LEXINGTON — Lee Todd has heard the talk that he is the “out-of-the-box” finalist to become the University of Kentucky's next president.

        But Mr. Todd, a Kentucky graduate and former professor of electrical engineering at the school, instead describes himself as the candidate some have put “in the box.”

        “I think people have boxed me in as more of a businessman, engineer and entrepreneur than someone who could step in and run a university,” the western Kentucky native said Friday. “My greatest challenge is to prove to people that I will be able to do the job and move the institution forward.

Lee Todd responds to questions Friday in a meeting with the UK Senate Council. The presidential search committee expects to make its choice within days. (Associated Press photo)

        “Education always has been a priority to me, and I think my background and my record reflect that. I spent nine years here as a faculty member, and I wouldn't have even considered applying for this position without that experience.”
       

Visited on Friday

        Mr. Todd, 54, was the last of three finalists to visit the Lexington campus. He spent Friday meeting with faculty, staff, students, alumni, administrators and members of the school's board of trustees.

        One of the finalists will replace Charles T. Wethington, who will retire in June.

        Gregory Geoffroy, provost of the University of Maryland, was on campus Wednesday. He also is one of five finalists for the president's job at Iowa State University.

        Jon Whitmore, provost of the University of Iowa, visited Ken tucky's campus for his public interview sessions on Thursday.

        The school's presidential search committee originally said it would interview all three finalists this week and possibly make a selection at a special meeting Friday night. The committee still was to meet Friday night to discuss the finalists, but a final vote on a new president will not be taken until Tuesday after the trustees' regular meeting.

        The nine-month presidential search is considered crucial to the university's stated goal of making itself into a Top 20 public research university by 2020.

        “We can be a Top 20 institution, but there's a lot of work to be done,” Mr. Todd said after a mid-day meeting with several hundred staff members at the UK student center. “First, and most importantly, we have to get the people in the university communi ty and around the state to believe — truly believe — that we can achieve this goal.

        “Self-esteem is a huge issue in the state of Kentucky. You see and hear the stereotypes about Kentucky so often that after a while even the people who live here start to think they may be true, and nothing is further from the truth. Once we get people believing that we can be great, it will be that much easier to motivate them to help us work toward that goal.”

        Mr. Todd's life has been a study in overachievement.

        Born in Earlington, a Hopkins County coal-mining town of less than 2,000, Mr. Todd graduated from UK with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1968 and received his master's and doctorate in the same discipline from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
       

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