Doug Blackburn

Democrat correspondent

Florida State University's search for a new president went in a decidedly different direction Tuesday when finalist Michele Wheatly met with the campus community.

Instead of a crowded conference room crackling with tension, as was the case Monday when state Sen. John Thrasher had his turn, there were far fewer faculty and students on hand as they took part in traditional question-and-answer sessions. Instead of professors inquiring if a candidate believed in climate change and evolution, Wheatly was asked about keeping the humanities vital in an era where much of academia's focus has turned to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Wheatly, a native of England who spent her first 10 years in the U.S. at University of Florida, is a scientist who was provost at University of West Virginia for the past four years.

If chosen by FSU's Board of Trustees, who are on target to hire a new leader Tuesday, the 58-year-old Wheatly would become the first female president at the school that spent more than 40 years as Florida State College for Women.

"I'm a very well rounded and highly educated individual who appreciates the value of creativity and intellectual engagement in all of the domains," Wheatly told about 100 professors during the first of two forums Tuesday afternoon. "I always change a place, I always leave a legacy."

FSU English professor Ned Stuckey-French described the contrast between the forums Monday and Tuesday as "night and day."

"This was someone who was prepared, experienced, spoke specifically to every question and talked about universities and what needs to be done," Stuckey-French said, "as opposed to, 'I'm a 'Nole, that's all you need to know.' But that's not enough."

Wheatly rose through the ranks to her positions of leadership, including a stint as dean at the College of Science and Art at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and spoke repeatedly about the important role faculty play at a university.

"Faculty are the brain trust of the institution," she said.

Wheatly also addressed the importance of taking good care of the graduate assistants who teach many of the classes taken by first- and second-year students at FSU.

"I was once a pennyless graduate student myself. That's no reason to exploit others," Wheatly said. "They are the professors of tomorrow. I think that graduate students are a pivotal part of what universities do."

Wheatly demonstrated an awareness of some of the challenges facing FSU, particularly with funding and reputation. She noted that reputation, one of the key factors used for determining a university's ranking, is "hard to build and can be easily destroyed." She made a passing reference to Monday's front-page story in the New York Times, one in a series about sexual assaults on college campuses that cast further scrutiny on practices at FSU and Tallahassee police.

"What does that do for your reputation? We have to be very careful thinking about our reputation," Wheatly said.

The third finalist for FSU president, Michael Martin, had an emergency operation to repair a detached retina and was forced to cancel his scheduled Wednesday forums. He was trying to get to Tallahassee for Thursday.

Richard Marchase, vice president for research at University of Alabama-Birmingham and the last of the finalists, is scheduled for a series of similar forums on Friday.