The office of professor Allan Havis is small. Photographs of him hugging his children pepper the walls and a rather large and colorful abstract painting dominates the back. His shelves are so stuffed with books and papers they look like something from a movie set. It is here, sitting in his computer chair, that Havis quietly outlines his plans to continue writing plays despite his new appointment as the provost of Thurgood Marshall College.
Thurgood Marshall College’s new Provost Allan Havis, a professor of theatre and dance, has permanently taken over the post from professor Robert Kluender.
“I still plan on writing a play a year,” Havis said. “I write quickly. It usually takes me about four weeks to complete a play.”
After a year under the watch of linguistics professor and interim Provost Robert Kluender, Marshall College once again has a leader to call its own.
“I know it will take at least a full year until I get my footing [as a provost],” he said.
He has been a member of the theatre and dance department for 17 years. On the day of his interview, he wore all blue — a blue tie and denim shirt and jeans; a jean jacket hung from a coat rack nailed to his office door.
No matter what he’s saying, Havis says it calmly and unwavering. He has the voice of someone who would get paid millions to read lullabies for books on tape. His soothing manner makes it all the more surprising to discover he has a black belt in Korean-style Tang Soo Do karate.
As a young adult, Havis had dreams of becoming an architect because it combined his two favorite subjects.
“I loved math. I loved art,” he said. “Architecture seemed the fusion of the two. I learned that I wanted to build structure with people, though, not cement and wood.”
However, architecture school proved too specific for Havis, who found himself not ready to leave the liberal arts. He decided to endure the ridicule of his friends, who thought he was ducking out, to make a quick change. After leaving architecture school, Havis pursued his love of the arts and entered the world of theater.
It was in 1988 when Havis joined the theatre and dance department of UCSD. Since then, he has helped students with playwriting and has sought to foster an appreciation of the arts in his classes. It seems he made the right decision in leaving architecture behind, at least according to Course and Professor Evaluations, which allows students to critique teacher effectiveness. Professor Havis received a 94-percent recommendation rating for his undergraduate class on women in comedy. He also mentored Michael Carnick, this year’s winner of the $25,000 Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriting Award with his work “Who’s Driving Doug?”
“[Carnick] beat out UCLA’s program, which is big,” Havis said.
It is his experience as a theatre professor and socially conscious playwright that Havis said will aid in his new position as provost.
“I think I have a political vision that is in sync with Marshall,” he said. “I have an ability to motivate people, once I build trust with them … the opposite [of me] would be a loud, high-willed individual. A bully.”
There still remains a noble ambiguity to the function of the provost. The structure of UCSD is built to give a liberal-arts feel to a large campus, but the question remains regarding the provost’s position within the scheme. Havis compared the position to be the mayor of a proper-sized town.
“There isn’t a lot of clarity as to what a provost does,” he said. “I hope in the next five years [during my term] it will become clearer.”
He cited the main duties of the provost as helping run and represent the college. This includes: overseeing Marshall’s 30 staff members, managing the $2 million budget and the beloved college writing program Dimensions of Culture, diplomacy between the colleges and fund-raising and hiring within Marshall. The responsibilities of diplomacy seem fitting for Havis, who has made outreach one of the main tenets of his career in the theatre and dance department.
“A challenge for the campus is its location,” he said. “It’s almost like a gated community. We cannot get the diversity of San Diego. But we must care about what’s outside the gate.”
Havis began a program that facilitates interaction between playwrights on campus and the local KPBS channel. He has also overseen multiple dialogues between art communities across the border. As provost, Havis plans on championing the arts within the university. Because of UCSD’s heavy science concentrations, it is difficult for the arts to get appropriate consideration.
One way in which Havis has already introduced theater into Marshall was through his production of the “Haunting of Jim Crow.” The play, an exploration into the life of Strom Thurmond and his interracial daughter, became part of the DOC curriculum last year. For Havis, it was almost a dress rehearsal of his position as provost because he worked so closely with Marshall administration.
The former provost, Cecil Lytle, supported the appointment of Havis in a UCSD press release.
“I have had the opportunity to work closely with Allan on projects that advance the intellectual interests and social justice agenda of Thurgood Marshall College,” Lytle stated. “He listens to students, supports staff and will be an effective leader of the faculty in championing the academic aims of the college.”
Havis said he looked forward to being part of the face of Marshall College. He expressed a desire to bring the college to new heights.
“I want to build on the great history and legacy of Marshall College,” he said. “I would love to have Marshall find a new milestone by its 40th anniversary.”
