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Editor’s note: Jerry Odom joined USC in 1969 as an assistant professor in chemistry, a department he later chaired from 1985 to 1991. He was dean of the College of Science and Mathematics from 1994 to 1997 when he was named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He steps down from that post Aug. 31 to return to teaching and research in chemistry. USC’s new provost, Mark Becker, begins Sept. 1.
Q. You’re just a few days away from packing things up here in the provost’s office and starting a new chapter in your career. What’s keeping you busy in these last few weeks?
A. I’m trying to wrap things up. I just finished a faculty salary equity report with [outgoing Graduate School dean] Gordon Smith, and spoke to new faculty the other day. The last thing I’ve done is present to the deans, with Harris Pastides, a joint plan for hiring faculty using research funds and tuition funds. So it’s been a productive summer, and I’m looking forward to a sabbatical this fall.
Q. What will you be doing on sabbatical?
A. I’ve always told Dan Reger, the chemistry department chair, that I’d be coming back, and I plan to teach Chemistry 111—introductory chemistry—in the spring. That’s a large lecture class, usually about 250 students, in the Jones Physical Sciences Center auditorium. I’ve never taught in a “smart” classroom; I’m used to chalkboards, but those don’t exist anymore in that auditorium so I’ll be preparing lectures for that new environment. I’ve always enjoyed teaching introductory chemistry and am looking forward to doing it again. I also have 10 to 15 manuscripts in various stages of completion. I’ll finish some of those up; some might require more experiments, and I’ll do that if necessary.
Q. Do you plan to crank up your research program to the same level it was before you were dean of Science and Mathematics?
A. No, It won’t be a full-fledged research program. I’ll be doing some research but won’t be taking on any new graduate students.
Q. Looking back over the past seven years as provost, what have been the high points and low points of your tenure?
A. The budget problems have been very painful, deciding who to cut and what to cut. But as provost you also find out how many good things are going on. [Newly appointed interim associate provost] Karl Heider said he thought he knew about everything good happening on campus, but realized he didn’t really know until he started working here in the provost’s office.
I think the No. 1 accomplishment in the past seven years has been the reaccredidation process with SACS, in which we focused on information technology. The Strategic Directions and Initiatives Committee was necessary and brought about several substantive changes such as value-centered management; putting the health sciences under one person; coalescing the foreign language departments; moving the Visitor Center; and so on. And the third thing would be the child development center; I wanted that to happen from the first day I became provost.
Q. Quite a few deans and administrators were appointed under your watch, too.
A. Yes, Harris Pastides was named dean of the Arnold School of Public Health and later vice president for research. Jane Upshaw and Ann Carmichael were the first women deans appointed on the regional campuses. Bill Hogue was named our first chief information officer. Besides that, there have been 14 other deans named while I’ve been provost. One of the last things I’ve done is to meet with the search committee for a new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to decide which candidates to invite to campus after Mark Becker arrives.
Q. It’s been a while since USC has had a provost who has returned to teaching here. Do you think the transition from provost to rank-and-file professor will take long?
A. I asked [psychology professor and former USC provost] Keith Davis that same question recently. He predicted it would be about eight or nine months. That sounds long to me, but we’ll see.
Q. Obviously, your calendar is going to be less full after Aug. 31. What are you looking forward to doing with a bit more personal time?
A. My son, Ben, has asked me if I can take him to school in the mornings. A lot of days he rides his bike to school, and I’m looking forward to riding with him or driving him when the weather is bad. Also, I’ll finally be able to go to some of the things at his school that I could never attend in the past.
Q. Do you see yourself doing something beyond academia at any point in the future?
A. I’m very interested in leadership training and will be involved in a leadership institute in Charleston this fall. I’d like to mentor some of the young people in chemistry in the near term and potentially move beyond the University community at some point to be involved in leadership development in some capacity.
8/04
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