really take back the ownership of the safety and security of all of our learners,” she said.

In an interview with a Blade reporter after the forum, Ms. Wheatly acknowledged UT does not crack the list of top 200 national universities in rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

“We need to get ranked, and we need to start moving up,” she said. “Parents kind of look at it and think, ‘Well, what kind of place would that be?’ So, I do think some of these rankings are important, although I don’t think that one should necessarily just chase numbers.”

She said creating a strategic plan and growing enrollment will ensure a “vibrant academic community” with numerous academic majors as well as offer financial stability.

Several who attended the forum called the session helpful.

“I think that we got some very good information. I think that she was very forthcoming,” said Linda Rouillard, associate professor of French.

UT senior Brandon Stewart appreciated her answers about Greek life and the importance of getting students involved.

“I think Dr. Wheatly has just a plethora of positivity and just overall strengths to bring to campus,” he said.

The two other presidential candidates are Christopher Howard, president of the private Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and Sharon Gaber, University of Arkansas provost. They will visit UT next week.

Ms. Wheatly will participate in a second forum at 8:30 a.m. today at the Health Science Campus.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published February 20, 2015, 5:00 a.m.