Leadership through the lens of Leebron

Speech series continues with Rice President discussing his experiences

By Lily Chun | Thresher Editorial Staff

President David Leebron offered some insight into his job in a lecture about leadership last Wednesday, ranging from inspirational to bluntly honest.

“People say I’m trying to make Rice into Harvard,” Leebron said. “I’m just not that stupid.”

The lecture, titled “What Matters to You and Why?” focused on characteristics and values important to a leader, which Leebron did by discussing his role as president. The lecture was a part of the “What Matters to Our Leaders and Why?” series presented by the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Leadership Rice, the Graduate Student Association, the Office of International Students and Scholars and the Rice International Student Association.

Leebron focused on the importance of people realizing that the world is dominated by change, and reacting properly, putting it in the context of the Vision for the Second Century.

“People ask, ‘Why can’t we keep Rice the way it is?’” he said. “The answer is that everything around us is changing. Will we still be one of the top universities if we don’t change? Things that were successful 10 years ago are not necessarily successful today.”

Leebron also pointed to integrity as another quality essential to fulfilling his role as university president.

“It’s about honesty in terms of dealing with people and an institution,” Leebron said. “What’s the one thing I’m unwilling to lose? The one thing I hope to carry with me wherever I go? Integrity.”

Balance and perspective were other qualities Leebron said were important in his role as president.

“I don’t get to spend as much time with my family,” Leebron said. “But it must be put in perspective with the job.”

Leebron also discussed qualities he valued in people that made them good leaders. He said some of these qualities included intelligence, diligence, humility, an interest in the world and compassion.

“People define compassion as ending some place,” Leebron said. “For me, compassion doesn’t end some place.”

Leebron pointed to the political realm as an area in need of greater compassion, specifically illegal immigration issues.

“Yes, illegal immigration is wrong,” Leebron said. “But these are families we’re talking about. I listen to the radio, and it doesn’t sound like they’re talking about people. It just drives me crazy.”

Leebron moved on to talk about the three basic ways in which leaders could conduct organizations such as Rice: through a hierarchy, through fear and through communication and teamwork.

“The hardest part of this job is keeping the flow of communication,” Leebron said. “Most people complain, ‘no one told me.’”

Leebron took questions after his speech. One question was about the pros and cons of Rice being a small university. Leebron said pros included the opportunity to build a sense of community.

Leebron said that the cons included problems with visibility and having a smaller alumni network compared to those of other research universities. He said the primary reason Rice loses faculty members is because they go to institutions where there are more colleagues that do what they do. However, he did not encourage any sort of massive growth, stating that Rice’s ideal size would be between tiny and small.

“Right now, we’re the second smallest research university,” Leebron said. “After we grow, we will still be the second smallest.”

But he also explained that Rice was not originally intended to be a tiny university, with the size of the university not mentioned in the founding documents of Edgar Odell Lovett. He continued to explain that growth was not unusual, especially given the 50 percent student population growth in the 1960s.

Leebron said Rice had to grow just large enough to overcome issues such as recruitment and national attention.

In response to a question about how he became motivated to come to Rice, Leebron said the idea of being at a research university was exciting to him.

But Leebron also addressed the problem of coming to Rice as an outsider.

“When I came in, I was a northeastern Ivy-League lawyer,” he said. “What could be worse?”

Leebron said he had to realize he was new and had to learn about the institution, talk to people and involve everyone associated with the university in the decision making process.

Students came out of the speech with a clearer view of how their university president operated.

“He has a very clear vision for Rice and also seems to be very good at explaining what it is,” Jones College sophomore Chris Ertel said. “I’ve got a couple of questions and reservations about some directions he’s taking Rice in, but I’m sure his steering will be more than competent.”

October 26, 2007

The Student Newspaper of Rice University

Leadership through the lens of Leebron

Speech series continues with Rice President discussing his experiences

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