On February 24, Dr. Jared L. Cohon, President of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), visited KAIST to receive an honorary degree in science and technology and give a lecture to the university’s students. Dr. Cohon is the eighth president of CMU and has held numerous other public and university positions. During his presidency, CMU has expanded globally and takes part in joint programs around the world, including those with universities in Australia, Korea, India and Qatar. KAIST and CMU have been collaborating since 2007 in research projects, student and faculty exchanges and dual degree programs. Before the 2012 Commencement Ceremony, Dr. Cohon met with The KAIST Herald and other news organizations for an interview.

The interview started with Dr. Cohon giving a brief introduction of CMU. Like KAIST, CMU has a small but special composition and is dedicated to science and technology as well as business and the fine arts. CMU, founded in 1900, is also relatively young by US standards, but has grown into a world-class university. The power behind this rapid growth can be expressed by four key values: innovation and change, problem-solving, interdisciplinary cooperation, and hard work. The slogan “My heart is in the work” clearly expresses the values of CMU.

One interesting aspect of CMU is its fine arts and business fields. While CMU is dedicated to science and technology, it also has many respected alumni in the aforementioned fields including Andy Warhol, a leading figure in pop art, and Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture. CMU alumni have together won 6 Academy Awards, 22 Emmy Awards, over 100 Tony Awards and 20 Nobel Prizes.

Regarding CMU’s joint projects with KAIST, as well as student and faculty exchanges, Dr. Cohon mentioned joint Ph.D. programs in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and a joint Master’s program in Software Engineering,.

During his 14 years of presidency, Dr. Cohon explained that although he had issues and incidents with professors just as there is at KAIST, one key factor in resolving the trouble was communication. In a research university, the decision making is done in both top-down and down-up methods. Professors should act like they are the CEOs of their own startup companies with entrepreneurial minds while the president presents a common vision for the university to move toward. Because CMU “knows itself” very well, developing a common vision was already in place before he became president, and Dr. Cohon’s task became creating a strategic plan (or “pillars”) and deciding on priority factors. During the process, he communicated with the CMU community through various means, which resulted in an understanding of why the changes were necessary.

When asked about the conflict surrounding KAIST, Dr. Cohon said that although he is not entirely familiar with situation, there is a great deal of change and progress in KAIST and that some people, due to the nature of the change, cannot be satisfied with the change. However he mentioned that President Nam Pyo Suh knows best how to develop KAIST into a globally excellent research university, and that a quality faculty is required to become such a leading university. Dr. Cohon said that President Suh should continue with the change and keep communicating with the community, especially the faculty, and explain why the change is necessary.

Before ending the interview, Dr. Cohon mentioned that receiving an honorary degree in KAIST is a tremendous honor and that he is grateful to be recognized by such a wonderful university like KAIST.

 

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