PRE-NITZSCHKE SCHOOL KNOWN FOR `EGGHEADS'

The University of New Hampshire was characterized as a school with "a bunch of ignorant eggheads" before Dale F. Nitzschke became its president.

"The governor and senators and congressmen were vocally critical of the university," recalled Nitzschke.

Although the Durham school was a land-grant institution, critics saw little return in terms of service to the public.

Nitzschke was hired as the school's 17th president in 1990.

"When I went there, New Hampshire was going down the tubes economically. All of New England was suffering a tremendous economic downturn," he said.

The university was coming under sharp attack. Nitzschke, who has worked in higher education for more than 30 years, said state-supported colleges are roundly criticized in tough economic times.

"When times are good, they don't pay attention to universities," he said.

Nitzschke came in and turned things around. He revitalized a deteriorating campus and rejuvenated fund-raising.

During his administration, $126 million was pumped into campus facilities. "We built a new science center, new student union. We built a new hockey arena and recreation center. We built a new marine biology center."

Nitzschke said most of the campus improvements were funded partly with private money.

Nitzschke said he resigned as university president in 1994 because the leadership of the board of trustees changed.

His expansionist views conflicted with a board that wanted to retrench and downsize in the face of tough economic times.

Nitzschke argued that in such times, it is important for universities to reach out and provide more services to help businesses and communities survive.

He arrived at the New Hampshire school shortly after the faculty voted to unionize.

Nitzschke said collective-bargaining procedures left him on the outside looking in as the faculty union negotiated directly with the board of trustees.

"It creates real problems for the president because he or she isn't in the driver's seat."

Nitzschke pushed for paying the best salaries to hire the best people. The board, he said, was willing to settle for less talent at less cost.

The faculty's union wanted to get all of its salary goals met immediately.

"The power brokers were wrong in their approach and the faculty leaders were wrong in their approach," he said.

As president, Nitzschke developed partnerships with businesses, making use of faculty and staff resources.

The university, for example, set up a laboratory with six to eight computer scientists. The privately funded laboratory provides a place for companies to test their new software and hardware.

"We had 33 companies that joined it and paid a yearly fee to be a member of it," Nitzschke said.

Nitzschke said it is important for universities to be involved in economic development, which leads to jobs, higher salaries for workers and increased literacy.

Colleges must demonstrate they are a good investment, he said. "For a lot of years, nobody expected that of higher education.

"It is tough to shake up faculty so they understand that their future is dependent upon their ability to teach and deliver quality services," he said.