UD presidents
Eric Spina will become the University of Dayton’s 19th president next year. Here are UD’s first 18 presidents (the first five were born in France):
1850-1857
Rev. Leo Meyer
1857-1860
Bro. John B. Stintzi
1860-1876
Bro. Maximin Zehler
1876-1879
Rev. Francis A. Feith
1879-1887
Rev. George Meyer
1887-1889
Rev. John Harks
1889-1896
Rev. Joseph Weckesser
1896-1902
Rev. Charles Eichner
1902-1908
Rev. Louis A. Tragesser
1908-1918; 1923-1932
Rev. Bernard P. O’Reilly
1918-1923
Rev. Joseph A. Tetzlaff
1932-1938
Rev. Walter C. Tredtin
1938-1944
Rev. John A. Elbert
1944-1953
Rev. George J. Renneker
1953-1959
Rev. Andrew L. Seebold
1959-1979
Rev. Raymond A. Roesch
1979-2002
Bro. Raymond L. Fitz
2002-2016
Dr. Daniel J. Curran
Source: University of Dayton
Complete coverage
We traveled to Syracuse, N.Y., to find out more about incoming UD president Eric Spina. This newspaper is committed to complete coverage of higher education.
University of Dayton president-elect Eric Spina experienced student protests, a flagging economy and sports scandals during his time as provost at Syracuse University — moments, many of his colleagues say, that made him “battle tested” and will serve him well at UD.
The consensus from those who know Spina, who will become UD’s 19th president when he takes over for Dan Curran on July 1, 2016, is that he is an effective collaborator, a hard worker and a great listener.
Those qualities were on display during student protests last fall at Syracuse. Students conducted a “sit-in” that stretched to 18 days, and Spina served as an intermediary between the chancellor and the students.
He also weighed in on a high-profile basketball scandal at Syracuse and was witness to a decline in research money that led Syracuse to drop out of a prestigious consortium of research universities.
“At the end of Eric’s tenure here, I think there was a great deal of, or at least a building up of, conflict on campus, and Eric as provost was in the middle of that,” said Mary Lovely, professor of economics at Syracuse. “I have to say that even though at times I was critical, he was unfailingly polite and he always listened.
“I think those are good qualities for an incoming president.”
Student ‘sit-in’
The last month of Spina’s tenure as Syracuse provost and vice chancellor — a position he held for nearly a decade — included several meetings with student protesters camping out in the lobby of a campus building. The students refused to leave, even having meals brought in.
The November 2014 “sit-ins” started as a reaction to the university’s decision to close a center for victims of sexual assault and cuts to minority scholarships. However, the protesters’ demands grew into a long laundry list of concerns by groups across campus.
The protest ended just weeks before Spina stepped down as provost in December, but individuals familiar with the situation say the events are exclusive. In January 2014, Syracuse named Kent Syverud as its new president, replacing Nancy Cantor — the president who hired Spina as provost.
The 54-year-old Spina has spent 27 years at Syracuse, rising from assistant professor to vice chancellor and provost. When he stepped down he took a position as a trustee professor and announced he would seek a president’s position at another university.
“I think the general sentiment was he was Nancy’s guy, and (there was) some sort of understanding that after a year he would step down,” said Jessica Iannetta, a former news editor at Syracuse’s student newspaper.
Cantor, now chancellor at Rutgers University-Newark, said Spina is “not your standard careerist” and would have been happy staying at Syracuse.
“He did what is classic about Eric — he took some time to really carefully and thoughtfully think it through and decided he was ready, that it was a good time for he and Karen and he was ready to make that move,” Cantor said.
Spina declined to be interviewed for this story. He did grant this newspaper a brief interview after being introduced to the UD community on Sept. 15.
Research drop
During Spina’s first remarks at UD he said research would be among his top priorities. Several Syracuse staff members indicated that Spina, who has a Ph.D. and master’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering, likely will grow UD’s research footprint.
“I think he is going to do some strategic planning, and I imagine he would bring in some powerhouse faculty,” said Patrick Mather, director of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute. “I would anticipate a cluster of hiring, and a building up of current strengths, such as work with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”
UD is in the midst of a research boom. Earlier this month, the University of Dayton Research Institute announced the largest award in its history — a $99 million U.S. Air Force contract.
“I foresee UD being talked about in circles it’s not in,” Mather said. “Right now its research is more regional. (With Spina) it could be national.”
Yet during Spina’s time at Syracuse, the university’s research slipped. That culminated in its 2011 withdrawal from the Association of American Universities — a prestigious group of the nation’s 62 “leading” research universities.
Syracuse was placed under review by the AAU in 2010 as a result of a decrease in federal research dollars.
According to a 2011 analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Syracuse from 1999 to 2009 had the “fifth-largest percentage decrease in federally financed research expenditures of any college that was in the top 200 in federal money in 1999.”
Ben Ware, dean of the Syracuse Graduate School, said that drop pre-dates Spina — who started as provost in 2006 — by more than a decade.
“Syracuse was in a research growth mode until the recession of 1990 to 1991 brought about a steep drop in enrollment and some other revenues,” Ware said. “Engineering and computer science together were cut by almost 50 percent by 1995 and science departments were cut by 20 to 30 percent.”
Ware added that Spina was “behind several of the most successful initiatives at Syracuse,” including helping attract $100 million in state and federal funds for a center of excellence for environmental and engineering systems.
