When I look at U.S.C. I see so much that is opportunity. I see the $320 million in grants-in-aid, one of the largest financial aid pools in the country. I see incredible faculty, with Nobel laureates and Genius awards, making discoveries that are changing health care, and I see a student body that is outstanding.

I look at that and I’m thinking we are a large, complex organization and we have challenges. Every campus president has to handle tough issues because every university has them.

I look at it in that context and I say, O.K., we have to get this right. Now what has really been encouraging to me is there hasn’t been a person I have met who has not said we have the ambition to get this right. You can have all the great things in the world, but if you’re not ready to face change and make changes that are necessary, you won’t succeed.

Are there any specific transparency changes that you’ll make right off the bat?

I’m a scientist and a researcher so I’m going to do what I have always done: I’m going to gather the facts. So it can’t be any faster than it takes to make thoughtful decisions.

I did learn at U.N.C. that when people came together to make reforms, they have such a stronger likelihood of being successful. There is nothing more compelling to people than being part of a solution exercise that really works.

You do that once, it’s easier to do that a second time and a third time.

What would you say to any student — and I’m thinking particularly of students from less represented groups on campus — what would you say to reassure them that the admissions process is fair?

I think what we have to say is we’re doing everything we can to make sure that process is really fair. We’ve been raising as much funding as we can to make sure we can become affordable.