UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 1, Page 3
September 5, 1991
R.Byron Pipes; New provost discusses challenges, opportunities

     It was on May 1, after a nationwide search, that President
David P. Roselle named R. Byron Pipes to the post of provost and
vice president for academic affairs.
     The former dean of the College of Engineering was co-founder
of the Center for Composite Materials and is primarily responsible
for that unit's nationally recognized reputation. Also during his
tenure as dean, the Delaware Transportation Center and Center for
Applied Coastal Research were established in the college.
     Partly as a result of his early work as a researcher at
General Dynamics in Texas, Pipes has taken an active role in
strengthening the University's partnership with business and
industry, which has included joint research ventures and ongoing
communication with corporate leaders and local, state and federal
officials.
     In an August interview in his Hullihen Hall office-after a
meeting with the Budget Council and one of his regularly scheduled
meetings with President Roselle-Pipes proudly pointed out one of
his most satisfying achievements--the success of the RISE program,
which is designed to recruit, retain and graduate minority
engineering students.
     In the four months since the announcement of his appointment,
Pipes has been establishing the framework needed to address the new
day to day duties and long-term responsibilities associated with
his position.
     In the following interview, Pipes shares his impressions of
the University and his opinions regarding this institution's
strengths and programs, as well as those critical areas that must
be addressed in the coming years.

UpDate:   What is the provost's job?

Pipes:    The provost is the chief academic officer of the
University. Together with the President, the provost makes the
academic decisions including tenure of the faculty. In the
President's absence, the provost assumes primary decision making
responsibility for the University community.
     President Roselle, David Hollowell, senior vice president for
administration, and I form the senior management team. Given the
complex nature of this institution and its $700 million physical
plant, there are numerous duties which require a wide range of
leadership talents. Together, the three of us make the important
decisions that the University leadership must make. Clearly, my
primary responsibility is to see to the health and vitality of the
academic life of the University.

UpDate:   Do you have ways of receiving input from the academic
community to assist you in the academic decision making process?

Pipes:    Yes, two groups provide me with that kind of input. The
Provost's Executive Committee consists of the 10 deans of academic
colleges and the associate provost for academic affairs, Margaret
Andersen. In this committee we deal with important academic program
issues and I ask that committee members give counsel, gather data
and in this context meet as citizens of the University community.
I ask them to think beyond their own college needs and to help me
with the University-wide issues. Of course, I deal with individual
college problems with each dean on a one-on-one basis.
     I also have a "kitchen cabinet" consisting of a small number
of faculty who meet with me at my home for breakfast once a month.
The membership of the committee will change from year to year or
semester to semester.
     Currently it includes Professors James M. Jones in psychology,
James R. Soles from political science, Carl Dawson of English,
Peter J. Warter in electrical engineering, E. Wayne Craven from art
history, Joyce Hill Stoner from art conservation, Jack D. Ellis in
history and Margaret Andersen, associate provost. This group of
faculty are restricted to discuss only issues outside their own
fields and to offer "grassroots" views of the faculty community on
issues currently under discussion within the administration.

UpDate:   You've been very involved in development activities and
business and government contacts outside the immediate University
community. Will this continue in your new role?

Pipes:    Certainly I would like to offer my talents to aid the
President in advancing the University. I have been an active dean
in developing resources from both the industrial and federal
sectors and I hope my experience will be of benefit to the
University community as we seek to increase both our sponsored
programs and gifts. In the present times of constrained resources,
I expect to work closely with the University community, the private
sector, the state and federal governments to enhance our program
efficiency and to develop new mechanisms to fund University
programs.

UpDate:   What are three major issues that will affect the
University during the next five years?

Pipes:    The primary issue that faces American higher education
today is the need to bring efficiency and innovation to our
campuses in a manner that will sustain program quality in the face
of rather substantial budget reductions. The second issue we face
is the delivery of knowledge to a student body that is increasingly
diverse both culturally and demographically. We will need to
continue to develop methods to deliver higher education not only to
those on campus, but also through continuing education, at the
workplace and even to senior citizens. Furthermore, we in the
University community will need to be more sensitive to our
customer, the student.
     The President's new motto "think of yourself as a student,"
should have several meanings to each one of us. First, we need to
"try on the shoes" of our students and strive to insure that their
experience at the University of Delaware is the outstanding one we
promised them upon their admission. Second, we must all continue to
practice the life of learning in our own field of responsibility
and thereby maintain our lifelong status as students. Finally, we
must remember the University is a community of scholars and support
personnel brought together for the primary purpose of "educating"
students and creating knowledge. All of our energies must be
focused to enhance these two activities.
     The third issue we face in the American university is cultural
diversity. Between now and the year 2000, the number of people
between the ages of 16 and 24 will be reduced by almost 2 million.
To meet the needs for highly skilled human talent, our society will
have to be more creative in nurturing this important national
resource. We will look to women, who will make up 47 percent of the
work force by the year 2000, and to underrepresented minority
groups- African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
Universities have been striving since the early 1970s to do
everything possible to develop this important body of human talent,
but we must do more than ever before, otherwise, the quality of the
American academic enterprise cannot be sustained and enhanced.
     The University of Delaware has begun several new programs to
meet the needs for cultural diversity on our campus. None has been
more successful than the RISE (Resources to Insure Successful
Engineers) program of the College of Engineering. We should take
steps to develop similar programs of this character so that their
primary focus is the development of successful graduates. It will
be minority graduates who will change our world.

