USD Magazine, Spring 2000

USD's provost speaks fluent Latin and studies ancient Greek architecture, but it is the future ofacademics that's his truepassion.

Lazarus rook over the provost's position in 1996 when Sister Sally Furay retired after serving 24 years in the post. H e studied classical languages and philos– ophy as an undergrad, earning a master's degree in Greek and Larin at Cornell , and a certificate in che monuments and rypo– graphy of ancient Rome at rhe American Academy. In 1968, he returned ro Cornell fo r a Ph.D . in Larin literature, reaching at West Point·and at Salem College in North Carolina, where he also spent two years as an associate academic dean . His passion for ancient rongues was nor lost on his wife, Carol, and his three child ren, who moved 13 rimes as he fur– thered his studies and wound through rhe academic ranks. "I can't carry the rune, bur I can sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Srar' in Larin," says daughter Julie, a management consultant wirh PriceWarerhouseCoopers in New York. "I remember how he would often bring G reek gods and mythology into lessons about everyday life. He was very subtle about ir, and ir really did help us understand what we were going th rough ro relate ro such universal stories. "

brushes up against expectations set fo rth by the Church. Recently, he was called upon by a board member co ncerned with a professor's screening a film rhar may have been "disrespectful of the Church. " Lazarus spoke with rhe profes– sor, watched the film, and asked the professor ro discuss how ir was integrated into rhe class curriculum. "Ir was an excellent discussion and I learned a great deal ," says Lazarus, who went back ro the board and explained the peda– gogical value of the film exercise portion of rhe class. "T he person who made rhe inquiry was com– pletely satisfi ed char the univer– siry had taken the right position and appreciated the sensiriviry shown ro the question." Known on campus for his srudy of ancient tongues like Greek and Larin, Lazarus is equally well known fo r his propensiry ro listen ro many voices while making decisions. "He does much of his thinking in front of people and is always willing to try ideas our," says Professor Par Drinan, dean of the college of arts and sciences. "He rends to hear a lot of voices, and char allows for more perspective."

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demanding and rewarding on campus - he works an average of 10 ro 12 hours a day, meeting with professors ro discuss cur– riculum, huddling with nearby universiry administraro rs ro create joint degrees and reaching programs, securing federal grants ro get low-income high school students interested in attending college, and representing USD at community functions. "Ir's sometimes easy ro draw parallels between my own per– sonal scholarship and my work as provost," Lazarus says. "You might say I've grown ro like a challenge." Responsible fo r steering the academic future of the un iver– siry, he also is a liaison between the board of trustees, rhe presi– dent's offi ce and the faculry. T he high-profi le position helps Lazarus achieve his goals, yet occasionally can land him between a rock and a hard place, particularly at a Catholic universiry, where ar rimes protecting academic freedom

r's 110 surprise that after a long day shaping the univer– - siry's academic direction, USD Provost Frank Lazarus goes home and unwinds. Yer he bypasses a soak in the rub or some mindless television for his preferred method of relaxation - radding 2,500- year-old Greek architectural conundrums. Specifically, study– ing the flaws in Doric temples from the fi fth and sixth cen– turies B.C., (they lack symmetry ar their upper-most corners) and developing his theory char the flaws were put there on purpose. "My ques tion is, were the architects trying ro create an illusion or did it just happen? " says Lazarus of his own personal Rubik's cube. "We know that the Greeks were excellent mathe– maticians. Ir wasn't a question of sloppy engineering. Bur ro prove that, I'm going to have to go ro G reece and measure a lot more temples." Q uire a hobby, considering Lazarus' job is one of rhe mosr

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