Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

After Three Decades, Vice President Wright Reflects on Lessons Learned

Robert A. Wright

Robert A. Wright began his long career at The University of Alabama in June 1968 when he, his wife, Ann, and their five sons drove to Tuscaloosa, knowing very little about Alabama or the University. Wright had left Ernst and Ernst in Atlanta to become UA's chief accountant. When he came, W.S. Hoole was dean of libraries, Dr. Frank Rose would shortly turn the presidency over to Dr. David Mathews, Don Siegelman was SGA president, and Kenny "Snake" Stabler was quarterback for the Crimson Tide football team. Thirty-five years later, after serving many UA presidents, having overseen the expansion of the campus to its current size, and having watched many quarterbacks lead football teams that would add to the history and tradition of UA sports, Bob Wright will retire this month.

Q&A with Bob Wright
Friends and Colleagues Comment

Q&A with Bob Wright

Wright sat down with the editor of Dialog to look back over three decades, to verbalize how history can guide the future, and to speak to lessons learned.

Dialog: What drew you, a native of Long Island and graduate of Bucknell University, a small conservative campus in central Pennsylvania, to The University of Alabama?

Wright: Ann and I looked at it as an opportunity to get back on a college campus, although we didn't know anything about Tuscaloosa or the campus. I came to work for Fred Drake, who was hired as comptroller and whom I worked with in Atlanta. When you drove into Tuscaloosa in those days, the paper mill's odor was the first thing to hit you. That was not a positive thing.

I did know about Alabama sports and Coach Paul Bryant. I knew Alabama was a top SEC school. We had five boys then, so sports were a factor. Atlanta was getting very expensive, and we knew we wouldn't have a lot of money. So I took the job. It was a raise for me; my salary in 1968 was $16,000.

Our whole family got involved in sports along the way. This job was very satisfying. All through these 35 years, it has been a fun job. And the people made the difference. So I just hung around, I guess.

Dialog: How did you feel about the campus, what were some important events in those early days that may have contributed to your staying, and what were early challenges?

Wright: I remember thinking how beautiful the campus was. I think we can be proud we've kept it that way. Campuses were having problems at the time, related to the Vietnam struggle. Just after I got here, there were student riots, and they had just burned down Dressler Hall on campus.

The first challenge was that the IBM mainframe in Carmichael Hall [the administration building at the time] needed upgrading. Several of us went to California to look at UNIVAC equipment. We were still doing key punching then. Next, I had to get the financials on the administrative system.

I worked until all hours of the night. My wife thought it was because we had so many children at home, but that wasn't it. We finally issued our first external created statements. Fred (Drake) was a good person to work for, and it was good people who made me want to stay, like David Mathews (then-UA president) and Luther Callahan (then-vice president for financial affairs) and others through the years. It's always been about the people.

Then, Luther died. In about 1976, Fred became vice president, and I moved up to assistant.

Dialog: What were some of your lessons learned that you could share with the readers?

Wright: After 1980, turmoil and conflict was building between President David Mathews and the faculty. David left for a short while (Dr. Richard Thigpen was named interim president). When he returned, the conflict had not improved, and he left the University for a position in Washington D.C. This conflict taught me the first lesson, and it was a hard one:

This is a collegial environment in which you must have the respect and support of the faculty.

Dr. Howard Gundy was named interim president, and I became interim vice president for financial affairs. Dr. Mac Portera (currently Chancellor for The University of Alabama System) was a member of the search committee for a permanent VP. That's when I leaned the second lesson, which was a lesson in reality:

I got headstrong and thought I wouldn't go through the interview process. I said, 'I've been here 15 years, a long time,' etc. etc. etc. Mac convinced me that I should work within the system, and in 1983, I was named vice president. You have to work with people within the system, and you have to be able to work with all the people.

Then Joab Thomas was named permanent president. He was an excellent president and the first to talk about becoming a research university. It was his theme.

Much of his success was that he was not only strong academically, but he knew the University's and the state's culture and traditions. He knew how important the athletic program is to the University. That brings me to the third lesson:

When I first got here, I thought, 'This is hogwash. Football isn't that important.' I thought this University was bigger than that. But I had good mentors and soon learned that athletics are an important component of this institution. The athletics and academics complement each other.

Dialog: Is there a fourth lesson?

Wright: Yes, and it has to do with now. I thought that it was a waste of time for the University's faculty and staff to get involved with state politics. No way you could impact the Legislature, I thought. Lesson four is that I was wrong. It has worked!

We've had many people on campus work toward a grassroots movement, and it's continuing to grow. It has become a power base the politicians are reacting to.

Dialog: What does proration mean to this University and higher ed in the state?

Wright: Proration is probably the most devastating thing that has happened in my career -- not just the financial implications, but the impact on the morale of faculty and staff. As a state and state institution, you are tainted with that in recruiting and all aspects of the University. It is much worse than having a budget cut up front. It's turmoil.

What has changed over the last decade is that the business community has begun to see the value of education from K-12 to Ph.D. in the economic development of the state. If the people turn down the current tax reform, I don't know what will happen.

Dialog: What can history teach us?

Wright: The most important lesson, in my opinion: It's that the culture of the state and tradition behind the University -- the good and the bad -- that is so important. The culture, our history and tradition define what we CAN be about, even if we lose our direction from time to time. I think that is what has kept me working at The University of Alabama so long.

Dialog: This is a surprise question. Are you aware that some call you a tightwad? Is that a prerequisite for this job?

Wright: I've been called worse things. If that term is descriptive of me, then I trust it had both class and a sense of humor attached to it.

Dialog: Any mistakes?

Wright: Yes. In 1976 Elvis came to campus. I guess I was a bobble head. I had tickets, and I gave them away. I never saw Elvis! It was a missed opportunity.

Friends and Colleagues Comment

Some friends and colleagues comment on Bob Wright and his service to UA.

Former UA President E. Roger Sayers:

"There are those who call Bob a 'tightwad', and he got teased unmercifully, especially in our weekly staff meetings with the other VPs. The fact is Bob had good ideas about saving money. He first offered the notion of early retirement to reduce the payroll when times were lean. He did all the work.

I once joked with him that 'Your job is to count it; mine is to spend it'. He spent it reluctantly. The University will miss him."

Dr. J. Barry Mason, former interim UA president, longtime dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration:

"He has led us through periods of proration, fiscal austerity, and, rarely, periods when resources were relatively adequate. He was steadfast in making all of us understand that protecting the fiscal integrity of the University was his top priority. You can thus understand why he has earned such flattering names as 'tightwad,' 'Mr. No,' and 'skinflint,' when some of us brought him high-sounding projects of noble purpose -- for which we had no resources! Bob was always quick to bring us back to reality.

Bob's integrity was always beyond question. His fiscal integrity, when coupled with his goodwill and honesty, make him a role model for future vice presidents for finance. Indeed, his shoes will be very difficult to fill."

Dot Martin, assistant vice president in the Office for Academic Affairs:

"I have worked with Bob Wright since he began his career at The University of Alabama in 1968 as chief accountant. For the past several years, we have worked closely to coordinate the mission of the academic area with those of the financial area. Although we fondly refer to Bob as 'Scrooge', he has always been helpful in providing guidance and the resources needed to accomplish the academic mission of the University."