The University of Toledo’s incoming president has highlighted a handful of areas which UT should focus on first, from boosting enrollment and fund-raising to increasing research funding and graduation rates.

University of Arkansas Provost Sharon Gaber, whom UT trustees selected March 12 to hire as the 17th president, identified those key issues in a far-ranging interview on Monday with members of The Blade's editorial board and editors.

UT has yet to ink a contract with Ms. Gaber, 51. She said initial discussions indicate it would be a five-year contract, at the expiration of which she would like the opportunity to discuss her reappointment with the board.

Contract negotiations appear to be proceeding smoothly, said Joseph H. Zerbey IV, board chairman and The Blade’s president and general manager.

Ms. Gaber expects to take the reins at UT in early July, but has begun to think about her initial priorities.

“I’m talking about what are the four to six things we’ll tackle year one,” she said.

Her short-term focus will likely include increasing enrollment and fund-raising, both of which will add revenue, beefing up research funding, and improving retention and graduation rates.

That work will bolster the university’s reputation, she said.

“What I envision is working to move the university forward in a positive way, and really then thinking about how do we become a top-notch research university? We’ve got all of the component pieces,” she said.

Seeing more UT students graduate is one goal.

Just 22 percent of full-time, first-time freshman who started at UT in 2008 graduated in four years, and 45 percent graduated within six years in the spring of 2014, according to a UT spokesman.

Ms. Gaber plans to think about ways to prepare students for college, such as implementing summer programs. At Arkansas, the university led ACT test preparation courses for students around the state.

“The message was, ‘I don’t care if you come to the University of Arkansas. I care that you go to college,’ ’’ she said.

Better scores on the college entrance examination can lead to scholarship opportunities for students, many of whom became interested in attending the University of Arkansas because they appreciated that the institution offered the help, she said.

Such efforts require money, Ms. Gaber acknowledged, repeating her intention to be an active fund-raiser, seeking private donations to help offset declines in state and federal funding.

“We can’t continue to raise tuition and say, ‘This is the only solution.’ We need private philanthropy to be able to do that,” she said.

Ms. Gaber charted an optimistic course when asked about sometimes strained relationships between the administration and faculty members, who have been in union contract negotiations for more than three years.

“People are excited that there is somebody new coming that is interested in working with the campus to be able to move it forward,” she said, adding that she’s received hundreds of supportive and congratulatory emails.

In an online questionnaire completed by faculty, staff, students, administrators, and others, Ms. Gaber received the highest overall rating of the three finalists for the job who visited in February for interviews and open forums.

She said faculty want to work and teach at a great institution, and she’ll ask people to rally around that vision, which may require “perhaps a little more work.”

During her short visit, Ms. Gaber also met with a few top UT administrators.

To prepare for the presidency, Ms. Gaber said she’ll spend time meeting with additional stakeholders and said she’s willing to explore numerous issues, from town-and-gown relations to UT’s athletic conference membership.

Mr. Zerbey, who also met with Ms. Gaber during the trip, noted the president-to-be’s enthusiasm.

When she hits the ground in Toledo, he said, “she’s going to be running.”

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published March 24, 2015, 4:00 a.m.