Discerning how to serve the University of Toledo’s many constituents, from students to faculty and community, should be a priority for its next president, said Christopher Howard, the second of three finalists seeking the job to visit Toledo.

Mr. Howard, president of the private, all-male Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, shared his leadership views with an audience of a couple hundred at a Monday forum on the main campus.

Faculty and administrators must complete contract negotiations, which have been continuing for more than three years, in a “respectful and fair manner,” he said.

The hospital should consider teaming with another health-care group to ensure clinical operations are large enough to support the academic mission.

RELATED ARTICLE: Size of UTMC, clinical operation a ’mismatch,’ Howard says

The university must consider how to balance admission access with retention and maintain unique and valuable programs. And, leaders must find ways to pay for operations by seeking “significant private fund-raising” and pursuing partnerships with public and private entities, among other methods, he said.

“Change is inevitable, but smart change is not,” Mr. Howard said.

In response to several questions from the audience, the candidate said he would take a collaborative approach, observe how the university operates, and ask others for input.

Mr. Howard spoke briefly about his background and family history: His great-great grandfather was a slave, and his parents grew up picking cotton. Both of his parents excelled in school, and his father worked as an industrial engineer, he said.

“I believe in the American Dream, because I’ve witnessed it first hand,” he said. “I believe in the power of education, because I’ve witnessed it first hand.”

Mr. Howard graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned a doctorate in politics at Oxford University and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School. In 2009, he became president of Hampden-Sydney, after working at the University of Oklahoma and in administrative jobs.

He affirmed the importance of arts and humanities when fielding a question from Barbara Miner, associate professor in the arts department.

“Arts make us human. They make us humane,” he said, adding that it takes clever and entrepreneurial decision-making to maintain valued programs amid funding constraints.

Asked how he would treat support staff, Mr. Howard said he has been committed to paying those employees a living wage and publicly acknowledging their contributions.

After the forum, Mr. Howard told a Blade reporter that boosting UT’s rank is important because college ratings are ubiquitous and well-read even if they are not always fair. UT is not currently in U.S. News & World Report’s list of top 200 national universities. One way to increase recognition is by improving retention and graduation rates, he said.

“That’s going to be a natural sort of opportunity, I think, to see the school rise in the rankings and also achieve a mission separate from the rankings, which is just, if you are going to come to this place we want you to graduate from this place,” he said.

Cameron McKelvin, vice president of Student African American Brotherhood, described Mr. Howard as charismatic and said he wants a president who will work with students.

“I really, especially liked the fact that he said he wants to make us feel [like] more than just a number. He wants us to feel like we’re a part of something greater,” the sophomore said.

The first candidate to visit, former West Virginia University provost Michele Wheatly, did so last week. University of Arkansas provost Sharon Gaber will be  participating in forums in Toledo on Thursday and Friday.

Mr. Howard will hold a second forum at 8:30 a.m. today on the Health Science Campus.

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

First Published February 24, 2015, 5:00 a.m.