More recent data posted on Syracuse’s website show its research continued to decline through 2013, despite requesting higher amounts of funding.
“I worked closely with him, and I can assure you that he has the perfect blend of creativity, practical strategic implementation, and selfless administration that make initiatives succeed,” Ware said.
Diversity champion
Spina has also touted diversity as one of his main focuses. It was an issue he confronted at Syracuse.
Of the 10 deans he hired while at Syracuse, a private school, six were women and two were minorities. He also increased the number of women among STEM faculty by 30 percent in the past five years.
However, some Syracuse students were concerned with several university decisions during the Spina tenure. For instance, Syracuse made cuts last year to a scholarship fund geared toward minority students — something students say triggered last year’s protest.
“He was the staunchest defender of them (the cuts), telling student organizers that he knew of better places to put the money to achieve the goals of the university but never being specific about where,” the student group that staged the sit-in, General Body, wrote in an email to the Dayton Daily News.
Some students and staff said the student protesters were “unreasonable with their demands.”
A similar sentiment was echoed when the university recently said it would discontinue a popular “kiss cam” feature at football and basketball games after students suggested it sent the wrong message about campus sexual violence.
“Eric was an advocate for diversity, and he would remind us it’s about the students,” said Lorraine Branham, dean of Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
A ‘sports guy’
Spina is a big fan of the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Pirates. He even tweeted a message from PNC Park in Pittsburgh this summer.
He has 890 followers on Twitter. The day after he was named UD’s president-elect, he tweeted a message to UD’s student body, saying “can’t wait to see the @red_scare in action up close and personal!!”
UD fans can expect to see Spina at plenty of sports events, a calling card for Curran during his tenure.
“When I took the job at Syracuse, he invited my family to be in the sports box,” Mather said. “He had the full orange sports attire on. After the (football) game, he took us on the field, and welcomed us to campus.”
While at Syracuse, Spina witnessed several sports controversies. Earlier this year, the NCAA released a 94-page report that resulted in the forfeiture of more than 100 basketball victories and the loss of scholarships.
According to the report, the university displayed a lack of institutional control by breaking rules in 2012 in order to keep star player Fab Melo eligible. Melo lost his eligibility in January 2012, but later completed an assignment — with help from basketball support staff, the NCAA ruled — to get a grade changed.
However, he was not immediately cleared, prompting an email string among school officials. The NCAA report said one email from a member of the athletic department to a vice president said that Spina would be “very disappointed” if Melo’s grade was not changed.
The NCAA later investigated and ruled that Syracuse officials had given “unauthorized assistance” to Melo, who was again ruled ineligible on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Syracuse ended up losing to Ohio State in the Elite Eight.
Spina did not return a request seeking comment on his role in the Melo case, but UD spokesperson Cilla Shindell said the quote attributed to Spina by the NCAA was inaccurate. She said Spina said “the process needed to run its course without interference.”
During Spina’s earlier interview with this newspaper, he said this about student-athletes: “First and foremost they’re students, and sometimes we all forget that.”
“The key is to keep things in balance,” he said about collegiate sports. “My father’s greatest line is ‘everything in moderation.’ We embrace our NCAA Division I athletics, but we keep it in perspective and support our student-athletes, making sure they know we have their back and we also have expectations of them, as we do all students.”
‘Collaborator’
Spina has received high marks for problem-solving and keeping a level head. Ann Clark, dean of Syracuse’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, said the way Spina handled himself during the Great Recession, when her predecessor unexpectedly stepped down, speaks volumes about his leadership.
“The students and faculty of the college were incredibly concerned, and Eric thwarted panic by immediately calling all college meetings and listening and talking to people, to get the whole college through a very, very difficult time,” Clark said.
“It could have been disastrous to see the school’s wheels come off at a time when the stakes were so high. He (led) with dignity, grace and confidence, and reassurance, in a way that is remarkable.”
While at Syracuse, Spina helped pushed for a change in tenure structure, allowing faculty to have tenure based on their community work, in addition to scholarly work — something a few staff members say was bound to ruffle feathers.
“He has very deep values and that shines through in everything he does and he is ‘activist’ in the sense he is bent on getting things done, but he has a very collaborative style and thoughtfully listens to people,” said Cantor, who was president at Syracuse for 10 years and worked closely with Spina.
“He was really good at bringing community economic development and business leaders together with university scholars and thinking about what innovation would really energize the Syracuse and upstate New York economy, and at the same provide opportunities for faculty to really pursue cutting-edge research,” she added.
Spina acknowledged that his role as UD president brings with it a responsibility to build relationships in the community.
“The University of Dayton can’t become a better institution unless the city of Dayton and the region continue to become a better region in terms of education, in terms of economic development, jobs and working together,” Spina said.
Harvey Teres, an associate professor of English at Syracuse, worked with Spina on several policy changes, including the tenure shift.
“He is an excellent collaborator,” Teres said. “Never loses his cool, is always even tempered.”
Nearly everyone interviewed for this story provided a similar narrative of Spina’s time at Syracuse: a workhorse who would answer emails from the early morning to the late in the evening; a great listener; a leader who is quick to tackle a problem.
“The deans would joke that we didn’t know if he ever ate,” Clarke said.
Cantor said what Spina experienced at Syracuse will serve him well at UD, and that he has the toughness to do the job.
“Part of toughness is when you really believe in things,” she said, “and he does.”
Staff writer Brian Kollars contributed to this report.
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