Syracuse University Provost and Vice Chancellor Deborah Freund is the final candidate for the replacement of University of California Los Angeles Chancellor Albert Carnesale, who will leave UCLA in June, according to an April 28 article in The Los Angeles Times.

Freund, who has been provost at SU for seven years, was a finalist for the presidency of the University of Arizona in January but was not offered the job. Before SU, Freund worked at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Indiana University in Bloomington.

Freund declined to comment.

Kevin Morrow, director of SU News Services, emphasized that Freund is not necessarily leaving SU.

‘As you saw in The L.A. Times article, this is not a done deal … but I think everyone is rooting for Debbie to get this position,’ Morrow said.

The UC’s Board of Regents still has to vote on the position, Morrow said.

If Freund is offered and chooses to take the chancellor job at UCLA, she will be the first woman to head the UCLA campus, according to The L.A. Times article.

UCLA, located in Westwood, Calif., has a population of about 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students, compared to SU’s 16,000, according to the College Board Web site. It was ranked 25th by the most recent U.S. News and World Reports rankings. SU was ranked 50th.

Morrow said while it would be very sad to see Freund go, having her take such a high position at a prestigious institution would reflect well on SU.

Mike Flusche, associate vice chancellor, said he has worked closely with Freund and she has invested herself heavily in SU and deserves to move to a higher, more encompassing position.

‘Debbie brings a phenomenal amount of energy to everything that she does,’ Flusche said. ‘She brings a real strong courageous streak. She speaks out on the issues that she believes in. She is not afraid of taking decisive action.’

David Smith, vice president for enrollment management, said Freund has worked at SU to set an agenda for things to accomplish and a tone for what SU very much wanted and wants to become in terms of its excellence, reputation, and the success and satisfaction of students.

Morrow agreed Freund has done many good things for SU. He said she has supported interdisciplinary research and the hiring of qualified faculty, building for the long term. He also said she has focused on building links between academic departments and schools and with neighboring universities.

Smith said Freund’s possible departure is a tentative situation, yet he would understand why UCLA would be interested in Freund, because of her many qualifications.

‘She’ll bring phenomenal experience,’ Morrow said. ‘She’ll bring compassion. She’ll bring an incredible knowledge of higher education administration. That’s in addition to her academic background which is very extensive.’

Staff writer Carrie Schmelkin contributed to this article.

Published on May 9, 2006 at 12:00 pm