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Kevin Smith thinks people are too nice here.
Not that Louisiana State University's new vice chancellor for research and graduate studies doesn't enjoy the legendary Southern amiability suddenly enveloping him in Baton Rouge. But if LSU wants to attain its goal of being among the nation's top 20 research universities, it better get more aggressive in going after federal funding, he told the Business Report.
"There are universities in the Top 10 where the atmosphere is cutthroat. It's very difficult to get along with your colleagues. There are chemistry departments in the nation where the faculty don't even talk to each other. That's not the atmosphere here."
While the Birmingham, England, native insists his goal isn't to turn everyone at LSU into "nasties," Smith, a professor of organic chemistry and former Harvard postdoctoral fellow, believes faculty should be more willing to promote their research and fight for a piece of the funding pie. He acknowledges that such an attitude could go against Louisiana's or the South's cultural sensibilities, but insists it's essential for the growth of the university. While programs such as coastal and hurricane studies are quite active in attracting funding, other fields of endeavor need to be developed more, Smith said.
His predecessor, Lynn Jelinski, who resigned the position in August 2000, argued essentially the same thing-that LSU faculty members need to be more aggressive. Smith, who was on the verge of stepping down as vice chancellor of research at the University of CaliforniaDavis when he received the call from LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert, was officially appointed to the job just about two months ago. (He describes Emmert as a "real go-ahead guy" and a "24-hour, super chancellor.")
Upon arriving in Baton Rouge, Smith said, he found a university where extramural funding had risen over the past several years "at a decent...