WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut -- On September 29, Walter Harrison woke up to an article on the front page of the Hartford Courant headlined, "Banished Painting Raises Questions."

That painting had been removed from an art exhibit at the University of Hartford's Joseloff Gallery a few days earlier because of copyright issues. However, the Courant's article implied there was more to the story and thought enough of the alleged controversy to place it on page 1.

Harrison appeared calm about the story, as he explained the background of it to a visitor shortly before 8:30 a.m. "Universities ought to be places that provoke thought and discussion," he said wryly.

And so begins a day in the life of a university president.

Harrison, 58, has led the suburban school of about 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students since 1998, and says he hopes this is his first and only university presidency. A 1968 graduate of Trinity College (Connecticut), he earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1969 and then served for three years in the United States Air Force. Harrison returned to academia and earned a doctorate from the University of California, Davis.

He held many teaching and administrative posts at schools such as Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, Iowa State University, Colorado College and Michigan, and also is a past president of the Gehrung Associates University Relations Counselors. His most recent position was vice-president of university relations and secretary of the university at Michigan.

On this day, his first order of business is a meeting with the International Board of Visitors, a group he put together to examine issues related to international students on campus and those studying abroad.

It's a quick walk from his third-floor office in the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Computer and Administration Center down the hall to the room where most of the group already has assembled. Through a conference call, members are connected with others in Jordan, Turkey, Italy and Japan to discuss ways to stem a drop in international students -- a trend that has been noted on campuses across the country.

"I guess it's good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night-- depending on where you are," Harrison said as he began the meeting, drawing a chuckle from the crowd both local and abroad.

For about an hour, those assembled and on the phone talk about how to interest more international students in the University of Hartford, while building on the school's already successful study-abroad programs. Harrison ends the hour-long discussion by saying he hopes to reconvene in a month or so to further discuss options.

At 9:45, it's back to his office -- a large, warmly decorated room with windows on three sides and a balcony that overlooks the campus. There he meets with Study Abroad Administrator Bridgett Sandusky to discuss how to handle a specific student's issues concerning his study-abroad experience. Harrison makes some notes in a book he carries around with him to meetings, says he will follow up and asks Sandusky to do the same.

Though he's the leader of the university, Harrison says he spends more time on student issues than one might think.

"It's a small university," he explained. "We ought to take advantage of being a small university so I try to stay in touch with students as much as I can." He points to his weekly Tuesday afternoon open-door sessions as an example of that commitment. For that hour, any student can come to his office and talk to him about anything.

At 10 a.m., Dean of Students Lee Peters arrives for a meeting. The two discuss some judicial matters, a recent concert that took place at the school, the status of a fraternity and prices at the new market on campus, among other issues.

Harrison's office offers many comfortable meeting spots -- there's a table surrounded by four chairs stamped with the University of Hartford seal, and in front of a fireplace is another seating area with a variety of overstuffed chairs and a table in the center that holds a large gumball machine filled to the top with the colorful candy. The walls and shelves are adorned with various proclamations, awards and citations, as well as sculptures and other artifacts. In one corner stands a headless mannequin, wearing what appears to be a long jacket of some sort.

When asked about the interesting display, Harrison explains that the costume was worn by Katherine Hepburn in the 1944 movie "Dragon Seed." Hepburn's father, a local doctor, had lived in a house near the university and in the 1970s, the family gave the home to the university. The costume was later found in the attic.

Harrison had the jacket restored and it now stands in a corner of his office with one sleeve in a pocket, as Hepburn herself might have stood.

Harrison also pointed out a Picasso painting that hangs on a wall, but he said with a laugh, "No one ever asks about that."

Love of sports

At 11 a.m., it's time for his meeting with Special Assistant to the President and University Ombudsman Fred Jenoure. Before the two sit down to business, they joke about previous predictions regarding the Yankees and Red Sox. Harrison has forecasted the Sox will have success in the playoffs, something Jenoure doesn't confirm.

After some good-natured ribbing, the two spend about a half hour talking about various issues.

When Jenoure leaves, Harrison has a free moment before he needs to be at his next event, a kickoff lunch for the United Way campaign, so he has some time to talk about a passion of his -- sports.

Harrison is a lifelong baseball fan, and even wrote about the sport for his doctoral dissertation, though he professes not to have a favorite team. "I'd watch anybody play anytime," he said. A former student-athlete, Harrison admits he was not the best player on his college team.

"I was a .257 lifetime hitter," he said with a smile. "I was small, but slow. I love what I couldn't do well."

