The third and final dean candidate for the College of Veterinary Medicine stressed the role of faculty in promoting scholarship at a land grant university.

“Some of the best decisions to move our college forward come from the staff,” said Laura Jill McCutcheon, acting associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

“Faculty are the future,” she said to a crowd of about 50 on Thursday.

McCutcheon said she believes recruiting and maintaining excellent staff is the key to promoting scholarship. Faculty need their freedom, but there also needs to be a balance between staff and administration, she said.

“People can demonstrate quickly if they can do the job they do, and show what they are capable of,” she said.

She said it is important for faculty to be engaged in the future direction of the college which is to be accomplished through strategic planning committees. It helps when the faculty have their own ideas and it is something that they are interested in, she said.

McCutcheon said she recognizes the major problems that are facing land-grant universities, especially the problem of funding.

“It is difficult to find funding to recruit excellent staff members and to keep them at the college,” she said.

She said she believes her background in working with donors and developing funding programs would benefit the college. She has had previous experience raising external funds, including being involved with individual fund-raising activities and funding-based programs.

“I have done everything from single donors to working with governments,” McCutcheon said.

She said she is driven to serve as dean because she enjoys working with people.

“I really love administration and facilitating the opportunities for others,” she said. “You get a buzz when you see how things work out in the long run.”

She said if she had a 100-day plan, it would include getting to know the people she will be working with.

“It is important to understand the people, who they are and how they function,” she said.

McCutcheon said she truly listens to stakeholders such as employees and takes into account what they are thinking.

“I tend to want to hear what other people think before I make a decision,” she said.

She said she believes, in order to have an advantage over recruitment of future faculty, the college needs to be a fantastic place to be. The salary matters, but people are also concerned about the work environment, she said.