Blair M. Lord, the final candidate for the vice president for academic affairs position, told faculty, students and staff Wednesday that his personal style of management is “highly collaborative.”

“I would like to foster that sort of style in any university I am working at,” said Lord, who is currently the vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Rhode Island.

Lord said anyone who believes they can tell faculty what to do has lost touch with reality. “You need to talk with them and discuss,” Lord said.

In general, Lord said, he believes the “widest possible discussion” is best and can be mutually beneficial. Specifically, “strategic issues,” where you have time to collaborate, need input and understanding.

Student involvement in the shared governance of the university is also very important, Lord said.

“We better share the governance with the students,” Lord said. “An active student government is both feasible and necessary.”

A similarity between the two universities Lord made was that they are both union campuses. For the last three faculty contract negotiations for the University of Rhode Island, Lord said he has served as the chief negotiator on the “management side.”

“When I first came in, I tried to change the dialogue that had caused tension in the past. Since that time we have not had any problems with the contracts,” Lord said.

Concerning relationships with the other vice presidents and the president, Lord said he would be “very clear in articulating the needs of the academic area.” He also said at his current university he works closely with the business affairs and student affairs departments.

“The challenge of dealing in an institution with unstable funding is that you learn to work closely with the business affairs area,” Lord said. “It is also important to work closely with the student affairs area to ensure the all-around quality of education for the students.”

Lord also discussed his view of technology for an institution like Eastern.

“There are different institutions and they will have different technology uses,” Lord said. “For primarily traditional, residential schools like Eastern, the use should primarily be for augmenting the face-to-face learning experience.”

Lord told the faculty, staff and students that technology can provide information efficiently, but information is not the only thing in learning.

“You need to help faculty use technology in ways that make sense,” Lord said. ” The key is the strength of the faculty with technology and the need for such technology uses.”

Lord said for universities like Eastern the online education niches to be implemented should be strategically and professionally chosen.

Some other issues Lord touched on were academic freedom and campus diversity.

Lord said his campus also lacks diversity and that both universities are in the same geographically challenged position when it comes to attracting a diverse student body. At Lord’s current university, he said he has used “extensive recruitment and financial support” to attract those students.

Lord views himself as a “profound believer in academic freedom.”

“I have personally fought to protect it on my own campus. A university is supposed to push the edges of understanding,” Lord said.

The vice president for academic affairs search committee will be convening shortly to review the faculty, staff and student evaluations and to send recommendations forward to Eastern President Carol Surles, who will make the final decision on the new vice president for academic affairs.