A few times a season, Harrison even steps away from his presidential duties and provides color commentary for the New Britain Rock Cats, a local minor league team affiliated with the Minnesota Twins.

It's this love of sports, combined with a devotion to academics, that led Harrison to his involvement with the NCAA. He currently serves on the Executive Committee, the Division I Board of Directors and as chair of the Division I Committee on Academic Performance. He also chairs the recently established Division I-AA/I-AAA Presidential Advisory Group, which represents those subdivisions in matters that come before the Board.

"I volunteer because I feel very strongly about the academic-reform initiative," he said. "I'm extremely encouraged by what we've done so far. I want student-athletes to have successful academic experiences at their universities."

As head of a Division I-AAA private school, Harrison knows first-hand about the difficulties of balancing the university's academic mission with a successful athletics program. He said Hartford, and other schools like it, debunk the myth of the Division I school that has many resources at its disposal.

"We do not get the typical benefits. We don't get the huge television exposure. We don't get 110,000 people at a football stadium on a Saturday," he said, noting that as a I-AAA school, Hartford does not even have a football team. Despite that, he said, athletics is important to his university.

"It's a great joy to me to watch student-athletes excel at this level," he said.

Small-school commitment

Harrison notes that it can be difficult being located just a half an hour down the interstate from perennial basketball powerhouse University of Connecticut. "I'm jealous of them," he admits. "They're a public university and they have an incredible amount of state support for their athletics programs."

But he's also quick to boast about his school's athletics success: Three alumni are on the PGA tour, Vin Baker plays for the New York Knicks and Jeff Bagwell plays for the Houston Astros. He also mentions the women's soccer team, which often is among the top-ranked squads in the nation, and the women's basketball team, which in 2002 made its first appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament.

The lure of football, and the money and recognition it can bring a university, is not something that interests Harrison, though it's a subject that often comes up for debate on campus.

"We will never have a Division I football team. It won't happen," he said. "What we need to do is support the teams we currently have." As he talks about the football issue, Harrison reaches up to one of his shelves and pulls out a red football helmet with a white hawk mascot on the side. The helmet, he said, was given to him at a "roast." Obviously, it's a subject he's talked about before.

Still, he emphasized, it's important to have the university rally around the athletics teams and come out to the games, even if they're not football games. Harrison said when he first arrived at the school he commissioned a fight song and started a pep band.

"Our mascot, Howie the Hawk, I think is the best mascot in college sports," he said with pride, showing off a picture of the beloved bird.

'Student-friendly president'

At noon, it's time to walk across campus to the Harry Jack Gray Center for the United Way kickoff luncheon. It's a blustery day in central Connecticut, with the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne blowing through campus. Though it's a short walk, Harrison says hello to many who walk by him -- students, staff and faculty all greet him.

As he walks into the luncheon, everyone rises -- apparently they've been waiting for Harrison before they head to the buffet line. During lunch, the president talks with those at his end of the table about various topics, including the NCAA and its governance structure, which can be difficult to explain to someone outside of college sports.

When the presentations begin, Harrison jokes, "If you've heard me speak here before, you can do something else." He then goes on to thank everyone for their participation in raising money for such a worthy cause and offers, half jokingly, to keep in his office the television set that's being given away as a fund-raising prize. The organizers say thanks, but no thanks to his offer.

On his way out of the center, Harrison runs into a visiting professor from Israel and asks him about some visa problems he's having.

While walking a visitor across campus to the Sports Center, Harrison points out new buildings on campus and improvements that have been made since he became president. There's a former power plant that has been completely refurbished into classrooms and offices, a major redesign of the roadways on campus, a new addition to the science building and the new mini-market on campus in a building that previously was underused. The school also is in the midst of raising money for new athletics fields.

One of the best parts of his job, he said, "is being able to put my signature on an institution. I can see real change in the University of Hartford since I became president. That's a really satisfying thing about being president."

The university's Sports Center is on the opposite side of campus from Harrison's office and contains facilities for student-athletes, as well as other students. Harrison walks into the basketball arena and points out the new scoreboards, as well as Baker's retired jersey. Currently, the jersey is more of a wall hanging and Harrison would like to see that changed at some point. He also points to the NCAA banners hanging from the rafters and says he would like to see more of those in the future.

On the upper level of the center is the office of Director of Athletics Pat Meiser-McKnett, who has been with the school for 10 years and oversees 18 men's and women's sports. Meiser-McKnett, who also serves as special assistant to the president, said she likes having that direct line.

