values about the importance of the advancement of knowledge and the important of a scholarly enterprise and about the important of educating young people. so in some ways people talk about academic politics being the most vicious around because the stakes are so small. i don't think that's really true. i think underneath it there is a kind of common sense, a purpose that if you can draw on that and inspire people and convince them we're all marching in the same direction and have good things to accomplish, you can succeed in keeping the community from being excessively fractured. >> but do you think a great deal of your job then is painting that picture describing that common vision so people buy into it? >> absolutely. in fact, key thing, i think, for a university leader, any leader but a university leader in particular is, i think, to give a clear send of directi-- sense direction, a clear vision. if you appear to be at ease all