“Quick Quacks” is the newest Emerald feature, a spontaneous Q&A session aimed at giving readers a quick look at campus and community members’ thoughts. “Quick Quacks” will run every Friday this spring. Please send suggestions about possible interviewees to [email protected].
This week, University President Dave Frohnmayer, who has presided over the University since 1994, sits down at the “Quick Quacks” table. Frohnmayer has served as Dean of the School of Law, as a state legislator and as Oregon’s Attorney General.
Emerald: What’s the best thing about being a university president?
Dave Frohnmayer: Really getting to see all of the paths of knowledge and discovery, the really interesting things people do in a wide variety of fields. So many exciting people — faculty, students, staff — are doing so many interesting things.
Emerald: What’s in your CD player right now?
Frohnmayer: The Lives and Music of Great Composers. We’re doing Bach and the High Baroque. When that’s not there, the Brahms’ Double Concerto; when that’s not there, the Beethoven Archduke Trio; and when that’s not there, a CD by On the Rocks.
Emerald: In an alternate universe, where you never went to law school or became the president of the University, what would you be doing right now?
Frohnmayer: Ah, interesting. If I were smarter, I’d be a molecular biologist. Maybe an archaeologist, or in the olden days, maybe a member of the U.S. Senate.
Emerald: The flavor of modern politics doesn’t suit your taste, then?
Frohnmayer: It’s really gotten ugly since when I left elected politics. It’s really polarized now … It’s sad and tragic to see, because it used to be much different.
Emerald: Who’s your favorite Duck athlete of all time and why?
Frohnmayer: Good question. Probably Steve Prefontaine. Guts, stamina, grit; he never quit. You never think of anyone other than speakers as being charismatic, but his running was very charismatic. His races were electrifying.
Emerald: In the face of increasing tuition and decreasing fiscal support of the university system from the state, what is the University doing to keep the cost of going to school here low?
Frohnmayer: Obviously, what we’re trying to do is getting as many scholarships from private donors as possible … We’re trying to stop state disinvestment and encourage re-investment. We’ve also been pretty inventive, I think, offering discounts for early morning classes. For the price-shopping student, I think we’re trying to be very creative and sensitive.
Emerald: What’s the best restaurant in town?
Frohnmayer: Oh, geez, that’s a good question. There are so many: Marché, Ambrosia, Waterfront. I just had lunch at The Glenwood. Beppe & Gianni’s is wonderful; it’s just a block and a half from where we live — you can’t limit me to just one.
Emerald: What’s the most important thing today’s college students need to know for the road ahead?
Frohnmayer: They need to learn how to learn. They need to learn how to learn deeply, not just learn a superficial mastery of a field. The best that we can do is to teach someone to be deeply intellectually curious, to teach people how to think to solve new problems. The ideal outcome is a good liberal arts education.
Emerald: Any plans to retire?
Frohnmayer: Well, I don’t think it’ll be soon. I’ll want to travel while I can still carry my own luggage, but right now, I’m firmly in the saddle. Right now, we have this imperative of raising hundreds of millions of dollars to support the University, and that’s occupying a lot of my time — and rightfully so.
Emerald: What do you like best about Eugene?
Frohnmayer: Oh, the proximity to a wide variety of wonderful activities. I don’t think you can beat Oregon as a place to live. … I’ll appropriate a saying from my friend: “I can’t think of another place with such a high quality of life for such low overhead.”
Emerald: In your experience, what’s the most unusual or interesting thing you’ve seen in your official capacity as University president?
Frohnmayer: I got my words twisted in a public commencement ceremony: Instead of saying, “Will all those candidates for master’s and bachelor’s degrees please stand,” I said, “Will all those candidates for machelor’s and baster’s degrees please stand.” I tried to correct myself, but then said the same thing again to the amusement of thousands of graduates and their families.
The most heartwarming moment was when I had an unexplained cardiac arrest in 1997 when I was visiting the National Institutes of Health. As they did with the death of my daughter Kirsten in 1997, the community was amazingly supportive.
Emerald: Finally, where can we find Dave Frohnmayer on a Friday night?
Frohnmayer: Oh, gosh. Hopefully at a nice, relaxing dinner with family and friends, but sometimes the demands of the official life are a little more frantic.