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At college, Bacchus cites political, international experience
Former congressman visits campus
Friday, Sept. 25, 2009
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James Bacchus, a former congressman from Florida and an international lawyer, said this week that if he is selected to lead St. Mary's College of Maryland he would fight to keep state funding intact.
Bacchus, the second of four finalists to become the next president of the college to visit the campus, also formerly served as a judge on the highest international tribunal of world trade and was a former special assistant to the United States trade representative.
Growing up in a poor family, Bacchus said he earned a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
"That made all the difference in my life. It transformed me," Bacchus said. "I want everyone to have the same opportunities that Vanderbilt gave me."
When asked at a forum Tuesday how he would handle the tight financial straits of the state, Bacchus said he would like to take groups of students to Annapolis to lobby for continued funding for the public liberal arts college. "We're going to do everything we can to keep our funding," he said.
He said he would like to go out into the community and listen and learn from people.
"I intend to live here and be part of that community," he said.
As for expanding the campus or growing the student body, he said, "That's something I would have to do a lot of consultation" with stakeholders, but that he has not heard of anyone's desire to increase enrollment.
He said he would be visible on campus, would eat at the school's cafeteria and hope to be approachable to students.
One staff member of the college said, "I think that would be a major and welcomed change on this campus."
While Bacchus does not have any administrative experience in a college, he is a visiting professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School, where he teaches international law, with an emphasis on international trade law and on World Trade Organization dispute settlement. He has also been an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.
He said that when the Watergate scandal broke in the early 1970s he decided to redirect his life to public service. He got involved in political campaigns, and was a senior aide to Florida Gov. Reubin Askew in the mid-1970s. He served two terms in Congress beginning in 1991, representing Florida's 11th and then 15th districts as a Democrat.
Bacchus was a leading supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, and a principal supporter of the space program, advocating for commercial space development and space exploration.
For the last five years he has served as one of two chairs of the Global Practice Group and chairman of the Global Trade and Investment Practice Group of Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm. He offers legal, political and strategic advice to worldwide clients based on his experience relating to the global rules for trade and commerce of the World Trade Organization, according to the firm's Web site.
Before that, Bacchus served eight years on the appellate body of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, which he eventually chaired. The seven judges of the appellate body hear final appeals in international trade disputes involving 95 percent of world commerce in the more than 150 countries and other customs territories that are the members of the WTO.
He is the author of the book "Trade and Freedom," a collection of essays about his time on the WTO.
One student questioned Bacchus on how he would handle student activism on campus opposing WTO policies.
"I would defend to the death your right to disagree with me," Bacchus said. He would explore topics such as world trade with students and be able to add an international dimension to conversations, he said.
But ultimately, he said, he would support students' rights to freedom of speech.
Four finalists narrowed from more than 100 applicants by a trustee search committee over the last summer have separate visits to campus last week through next week. A decision could be made during a college trustee meeting on Oct. 3. The other finalists are Katherine Conway-Turner, MaryAnn Baenninger and Joseph Bruno.
To weigh in
Community members and others can give feedback on the presidential finalists for St. Mary's College of Maryland to the board of trustees via the board's secretary, Tom Botzman, by e-mail at tjbotzman@smcm.edu.
Joseph Bruno, the final of four presidential finalists for St. Mary's College of Maryland, will be at an open forum at St. Mary's Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 5:30 p.m.
