Now, with his first year at the helm of the nation’s only urban land grant university under his belt, Pollard said he is looking forward to working closely with what he calls a faculty "dedicated" to improving the publicly funded institution.

"I wanted to get to know the university and learn from people what they regarded as their most pressing problems," Pollard said during a recent interview with The Common Denominator. "I think about what was so key [when I was in school] and it was teachers who cared and horizons expanded by opportunities. We are trying to capture the moment and enable students to stretch themselves."

Pollard said he took the job with a "great excitement in coming to Washington, D.C., and giving leadership to an institution that has such a rich history." He said the university has had an unpleasant history and a wide range of issues caused from a rift in management beginning years ago, which it is still trying to erase.

In an effort to address some of those concerns, Pollard said he has met with faculty on several occasions to discuss low student retention rates, student productivity, the need for more assistance from student affairs, and morale and neglect issues that arose from the rift.

Pollard said he also discussed concern over not seeing enough growth in the faculty and not knowing how they are going to be replaced when they retire. Despite recent disputes over pay raises, he said the community should know the university has one of the most dedicated faculties, whose members have worked under rough conditions and, in spite of personal discomforts, worked hard to produce students who do extremely well.

"I look forward to spending next year agreeing with the faculty and staff on goals and objectives to move the university forward," Pollard said.

Eugene Kinlow, an alumni member of the UDC Board of Trustees, said he believes Pollard has done a good job, is moving in the right direction and is being very strategic in moving the university forward. Kinlow said that some people may say they think Pollard is making changes too fast, but as a university trustee he was "looking for someone who could come in and hit the ground running" when the board hired Pollard last year.

"[UDC] needs to be a school that provides opportunity for a large number of people and develops relationships with the federal government and city government," Kinlow said.

Pollard said he has also been working on community involvement with UDC, which he said he believes is important in order to accomplish anything. He said he is not satisfied with the extent of community connections at the moment but believes involvement is increasing. Pollard has met with and given speeches to several community organizations, including the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood civic associations and local churches.

"This gives them a chance to hear the university’s story from another vantage point," Pollard said.

In trying to lift the image of UDC, Pollard said the president has to be much more visible – especially when questions emerge, so the community can look to the university for leadership.

He said he thinks a lot of the concerns that are derived from the community come from them not knowing about the university.

"People don’t know what we have to offer, and we have a lot of informing that we must do," Pollard said.

Councilman Kevin P. Chavous, chairman of the Committee on Education, Recreation and Libraries, said he supports Pollard and thinks he "brings a wealth of experience to the job." But Chavous said he also believes that the president has some challenges ahead of him.

"I think [Pollard] needs to work more closely with the community, students and faculty to blend in his past experience with the history associating with UDC," Chavous said. "It’s always tough to come in from the outside."

Pollard said he recognizes the need to raise serious money for UDC and that will come as a result of building good relationships with citizens, alumni and businesses that serve the District. Pollard said more opportunities have to be provided for alumni to give and people who want to invest in the university’s future.

The current structure of the university was created out of someone else’s fiscal need, and it is time to restructure, Pollard said. The university just completed its third straight year with a clean audit, having no deficiencies. The president said this shows that things were beginning to turn around fiscally for the university before he assumed the presidency.

"[Pollard] has been proactive in ferreting out wasteful costs," Kinlow said.

A long-term strategic planning process was implemented by Pollard and began in February to solicit the input of students, staff, faculty, alumni, the board of trustees and community members on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involving the university. The idea of this analysis is to involve as many people as possible and begin to embark on the course that is in the best interest of the university and shows what the community’s needs will be for the future.

Gail Dixon, who has worked in UDC’s university services division for 11 years, said many of the faculty and staff still have not heard much about the strategic planning process and do not know that much about it. She said she has not yet seen any of the communication occur that Pollard talks about.

"[Pollard] needs to communicate much better with the community that is UDC and the larger community," Dixon said. "We’re headed toward a bit of turmoil, but it’s no more than we’ve been through before and no more than any university’s been through."

Chavous said he wants to make sure that the faculty is compensated the way they should be and that there is a solid chain of professionals working with Pollard. UDC’s offerings need to start attracting students who live outside the District, Chavous said.

"UDC needs to be a preeminent, affordable institution in the D.C. area," he said.

Councilman Adrian Fenty said he thinks Pollard is headed in the right direction but progress should be made quicker. He said the university should be headed toward growth in a number of different areas, including enrollment.

"UDC has definitely made some progress," said Fenty, who is a member of the council’s education committee. "But there is a real need to show some visible, positive results as quickly as possible."

The development of an honors program is in progress, which will make a statement in attracting bright students and challenging them, Pollard said.

Kinlow said the honors program also "will increase the visibility and cache of the university."

Pollard said two things set UDC apart from other schools: "We are the only urban land grant university in the country, which gives us a mission, and the fact that in spite of the faculty suffering it has remained dedicated and committed to the students."

Pollard said UDC can offer students a bachelor’s degree in a variety of majors at an inexpensive cost of $75 per credit and an education that will help them to successfully pursue a graduate program anywhere else. There is also always a good chance for students to see public officials walking around at any time on the campus, he said.

Chavous said he thinks the goals for UDC should be to grow, tighten up on academic offerings and make sure there is a high-quality faculty.

"This next year will be critical in assessing [Pollard’s] progress," Chavous said. "People will be expecting to see results."

Copyright 2003, The Common Denominator