At the end of the third floor hallway of the President’s Mansion, a square table sits next to a window with a view of Denny Chimes.

One February afternoon, UA President Robert Witt stood next to the table where he and his family do battle over Monopoly boards and decks of cards. His focus, though, was not on the monument to his predecessor.

As he looked at a wall filled with degrees and photos, Witt narrowed his focus to an old editorial cartoon of him from the start of his presidency at the University of Texas at Arlington, a troubled institution when he took the helm. He pointed to the caricature, which showed a figure purported to be Witt sitting in a recliner wearing slippers with polka dots. The figure cradled an object with the acronym “UTA,” an indication that Witt was to be a nurturer.

Witt ignored the implied expectations of the cartoon.

“Can you believe those shoes?” Witt asked.

The business professor

When Witt arrived in Tuscaloosa seven years ago, he brought a results-driven leadership style that he concedes is atypical.

“Normally, when people talk about organizational structure, it’s the traditional pyramid. My perspective is you turn the pyramid upside down,” he said.

The style, which Witt said has its origins in “professional experiences and an extensive amount of reading,” embraces the idea that the leader of an organization should empower employees to better fulfill their duties.

He said he works for the people who make up the University: faculty, students, staff, alumni.

Witt, a slight man who is famous for his laser-like focus, developed his professional experiences – and, in turn, his leadership style – as a business professor, a path he chose soon after graduating from Dartmouth with a master’s of business administration.

Soon after joining General Foods, now part of Kraft, Witt’s favorite business school professor asked him to work on revisions for a marketing textbook. After a year writing case studies of successes and failures in business, Witt decided to pursue a career in academia.

When he arrived at Pennsylvania State University to pursue his doctorate, he did not harbor dreams of a college presidency.

‘Quiet strength’

A decade into Witt’s 27-year run at University of Texas – Austin, Sarah Patterson took a job at the University of Alabama as the head gymnastics coach.

Over the decades, presidents have come and gone, but Patterson, who is serving her seventh UA president, has stayed.

Since 2003, she has developed a high regard for Witt. “I’ve admired many of our presidents for the jobs that they have done, but I kind of stand in awe of what President Witt has done, especially in the time that he has been here,” she said.

She said Witt’s tenure has been defined and cultivated by the president’s “quiet strength and tremendous leadership.”

Mal Moore, the athletic director, echoed Patterson. “He understands what he’s doing, and I think everybody who works for him draws strength from him,” he said.

Witt’s wife, Sandee Kirby Witt, a UA graduate who retired from the University in 2008, said her husband brought a different approach to Tuscaloosa when he was inaugurated.

“While we’ve always had a good president, we’ve had some that have come in and said, ‘I want to make this a great University.’ He came in and said, ‘It is great. Let’s see what we can do to make it better,’” said Sandee Witt, who served on the search committee that recommended Robert Witt for the presidency. The couple married in 2007.

Patterson, a 32-year veteran of the University, said the approach has paid dividends. “I have never seen the University have such a change in so many different areas,” she said.

‘A booster shot’

Moore and Patterson both mentioned Witt’s zeal for recruiting students to the University, which takes him away from Tuscaloosa many evenings. Witt said that in a recent week, he had traveled to Texas on two different nights to speak to gatherings of prospective students. By the time he finished his remarks in Dallas and Houston, he had spoken to more than 1,300 students and parents.

Sandee Witt said her husband’s true passion is students once they arrive on campus.

“What really makes him tick is students. He loves students, and he loves making the environment a learning and welcoming and warm environment for them,” she said. “It’s almost like he had a booster shot when he’s been around students.”

For the Witts, the University is a family affair. “It’s hard for either one of us to say we get our lives away from the University of Alabama. Both of us are so engrained in it,” Sandee Witt said.

The president said that he has found that even when he is far from the Quad, his work as the University’s leader rarely pauses – even running into someone on a Destin, Fla., beach vacation often triggers a conversation about the campus.

Still, there are times when he escapes. The drives to Destin – the Witts said they avoid the highways and take a more leisurely route – help relax him, as do walks along the shore during which the president collects seashells.

His reading habits are diverse and deep. His recent selections have included an autobiographical account of the making of a Marine officer and a book chronicling the effects of an experiment involving houseplants at a nursing home.

The man who head football coach Nick Saban praised on national television is also a sports fan.

One of his interests is the University’s wheelchair basketball program. Without prompting, he recited the schedules and records of the men’s and women’s teams.

‘I enjoy babysitting’

Some writers about the University have noticed that Witt doesn’t walk around with a constant smile. Patterson said that Witt, one of the state’s most influential voices, is far from a politician.

“He doesn’t have to have the characteristics of a politician to lead,” she said.

In his official photograph, Witt is expressionless, and his cadence in interviews and speeches is measured. However, a discussion of his three grandchildren, all under the age of 3, brought a smile.

The president leaned forward as he let out a small smile. “I enjoy being with all of them. I enjoy babysitting,” he said.

Witt said he has embraced the enhanced interactions that come with age. “They are at an age now where they’re becoming little people. They’re not just babies anymore. To be at the beach with Will and Miller is an adventure,” he said.

Sandee Witt said that in many cases, her husband is the catalyst for adventures.

“He plays with them. He plays games with them. And they pretend,” she said. “He will get more creative and imaginative with them than I will.”

His creativity, Sandee Witt said, came out when the couple hosted a birthday party for their granddaughter. “We had a Cinderella birthday party, and we pretended that we were princes and princesses, and he just jumped right into it,” she said.

‘Always going to be actively involved’

Last fall, rumors swirled that Witt might announce his retirement. Some speculated that Witt would choose to go out on top, having reached his goal of increasing enrollment to 28,000 students. Others said his desire to spend time with his family might trigger a resignation. (Witt and his wife recently purchased a small apartment three blocks from where his grandchildren live in New York.)

In an interview last year, Witt said he had little intention of quitting anytime soon. He said then, as he did again last month, that he had more to do.

“I’m a realist, but I’m a little bit of a dreamer because part of what motivates me is to try to look out into the future to see what the University of Alabama might look like at various points in the future,” he said.

He said he considers what future presidents might encounter. “University presidents, probably more than leaders of other types of organizations, are stewards,” he said. “It’s important to realize that you are there only for a period of time.”

Witt said the University’s recent acquisition of the Bryce Hospital property was an example of long-range planning.

“The acquisition of Bryce Hospital is not something, in reality, that will be an integral part of my presidency,” he said. Witt predicted that the next two or three presidents will be involved in developing the property.

He plans to remain part of the University community after his retirement. “I am always going to be actively involved in the life of this University,” he said.