You grew up in Vernal, Utah. Is there anything you miss about small-town life?
I miss the sense of absolute, unadulterated community. A university community, though, has a lot in common with a small town. I think that is maybe one of the reasons I feel so comfortable about university life. It somewhat replicates the notion of a small town, with people who value and care about each other even though the activities may be different. Of course, a university is a much more complex organism than a small town.

You've traveled around the world. If you could return to one place for a day, where would it be, and why?
It would be Hong Kong, where East meets West. It is, in many ways, the entry point to a whole new world, and just has a remarkable feel as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Hong Kong is exotic but, at the same time, very modern. In nearly 30 years as a university president, I have had the great privilege and opportunity to travel. . . . I've been to so many wonderful places.

Where would you like to visit that you have not been?
I would like to visit Katmandu in Nepal. I want to stay in a hotel called the Yak and Yeti, and I want to hike the Himalayan Trail that leads to the base camp at Mount Everest.

What profession other than your own would you like to try?
Symphony conductor! I think that profession has some of the same characteristics as being a president. You are trying to get people to work together, yet they are very much individuals who have their individual talents. My other choice would be director of the CIA. I am just fascinated by the world of information and intrigue. As a university president, you have to be engaged in both.

You're a parent, and you must have faced many of the trials and tribulations that parents face who are sending their children off to college.
Yes, I wish I had sent my daughter to a convent! But I have survived the trials. One of the great joys in my life is my daughter. And she has survived having me as a parent!

You have met many well-known people from the worlds of academia, government, the arts, and elsewhere. Who was the biggest "surprise" in terms of being different from your expectations or preconceived notions?
I guess it would be Cornel West. He is an acclaimed teacher and scholar of religion at Princeton University. I always thought of him as having a very rigid point of view, and instead I found him to be utterly open and charming. We had the most wonderful four-hour discussion at our dinner table.

Is there any historical figure to which you look for inspiration or guidance?
There are the usual suspects. I love historical biographies. I became fascinated with author David McCullough's descriptions of both John Adams and Harry Truman, because they are very similar yet very different. Both of them have what I describe as "nerves like sewer pipes" in that they were willing to make tough decisions and live with them despite opposing views. And I like that kind of leadership.

There is a story about you losing a high school class election one year, but coming back to win it the next year. We might attribute that to a host of traits: resiliency, competitiveness, drive. What part of that high school boy has not changed?
I still find joy in competitiveness. I like to raise the bar for myself. A lot of people don't count this as a joy, but I do. The second thing that hasn't changed is I still love to dance! In high school, there was not a dance within miles that I would not go to.

Many people are surprised when they visit your office to see the posters from the movies Animal House and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. What does Ferris teach you, or us, about life?
To have a good sense of humor! I think the movie is a wonderful statement about young people and about life. Just having the poster itself in my office is kind of a humorous statement, I think. It can put visitors at ease, or maybe put them off. You come in and see that, and you question if this guy is a serious person.

What is it that most people don't know about you?
Most people don't know that I love opera. I grew up listening to Texaco's Opera of the Air on one of those great big 1940s RCA radios. We had no access to television, very little access to movies, and certainly limited access to opera. Not that opera does not put me to sleep sometimes . . . maybe that's one of the reasons I enjoy it!