"It's vital to the success of a sound athletics program," she said. "I like to keep him very informed. He's a hands-on president. He is one of the most student-friendly presidents I've been around."

Meiser-McKnett said Harrison appreciates student-athletes and understands their needs. He's often at games and is the "biggest cheerleader on campus."

"He doesn't miss a lot. He hangs on a fence as well as anybody," she said with a laugh. "From a student-athlete's perspective it's great because it says to them, 'I matter.' "

Presidential presence

At 3 p.m. Harrison and Meiser-McKnett head over to the tennis courts behind the center to watch the Hartford women's team take on nearby Trinity.

"It's weird for me to watch my alma mater," Harrison said, quickly adding that he's rooting steadfastly for Hartford.

Sitting on the small metal bleachers that hold about a dozen fans, Harrison and Meiser-McKnett discuss various topics, including an opening for a baseball coach that has drawn a lot of interest.

"I volunteered to be the coach, but Pat wouldn't take me," he joked.

As he watches a doubles team in action, Harrison notes that this is what intercollegiate athletics is all about. "It's always struck me that this is the real definition of sport. These athletes aren't doing this because there are 100,000 people watching them play or it's going to be in the newspaper," he said.

Harrison then walks over to another court to watch another doubles team in action. This team features a freshman player from Spain, and he wants to see how she's doing.

"Nice shot," he says, as she blows one by her opponent.

As the clock inches toward 4 p.m. -- and Harrison's next appointment -- he gets in his car and drives back to the other side of campus, taking a short detour to show a visitor where the new magnet high school will be located. He also points out the magnet elementary school, which, he says proudly, is "more competitive than Harvard."

Back at the Harry Jack Gray Center it's time for a lecture by Charlotte Brewer, a fellow and tutor in English at Hertford College of Oxford University in England, which has a relationship with the University of Hartford. Brewer's lecture is on W. H. Auden, his quest for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary and background on the dictionary itself.

Harrison gets up to introduce Brewer to the standing-room-only crowd and again draws a laugh when he says, "I'm Walter Harrison. I'm your seat-finder. When I'm not helping people find their seats, I'm the president of the University of Hartford."

Throughout the hour-long lecture, Harrison, who also is a professor of English, nods in agreement during portions of the speech and laughs out loud several times. With his legs stretched out in front of him, he's clearly enjoying Brewer's presentation.

Circling the bases

After the talk, he gives Brewer a University of Hartford sweatshirt and heads back to his car to meet Brewer and about 30 other people at his residence for a dinner in her honor. As president, he and his wife Dianne often host lunches, dinners and receptions at their residence.

The president's residence, known as the Russell House, is only a few blocks from the university, down a winding, residential street. The home, which was built in the early 1900s, was a gift to the university and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The downstairs is used primarily for entertaining, and this night several tables are set with maroon napkins and tablecloths and china with the University of Hartford emblem that was a gift from the Harrisons to the school. Harrison and his wife live on the second floor of the home.

Large bookcases, filled from floor to ceiling, adorn a large part of the home, and Harrison admits he has no idea how many books he and his wife own.

In his private office, sports memorabilia, especially that related to baseball, adorns every wall and shelf of the room. He has about 25 signed baseballs and three home run balls on display.

His most prized possessions, he said, are a baseball signed by the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and a Reggie Jackson home run ball that he caught and later had signed by the famous Yankee.

Harrison said two of his goals in life are to see a game at every major league ballpark and see every Shakespeare play performed live. He estimates he's attended 25 of the 30 parks and has been to 34 of 37 Shakespeare plays. Harrison said he'll probably reach his Shakespeare goal first since the bard isn't writing any more plays, yet new ballparks seem to go up fairly regularly.

Harrison also shows off a typed postcard he received from author John Updike in 1968. He had written to the author after he was turned away from seeing him lecture in Pennsylvania. Updike wrote that he was sorry Harrison wasn't able to hear him speak.

Leaving his office, Harrison shows a visitor the rest of the house before returning to his guests. Dinner should last a few hours, and he'll check his e-mail before retiring for the night.Harrison estimates he receives about 70 e-mails a day and there's never enough time while on campus to check them all, so he saves the task for home.

Though he doesn't have much free time, and what he does have often is consumed with university business of some sort, Harrison said he loves what he does.

"When you become president you basically give up a private life. I rarely do anything that's not connected to the university," he said. "But I've never had more fun in my life."