The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 7, 1978-Page 6
Adm'nistrators:Min
Regents hold the final authority
ding the 'U's busines
By BRIAN BLANCHARD
Like any board of directors overseeing
a large interest, the University's
Regents regularly approve building
and razing, vote in new programs,
dissolve old ones and question-before
approving-an enormous * annual
budget. But unlike the boards of GM or,
Ford, the eight public officials sit atop
an organization which deals in ideas
and intellectual growth, where there is
no clear profit to maximize, save
prestige.
They come from Flint, Muskegon,
Detroit and across the city every month
to meet and discuss University policy.
The University foots the bill for their
two-day stay, putting them up in the
hide-away Ingalls House where Robert
Frost, Gerald Ford and other visitors of
note have hung their coats.
ASIDE FROM the power reserved for
the people in Lansing and Washington
who help out With the nearly $200
millidi annual University budget,
authority on campus begins and ends
with the Regents. When a Regent is
elected to the eight-year post in a state-
wide election, he or she has been granted
the power to hire, or fire personnel and.
to diminish, or revive, any program
that suits their collective taste.
Though their capacity for action is
great, the business of. running the
University is usually finished before the
Regents respond "yes" or "no" to a.
given issue. The administration
recommends personnel appointments,
programs and policies and unless the
Regents find a serious flaw in a plan it
will most likely pass, as the ad-
ministration suggests.
When they gather in the Ad-
ministration Building for Thursday af-
ternoon and Friday morning sessions,
the Regents are laden with bound agen-
das and loose papers which stand an in-
ch or two off their long, shiny table.
University President Robben Fleming
carefully directs the discussion in the
Regents Room with a close eye on his
watch.
FLEMING, OR one of the six Univer-
sity vice presidents, will typically offer a
brief introduction of the issue at hand
and present the major arguments for
and against its approval. In the large
majority of cases, the Regents'
questions, if they ask any at all, are
routine or rhetorical. The presence of a
proposal on the thick agenda virtually
assures its passage.
The University is currently in a time
of serious financial difficulty and the
Regents consider themselves its finan-
cial guardians. In the past year they
hiked dorm, tuition and University
Hospital rates and berated the state for
lack of support.
"It's not a demonstratable fact that
becoming a Regent is a good way to fur-
ther a career, but it is a title with
prestige-one which probably doesn't
hurt a lawyer or management con-
sultant whose wealth depends on con-
nections and acquaintances. Regent
Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) is curren-
tly making his second bid for a seat in
the U.S. Senate, while Regent Sarah
Power (D-Ann Arbor) is married to
Phillip Power who would like the same
job.
ALL ARE WITHIN ten years of their
average age, 44. The growing list of
acronyms on their resumes represent
crowded public lives: law associations,
See REGENTS, Page 8
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
University Regent Thomas Roach ponders a new proposal during a Regents meeting.
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS:
All the President's men
By KEN PARSIGIAN
Whenever tuition is hiked or buildings
demolished or a bold new research
project is undertaken at the University,
President Robben Fleming and the
Regents get most of the headlines and
the credit. But before any issue reaches
the big brass, it must pass through an
incredible maze of committees;
assistants, advisory boards and finally
sestrings. Also a newcomer-he
assumed the post in , January
1977-Brinkerhoff has had a tumultuous
year as a result of protests against
University investments in South Africa.
Brinkerhoff is responsible for all in-
vestments and is also ln charge of
University legal affairs and business
transactions.
-AS THE TITLE implies, Vice
The University is a state-supported
institution, which means it receives
much of its funding-over $100 million
per year-from the state government.
Vice +President for State Relations
Richard Kennedy is entrusted with the
job of preserving the University's
relationship with the legislature. He
pleads the University's case before the
heads of state government in hopes of
procuring the funds necessary to
operate the University and maintain its
lofty stature.
A university is often judged by the
quality of its research, and the Univer
sity has an outstanding reputation i
this area. The task of surveying th
University's research activity belongs
to Vice President for Research Charles
Overberger, who is a macromolecula
chemist by trade.
And finally, there is Vice Presiden
for University Relations and Develop
ment Michael Radock. Radock, a
former journalism professor, is ii
charge of a system of services designe
to inform the public about the Univer
sity and protect its good name.
A student coming to the University has a lot of
needs other than academic, food and shelter: We
try to assess these needs be they emotional, social,
spiritual or developmental and try to meet these
INSTRUMENTS * NEW & USED * EXPERT REPAIR * RESTORATIONS REPAIR
11
needs.
-Henry Johnson,
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
University President Robben Fleming contemplates a policy proposal
during a Regents meeting.
Life at the top
Fleming guides 'U'
Vice President for Student Services
By BRIAN BLANCHARD
He stretches out every third or
fourth word, pausing with the
confidence of one unaccustomed
to interruptions. "Faculty, like
students, in a big university don't
see a lot of the president and
therefore, don't know the
president very well." Then his
voice drops a bit, "Oh, they may
know something about you ...
University President Robben
Fleming, now in his tenth year as
head of the administration,
seems to work hard at slowing his
speech to get the point across.
While opening the ceremonious
1978 graduation exercises in front
of thousands of parents and
graduates in Crisler Arena,
Fleming, clad in academic for-
mal robes, spoke to the group as
though they were sitting in his
own living room. He told them it
was a pleasant day out, spent
several more minutes explaining
that the day was a break in the
weather, and then finished his
brief -talk before turning the,
podium over to the next speaker.
BUT THE CONGENIAL Flem-
ing has riot come to his current
position simply on the strength of
his observations about the
weather. In 1968, both Minnesota
and Michigan wanted Fleming to
leave Madison, where he was
Chancellor of the University of
Wisconsin, to run their univer-
sities. Michigan won. And now his
job is to administer time, money,
projects and other people's jobs.
Though he is often criticized for
his policy decisions, few question
Fleming's ability to administer.
Sitting in his office on the
second floor of the Ad-
ministration Building, the 61-
year-old Fleming responds easily
to questions about the University
and his influence on it.
"In the routine of operating, I
won't be much involved," says
the white-haired Fleming.
"However, when the questions
begin to get troublesome-for in-
stance, when you get into the
whole question, of how are we
going to put the budget together
or what should our policy be on
South Africa-I would play a very
key part in the final decision.
FLEMING WAS once a labor
arbitrator and still holds the title
of law professor; he has the calm
manner of the former and the
anecdotal speech habits of the
latter. Local spectators, report-
ers and photographers never
seem to bother Fleming. He
rarely raises his voice.
See LIFE, Page 8
one of the University's six vice
presidents.
The vice presidents-each with con-
trol over his own particular sector of
the massive University
bureaucracy-dissect each issue, with
the help of a network of administrative
assistants, long before the Regents ever
give their seal of approval. The vice
presidents then report their findings to
the Executive Committee-which con-
sists of Fleming and the six vice
presidents. Recommendations that
come out of this committee, with
Fleming's approval, form the basis for
most Regental decisions.
THE MAN PERHAPS most respon-
sible for the quality of a University
degree, is Vice President for Academic
Affairs Harold Shapiro. He has only
held the post for a year, but has been at
the University since 1963, and was
chairman of the economics department
from 1974-77.
Shapiro is in charge of all academic
programs at the University and the
deans of all the schools and colleges
report to him. In addition, he is chair-
man of the Budget Allocation Commit-
tee which determines the amount of
funding each University academic and
non-academic unit will receive.
Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer James Brinkerhoff holds the
most power over the University's pur-
President for Student Services Henry
Johnson has the strongest impact on
student life. Trained as a psychiatric
social worker, Johnson says his job is
to, "administer the units of the Univer-
sity that are most related to the studen-
ts' developmental needs. A student
coming to the University has a lot of
needs other than academic, food and
shelter.We try to assess those needs, be
they emotional, social, spiritual or
developmental, and try to help students
meet these needs."
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