UC President Robert C. Dynes visited UCSB on Nov. 9 to promote his vision of one University with 10 campuses, what he termed “the power of 10,” and to listen to concerns raised by local faculty members.

“We compete very well, mostly with the private universities, for faculty, students, and federal grants,” Dynes noted, but UC could do better if the strengths of the 10 different campuses were better integrated in programs that cut across campuses. He suggested that academic planning “with full knowledge of other campuses’ academic strengths” was one area that could be improved.

The California Digital Library was an example of how pooling and digitizing collections has broadened and deepened Universitywide resources. At the same time, he said, “we’ve saved hundreds of millions of dollars” by not duplicating library resources on the campuses.

Since he has announced his intention to leave office by next June, if a successor is not chosen before then, Dynes also encouraged his audience to “take a hand” in the selection of a new UC president. “It is my firm belief that the president must be an academic of some distinction,” he said.

A top university requires as its chief leaders scholars with vision who grasp the big picture in teaching and research, he indicated. “Someone else can keep the trains running,” he added.

In response to a question about forces pulling against his vision of the power of 10, Dynes criticized the idea of privatizing UC, and essentially limiting most of the campuses to supporting roles to a flagship campus. “It’s a terrible mistake,” he said, to tell campuses they must accept second tier status.

To another question about public pronouncements on quality teaching, Dynes promised to find out if the Office of the President Web site had such a statement, and to post one if it did not.