The PANANOLE News: FSU-Panama Student E-Zine

Dr. Carlos Langoni has been working at FSU-Panama for sixteen years. He teaches classes in Computer Science and Mathematics. Currently, Dr. Langoni is the Acting Rector of the University. I’d like to thank the Rector for allowing me a few moments out of his busy schedule to chat with me for this Pananole Interview.

Nakad: Dr. Langoni, where are you from?

Langoni: I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. I left in 1981 to pursue my doctorate in the U.S. After completing that, in 1987, I moved to Panama with my wife, who is Panamanian.

Nakad: How long have you been Acting Rector at FSU-Panama?

Langoni: Since August of this year.

Nakad: What position did you have before assuming this office?

Langoni: Well, my career started with FSU-Panama back in 1987, as soon as I moved to Panama. At the beginning I worked here part-time. Then, in 1989, I accepted a full-time appointment. Some time later, in the early 1990’s, Dr. Jorge Luis Quiroz, the Director at the time, invited me to assist him. Since then I’ve been involved in helping to run the academic program by carrying out various different responsibilities, such as setting up schedules and assisting faculty in the performance of their duties. When Dr. Jeremy Brown became Rector, in the year 2000, he invited me to be the Vice-Rector. I worked in that capacity until August of this year.

Nakad: What is your formal academic preparation?

Langoni: I have a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro. After that I went to the U.S. to study at Texas A&M. That’s where I got my doctorate in industrial engineering.

Nakad: What is your favorite class to teach, and why?

Langoni: My favorite class...? (Chuckles.) It’s probably Discrete Mathematics. That’s a course that brings together lots of simple facts from the field of Mathematics. However, it has so many different applications, in so many different areas, that I find it very, very fascinating. It’s interesting to understand why things work the way they do. That’s why I think it’s the class I enjoy the most. The problem is that it inspires a lot fear in students. I believe it’s the name that scares them: Discrete Mathematics. But, really, it is an approach to math that is based on simple things; it’s not as complex as calculus. Of course, on occasion we have to rely on advanced concepts, but most of the problem solving is based on simple notions of mathematics. I think it’s fun to put those notions to work, to discover their applications, especially in the area of computers.

Nakad: Throughout the years that you’ve been working at FSU-Panama, what significant changes have you seen?

Langoni: I’ve seen many, many changes, of course. But that’s because Panama itself has experienced many changes changed as well. For instance, when I started working here, our program was primarily designed to serve the United States military and their dependents. We worked out of military installations throughout the Canal Zone. Therefore, you couldn’t say FSU-Panama was a real university, in the sense of having a campus. For instance, we used to hold most of our classes in the evenings. The vast majority of our students were in the military, thus they were usually older, highly disciplined individuals who were focused on using their education to advance their careers. Since we were open to the public, however, there was also an interesting mix of young Panamanians and younger students who belonged to the U.S. military community. Consequently, the first big change we experienced after the turnover of the Canal was to become a genuine, stand-alone university, without the support of U.S. government contracts. The change toward becoming independent started to take place in 1996. In that period, between 1996 and 1999, we didn’t have a campus. We used to lease the third floor of the Chinese School of Panama. The place was very, very small. In addition, our students didn’t like that arrangement. Primarily they didn’t like having to mix with the very young students of the host school. So that led to the next big transition, which was the move to this campus. Here we have excellent facilities, such as a library, laboratories, an auditorium, a gym, and not to mention the spectacular view of the entrance to the Canal.

Nakad: What changes have taken place under your leadership?

Langoni: Right now I’ve mostly been concerned with keeping the place running as smoothly as possible as we search for a new, permanent rector. The previous rectors, Dr. Quiroz and Dr. Brown, had many dreams for this place. Also, from the very beginning everyone involved in FSU-Panama has shared a common vision: To make this the best American university in Latin America. To achieve this, of course, will take a lot of work and time. Personally, I was fortunate to have worked closely with Dr. Brown, our previous rector. He had considerable experience from universities in the U.S. He implemented many successful ideas with regard to the operation of this campus. My goal at this point in time is to keep those good things going and to move forth with plans that have been laid out since the inception of this new campus. In the next five to ten years I expect us to be operating to full capacity. One day we anticipate having a thousand, or perhaps fifteen hundred students. Who knows, if we continue working hard maybe we’ll even reach two thousand students. This is what we’re aiming for. This campus has so much potential. We want to recruit more students from all over Latin America as well as from the U.S. and, why not, from everywhere in the world. We’ve just begun on the path to reach our full potential.

Nakad: What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your position?

Langoni: I think every faculty member would agree with me about what is the most rewarding aspect of our jobs: the contact we have with students. I love working in a university, and working closely with students is the one thing I would never give up. I like teaching, and I never want to stop be involved in that. All along, even when faced with the challenges of being an administrator, I’ve always looked forward to my time in the classroom. That’s the best part of my day. The most rewarding part of teaching is witnessing the final product, to see a young man or a young woman graduating, going out into the world and becoming successful in life. You feel great when years later you run into one of those students and hear their success stories. Nothing beats that.

Nakad: What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your position?

Langoni: A university community contains a wide range of ideologies. People think differently, so it’s a challenge to take everyone’s ideas and find the common ground where everybody can be able to work together to achieve our goals. Plus, it’s vital to make everybody feel that they have contributed something important towards achieving our goals. Bringing together that wide range of visions represents my greatest challenge. A university is loaded with intelligent, creative people. Sometimes, though, their ideas will clash. Still, the energy they bring to this enterprise is wonderful. My job is to try to keep FSU-Panama working in harmony.

Nakad: Where do you see FSU-Panama ten years from now?

Langoni: This is something that we, as a community, been talking about for the last five years: where we would like to be in ten years. I would like FSU-Panama to be the best American university in Latin America. We’re well on our way toward achieving that goal. Only a handful of U.S. institutions of higher education are involved on this side of the continent, and I believe we’re well ahead of the pack. In the short run I believe FSU-Panama needs to offer more majors. That should attract more students. Ultimately, I foresee a student population of about two thousand. That number would be ideal for the optimal operation of our facilities. That will happen some day, I’m sure. Perhaps even sooner than we expect. We certainly have a potential to reach that goal. At the rate we’re going, I believe that we are well on our way toward fulfilling our dream of becoming a great success story.