Q&A with President Michael Rao

Michael Rao started as the president of VCU in July. While he has been here for less than six months, Rao said he is working to understand what the university needs. In Wednesday’s interview, he spoke about the progress of his goals and plans for the university. He spoke of the changes necessary for the university to survive the down economy as well as the need for unity and pride among the VCU community.
The following are questions from Wednesday’s interview with audio responses from the president.

Commonwealth Times: When we spoke last March, you said that two of your goals as president of this university would be to expand the diversity of VCU as well as it’s research resources. What have you done so far as president to achieve those goals?

You have said before that you have a goal to improve the quality of education at VCU. How do you define an improvement in the quality of education and how do you plan to do that while also juggling a struggling budget?

Michael Rao:

CT: One of the main concerns within the VCU community is the decreasing number of faculty members. What response do you have for people who are worried about this and what can be done?

Rao:

CT: Would you ever consider having qualified administration teach classes?

Rao: