Committee taps Ginn for trustee slot

MONTGOMERY The College of Engineering at Auburn University already bears his name, and now Sam Ginn is poised to fill an open seat on AU's Board of Trustees.

Ginn, a wireless technology pioneer who donated an unprecedented $25 million to AU in 2001, was selected Friday by AU's Trustee Selection Committee. In accordance with the state constitution, Ginn must be confirmed by the Senate, which convenes Tuesday.

The selection committee, comprised of Gov. Bob Riley, two AU alumni board members and two trustees, said Ginn emerged as exceptional among a field of four outstanding finalists. The group was quick to dispel the notion that Ginn bought his way onto the board.

"It wasn't the $25 million," said Earlon McWhorter, the board's president pro tem and a selection committee member.

Ginn appeared to impress the committee with a vision of the university's future that relies upon research for revenue. The message resonated particularly with Riley who knows first hand of the state's struggles to fund education.
"Institutions are going to have to look at some funding as they look at the future," Ginn told the committee on a conference call held in Riley's State House office.

Ginn has been at the forefront of the wireless communications boom, having served as chairman of AirTouch, the company that operates as Verizon Wireless in the United States. He retired from that post in 2000 and now serves on the board of directors of Chevron Texaco. He lives just outside of San Francisco, Calif.

If Ginn is confirmed, he'll fill the at-large seat held by outgoing trustee Golda McDaniel. McDaniel vied for another run on the board, but did not make it to the final four.

One of the board's top priorities will be filling the top slot at AU. Interim President Ed Richardson has said he'll step down in the next two years, and many want to see a national search for his replacement begin promptly. Ginn said he would like to consider a "universe of people" - including non-academics. Even so, Ginn said it might be premature to narrow the field.

"I can't imagine going out and selecting a president without answering the question: Where do you want to be 10 years from today," he said.

The possibility of a non-traditional president appears to have sparked the interest of Riley who asked each candidate whether he would consider bringing someone to Auburn from outside the academy.

"I don't want to limit this," Riley said, citing Louisiana State University's recent decision to hire NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.

Other finalists garner praise

Riley, who serves as president of AU's board by virtue of his office, was at pains to commend the other three candidates interviewed Friday. Among them was William Hayes, retired president of a defense arm of Texas Instruments Inc. Hayes, a motorcycle enthusiast living in Durango, Colo., echoed other candidates in his suggestion that AU needs to drastically increase its fund-raising efforts. At the heart of each interview was what seemed an acceptance that state dollars can't be relied upon.

Aware of the limitations of state funding, Richardson has launched an aggressive lobbying campaign aimed at recovering more than $46 million in funds that were lost when the Legislature forced universities to cover pension and retiree health care costs. With the start of the Legislative session just around the corner, Riley said he had still yet to decide whether to back the plan. He said a decision will be made by Tuesday.

Other candidates for the trustee slot included Oliver Kingsley, president and chief operating officer of Exelon Corporation, and Dwight Wiggins, former Exxon executive and past president of Tosco Refining Company. Wiggins was the lone candidate to mention either scholarships or students in his 30-minute interview. Student recruitment, Wiggins said, should be a top priority.

"It's the quality of our product that's going to define our institution in academia," Wiggins said.

Kingsley, who recently moved to Birmingham after "20 years out of God's country," articulated a specific plan he'd like to see executed for the presidential search. Kingsley said AU needed a three- to four-person committee to seek a president who is "about 50 years old." He said faculty and alumni should be solicited for input, but not be involved in the selection process.
Ginn's vision for AU appears to be a research-based institution that serves as an engine for economic growth in the state. AU should mimic Stanford University, Ginn said, which he credits with creating and fostering technologies that spawned an economic revolution in Silicon Valley, Calif. The Stanford model hasn't been co-opted by any other university in the Southeast, Ginn said.

"I think we could be the one," he said.