UA presidential candidate Tom Campbell answers questions from students Monday in the UA's Student Union North Ballroom.

Jeffry Scott / Arizona Daily Star

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For Tom Campbell, leading the University of Arizona would mean a chance to expand the areas of expertise on campus, helping more programs become unique or world-class at the UA.

Campbell, one of four finalists for the UA presidency, served five terms in Congress, spent 19 years as a law professor at Stanford University, was California's finance director and has been dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley for the last three years.

"The development of breadth at a great research university compels the conclusion that you have done well and I'd be honored to be a part of this enterprise," he said. "I don't want to see us abandon our goal of taking what is a world-class academic research university and making it better. What I want is to see us flourish."

Campbell, 53, said the UA is phenomenal in dozens of different areas, including entrepreneurship, heart surgery, creative writing and interdisciplinary programs on Southwest border issues and U.S. relations with Mexico.

Personable and repeatedly using the phrase "our university," Campbell took questions from hundreds of people during stakeholder and public sessions Monday at the UA campus.

Campbell, the second finalist scheduled for the all-day visit, focused on several topics:

● The diversity of the UA student body, faculty and staff must be improved to more closely match state demographics.

● The UA must remain committed to being accessible to all residents of the state.

● Improved partnerships between the UA and community colleges can provide more access to lower-cost education.

● The College of Medicine expansion in Phoenix can be the start of a long-overdue permanent UA presence in Maricopa County.

"He was very well-versed and well-researched," said Lynette Cook Francis, assistant vice president for multicultural affairs and student success. "He has potential to be a tremendous president."

She said both candidates she's seen have been impressive and plans on reviewing the other two as well. Specifically for Campbell, Cook Francis liked his perspective on access.

"He sees access from a financial point of view," she said. "That's important that he recognizes part of why some students don't come or why they don't stay is they don't have the money. You don't hear that every day."

Campbell, a moderate Silicon Valley Republican, ran for the U.S. Senate twice, losing in 1992 and in 2000.

Questioned during the public session about his congressional votes, Campbell said some of his views that were appropriate as a congressman representing a particular district are less appropriate and potentially divisive as a university president.

Campbell said his political career helped him understand the notion of sharing credit and getting other people to buy into success.

"The most important lesson I learned in my political career is to let a proposed idea be owned by a broad coalition. Second is to do a lot of the work behind the scenes," he said. "The improvement of higher education in Arizona is a victory for both parties, for the governor and for us."

Campbell, who gave up the practice of law after about a year because he "couldn't be angry," said positive synergies come from his two careers in higher education and public service. He hopes to use his political experience as an advantage, selling the Legislature on the idea of university appropriations as "seed money," which will expand the state's economic growth and relieve pressure on taxes.

"I see a huge opportunity for the new medical school campus in Phoenix," he said. "Arizona's potential for real partnership with high-tech, biotech and engineering is unlimited."

The next president must continue to pressure the state to increase appropriations for higher education, expand private fund raising and bring more focus to intellectual property to leverage resources from UA-created technology, Campbell said.

"I do not want to look at tuition as the source of the revenue growth we need," he said.

Ajit Divakaruni, a biochemistry senior, said he was impressed with Campbell and that both candidates he's seen so far would do a fantastic job.

"For someone with his résumé, he seems to be down to earth. He seems to care a lot about the students and the university community," he said. "I'm very interested to see if he could actually get more appropriations from the state. He's preaching the choir here, but it's going to be something else when the rubber meets the road."

"I think he's a very strong candidate. I like where he's been in his career," said Alex Cooper, an analyst with the Pima Community College Small Business Development Center. "The university could gain a lot from someone of his caliber."