Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

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This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today is David Ward, who is the President-Elect of the American Council on Education. David Ward is the former Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. A geographer, he is the Charles Kendall Adams University Professor and Director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Post-Secondary Education. He is the author of several books, including Poverty, Ethnicity, and the American City: Changing Conceptions of the Slum and the Ghetto, 1840-1920, and Cities and Immigrants: A Geography of Change in Nineteenth-Century America.

1. Background ... origins ... support of parents ... provincial/cosmopolitan setting ... a mom-and-pop newspaper store ... education ... mentors ... upper mobility in the British educational system ... Fulbright to Wisconsin ... culture shock
2. Research ... studying Leeds ... historical geography of the city ... influence of growing up in Manchester ... interaction of interpretation and memory of the city
3. University Administrator ... administrative positions ... return to London to teach ... "one of us" ... an offer that couldn't be refused ... working with Donna Shalala
4. Leadership ... know the product ... know the culture ... understand the communication system ... insider versus outsider ... using the accreditation process to identify major issues ... building inside and outside consensus ... mission vs. vision ... supporting interdisciplinary work ... stimulating change already present in the culture ... responding to the concerns of the state of Wisconsin ... resolving questions of public vs. private funding
5. Lessons Learned ... prioritizing resource allocation... factors leading to leadership ... advice to students

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