Yesterday marked the beginning of the canonization of St. Clayton Daniel Mote Jr. He “set Maryland on a course charted to place it among the world’s greatest universities,” a university press release gushed. He “led [the university] on a 12-year journey into the top tier of public universities,” according to The Washington Post. The state’s flagship university is now in “the same class as the nation’s crown jewel state schools,” The Baltimore Sun editorial board declared.
When Mote announced he will step down as president, effective at the end of August, it triggered flurries of remembrances from faculty, students and alumni — most of them positive.
Since Mote assumed office in 1998, the university has reached new heights. What was once considered a safety school by many now measures itself against top tier institutions like the University of Virginia, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. Fundraising has increased dramatically. Construction has boomed. Comcast Center and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center — to name two buildings — were completed under his watch. Graduation rates have increased dramatically, along with the credentials of incoming freshmen. And the list goes on. There is no doubt Mote will depart as highly successful and well regarded.
Mote excelled at one of the key tasks of being a university president: scratching the backs of state officials, big donors, students and faculty. He delegated many responsibilities to capable vice presidents and aides. While his speaking skills have never sent a tingle up anyone’s leg, what he lacks in charisma he makes up for in pragmatism, vision and competence.
Officials are working to secure this legacy. The university has created a website outlining his achievements. A photo of him talking with Nelson Mandela is splashed across the top. A 10-page PDF listing Mote’s accomplishments, from “Fund-raising and Friend-raising” to “Academic excellence,” is available.