Richard S. Jarvis, one of two finalists for the San Jose State University presidency, spent all day Thursday on campus, telling his story and answering questions. Jarvis, 55, is chancellor of the seven-campus University of Oregon system, which serves 80,000 students.

The other finalist, Paul Yu, visited Tuesday.

Jarvis resigned from his Oregon post earlier this month, effective June 30, citing the governor's decision to downsize the chancellor's office and reduce its role. The governor already had replaced several higher education board members, who had hired Jarvis, with a high-profile former governor and several industry heavyweights. The sweep was a prelude to a political campaign to increase support for higher education.

Here are some questions that were put to Jarvis during his day on campus. The questions and answers were edited for brevity.

Q What advantages would you bring to the job of president of San Jose State University?

A I would bring a variety of experiences. I've worked in a number of states. I've worked at the chancellor level in two states. I've also run a start-up -- a new online university. I've worked on campus. I've been a vice president. I've come up the faculty lines.

I think what you hope you bring to what is already a large and complex and multi-talented place is some additional experience that you can bring to bear and provide a little bit of leadership spark. The talent and the answers are all here. Someone who comes in is just going to help try and pull that together in a slightly different way.

Q What are your thoughts about the Division 1-A football program in terms of how it matches the values of a university?

A What I have seen in three states -- New York, Nevada and Oregon -- is the power for building positive relationships for the university that intercollegiate athletics can bring. It's also an area that's open to substantial problems, serious management challenges. But in terms of building support out there, a well-run intercollegiate athletic program can be extremely important.

I think it would be very important to think through what any fundamental change in the status of the athletic program would mean to the perception of this institution. When you are facing tough budgetary times, if you have to resort to a very radical elimination of a major activity, you send out a set of signals to the community and to your partners. Some of those signals could be, ``I'm being a responsible leader, I have to do these things.'' But others could be, ``We're in some sense diminishing this institution, it is not what it was.''

I don't think this institution is at a point of paring down. I think it's poised for some rather extraordinary new developments. The problem we are trying to address is a funding problem. Are there other ways of getting to the funding problem for athletics other than eliminating football or downgrading from Division 1-A? Are there ways to solve that problem that would keep the status and stature that go with that piece of history?

Q What are the top three issues you see in this institution that could be improved?

A I'm going to make some guesses. I probably won't know the solutions terribly well.

I want to have a sense of our ability to retain and sustain students. Many of us have become pretty good at attracting and recruiting, and I think we probably could stand focusing hard on retaining and keeping and supporting.

Secondly, keeping the vitality of the faculty is absolutely critical. We are a people enterprise and the faculty and the staff are the core. How do you keep them revived and vitalized and active in tough budget times?

Thirdly, a closer connection with community. What I would want to see is a sense of real pride in this institution. It's an extraordinary place in terms of what it represents to this community, its size, the wealth of its programs. I'd like to see that more prominent and visible.

Q Were the changes to your job and staff as chancellor of Oregon's higher education system professionally and personally disappointing to you?

A What the governor's actions have done -- it was very tough for me. I was hired by a board two years ago, we were working our way along. The problem from the governor's point of view was the state budget was just shrinking, shrinking and shrinking. And they have to do something to find a new source of revenue, to really run what in essence is a political campaign to take an initiative to the voters and say, ``You've got to support higher education.'' It's probably going to take a board like the new board and a political campaign like the one they are following. I think they are doing the right thing. Unfortunately, from my point of view, it was not the job I went there to do.