R. Bowen Loftin spent his first full day as sole finalist for the A&M presidency the same way he has spent the previous seven months as interim president: meeting with people.
He ate breakfast Friday with attendees of the Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference and dinner with Aggie moms in College Station, where Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison spoke to a crowd of 100.
He met with his leadership team about how to handle a state-mandated cut of $28 million from the 49,000-student university's budget over two years.
He held media interviews. One was delayed by a congratulatory call from Gov. Rick Perry or, as Loftin joked, "Fish Perry." Loftin was a year ahead of the Aggie governor when the two attended Texas A&M.
"I wasn't what you'd call a big man on campus, by any means," Loftin said as he reminisced about his days as a student, getting sunburned at Kyle Field and watching Gene Stallings -- who on Thursday was one of nine regents to unanimously offer the 60-year-old the presidency -- coach the Aggie football team.
"I wasn't a Rick Perry," he said of the popular former Aggie yell leader and Bonfire redpot.
Loftin graduated a year early with a bachelor's degree in physics. The Navasota native, born near Hearne, said he spent his three years as an undergraduate taking 18 to 21 credits while working a part-time job in the physics department.
"When I wasn't in class, I was working to help pay my way through school," said the bow tie-wearing Loftin. "There wasn't much time beyond that."
Cuts to come
It turns out he'll worry about money this time as well.
The focus of his first day as sole finalist, Loftin said, was the budget. He was finalizing instructions to his deans and vice presidents about how to proceed with the 5 percent reduction in spending mandated by the state earlier this month. They should be sent next week and responses would be due a couple of weeks after that, Loftin said.
"It's all happening pretty fast. The good news is we began this conversation months ago," he said. "I'm pushing down as far as I can into the divisions and colleges. ... I'm not saying, 'Here's how to do it.' I'm saying, 'Here's your target. Go out and do it.'"
Meanwhile, Texas A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney, citing the need to keep A&M affordable, has told Loftin and the other chiefs of A&M universities to plan for a zero to 4 percent increase in student tuition -- lower than it's been in recent years, aside from last year.
Amid the backdrop of a pinched state economy, regents are ramping up efforts to more closely align administrative functions between Texas A&M and the 11-university Texas A&M System. Both entities are based in College Station.
The commitment to share services was given a goal in June by McKinney of saving $20 million, though it doesn't appear that any significant savings have resulted from the vague plan. Officials, including Board of Regents Chairman Morris Foster, said the savings will come with time, as positions aligned more efficiently will naturally spawn the savings.
Concern about changes
Of administrative changes announced two weeks ago, the one that raised the most concern was naming B.J. Crain, whose title was associate vice chancellor for budgets and accounting for the A&M System, as the chief business officer for both entities.
The university's chief financial officer will report to Crain, who reports to both McKinney and Loftin. An official said performance reviews of Crain will be written by both leaders.
But Loftin said Crain will focus on business services such as payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and contracts. Deborah Wright, assistant vice president for finance, now reports directly to Loftin.
"I did that to make it clear to everybody that in terms of budget allocations, I make the decisions on that. Not somebody else. There's no conflict there," he said.
Loftin ended the day at a dinner of the Federation of Texas A&M University Mothers' Clubs at the College Station Hilton Hotel and Conference Center. Hutchison, who was invited to speak, hugged and congratulated Loftin. Her visit comes about six weeks before she faces Perry in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
In an interview afterward, she said she worked with Loftin during his time as chief of the Texas A&M branch campus in Galveston and that he "is perfect for the job." She also said it's time to move forward from the events surrounding the departure of former President Elsa Murano.
Her resignation is seen by many as punishment for clashing over decision-making with McKinney, a former Perry chief of staff.
"I think everyone that loves A&M was dismayed by the whole process that was used in that whole situation," Hutchison said. "Now we need to put it behind us and go forward with Dr. Loftin."
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