UpDate:   Your background is in applied sciences. How would you
characterize your knowledge of and interest in the humanities?

Pipes:    I think this question was very much on the minds of the
University community during the provost search process, since no
candidate can be expected to span the entire range of academic
interests and fields. I do believe that training in the sciences
provides a strong foundation to address broad disciplines of our
campus, given its emphasis on analysis, cause-and-effect, and the
disciplined pursuit of facts. I do have interest in and sympathies
for many programs outside science and engineering.
     My wife, Ruth Ellen, and our two sons are musicians and
participants in the vocal and performing arts. Together, we have
supported the musical and cultural activities on our campus and in
the community. I have traveled abroad frequently during the past 20
years and am interested in other cultures. Like all busy people, I
do not have the time I would like to devote to aesthetic interests.
My one escape is the reading of history and historic fiction. I am
tempted to note that one of my colleagues recently stated that in
American universities, scientists often know more about the arts
and humanities than humanists and artists know about science.
     One of the exciting things about being provost is the
opportunity this position will afford me to come into closer
contact with scholars and currents of thought in the arts and
humanities.

UpDate:   Do you have any hobbies?

Pipes:    My primary hobby is both horticultural and architectural.
My family and I live in a home we built in 1975 on three acres of
ground just west of Newark. The land includes a pond and the Head
of Christiana Creek, which attract a wonderful variety of wildlife.
You might say that I am a gardener in a small arboretum, and I
spend much of my time in this endeavor.

UpDate:   What did you want to be when you were in high school?

Pipes:    In high school I wanted to be a star football player, but
with little talent and relatively small physical size, my prospects
were doubtful. Nevertheless, through luck and determination I did
score several touchdowns my senior year. I chose engineering in
college, but midway through the program a career in architecture
became my dream. With no architecture programs available to me,
however, I completed the engineering program and during my senior
year was attracted to an academic life by a faculty mentor. My
earliest graduate work dealt with the development of programmed
learning material, the forerunner of computer-based instruction,
within the engineering field. I was a follower of B. F. Skinner in
the early 1960s.

UpDate:   How did you get into the area of composites?

Pipes:    By an absolutely, extraordinary stroke of luck. In my
first industrial position I joined the preeminent group in the
world in composite materials. The group consisted of quite young
but outstanding individuals who were developing an entirely new
technology from the ground up. The group members' knowledge base
increased so rapidly that they grew from neophyte to national
authority in just a few short years. After three years in the
industrial world I decided to accept an offer to return to the
endeavor of my first choice, academia, with the objective of
bringing this new technology, composites, to students. In the
academic arena I was able to pursue a very vigorous and successful
research program in composites.

UpDate:   What changes have you seen on this campus in the last two
decades?

Pipes:    From a personal perspective, I am very proud to have been
involved in establishing the Center for Composite Materials here on
the campus. It is an established fact that the center, which is
supported entirely by external funds, has developed an
international reputation which attracts outstanding students to the
departments within the College of Engineering. The graduates who
have participated in the center now number in the hundreds and
populate industry and academia both here in the United States and
abroad.
     The second major change I have witnessed here is the desire of
the faculty, administration and students to create an environment
which accepts and nurtures cultural diversity. That desire has not
yet been fully realized but I am confident that our efforts will
yield results in the years ahead.
     Finally, I have been very pleased to witness a growing
awareness on the part of our alumni that the University is a vital
institution which requires their support throughout their
lifetimes. Significant increases in gifts of funds, services, and
support have occurred during the past decade and I look for this to
continue in the future.

UpDate:   Are you able to maintain any connection with teaching?

Pipes:    Yes, I continue to be involved with students. Currently,
I supervise several graduate students in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering. There is no greater thrill for a true
academic than the successful completion of a doctoral dissertation
by one's advisee. As long as my students are willing to accept my
erratic schedule of advisement I will continue my scholarship.
Indeed, I maintain a connection with, and empathy for, faculty in
this way.