Page 4-Sunday, November 6, 1977-The Michigan Doily The Michigan Daily--Sunday, Novernt Reporter's glimpse: How Fleming runs the '1 WHEN ROBBEN FLEMING laughs, his eyes close halfway under wire- rimmed glasses, his cheeks pull back like draperies and his lower jaw retreats to expose a healthy row of top teeth. Fleming tosses his chin up and throws out bellows of laughter. The sound comes from deep within him; it is sincere. It is also genuinely contageous. Robben Fleming laughs frequently during his long working days-putting others at ease and relieving some of the tedium of being president of a large University. After spending just the first few hours of a day with Fleming, one begins to acquire a sense .of lust what kind of tedium the president must surmount - issue after Bob Rosenbaum is a Daily Managing Editor. -issue, problem after problem, question after question, day after day. There is no bounce in Fleming's step as he trudges to his office on this particular mid- October day. There is no joy in his voice as he relates some of the things he will be doing through the onslaught of meetings, con- ferences and ceremonial duties. But somehow, between the moment he takes his first step ontg the ground floor stairwell of the Administration Building and the moment he pops out of the stairwell into his second floor suite, Robbed Fleming fills himself with an exuberance for his work which will be a constant aura throughout the day. On this day, Fleming arises at his S. University residence to have breakfast at 8:15. He sits in a corner of the huge kitchen, munching on some all-natural cereal in milk By Bob Rosenbaum and spooning out sections from a grapefruit half. The president has prepared the meal himself; there are no placemats or napkins on the small, formica table top. Sally Fleming is still sleeping upstairs, in the family's portion of the house, when her husband leaves for work. Walking over to the Union, Fleming buys. the New York Times, perusing its front page as he makes -his way toward the Ad- ministration Building on this gray morning. It is the only chance he will have to look .at the newspaper all day, save forany spare time he can grab at home past 9 p.m. Waiting on his desk when Fleming arrives at 8:50 are several unassuming piles of let- ters, memoranda and other correspondence. With only ten ntinutes before the day's first appointment, Fleming wastes no time in sitting down and thumbing through the material. The president scans a short biography of the man he is to meet with first, a vice- president of IBM who has been lecturing in the Business School. The executive also happens to be a 1952 University graduate. Shortly after 9 a.m., the guest arrives ac- companied by Harold Shapiro, University' vice-president for academic affairs. The three men sit in a loose circle in the middle of Fleming's office. "My son's in Bursley and he's eating it up alive!" the IBM executive proclaims. The president is almost at once at ease in the company of the two men. He slides down in his chair, almost slouching, hands in pockets. The conversation is light: mostly business and economics. There is an exchange about the Japanese computer industry and how it compares to IBM. What effect-is the com- petition having on U.S. industry, the president queries. And what about the. Common Market?. The meeting retains its informality with PHOTOS BY PETER SERLING one speaker interrupting another from time to time. Fleming crosses his right leg with his left and folds his hands in front of his face. How are executive decisions tnade at IBM anyway? President Fleming slouches again, this time with hands behind his head and elbows out. What's the effect of technological in- novations on IBM? There is a genuine in- terest shown in the conversation by all three men, yet the meeting carries a super- ficiality about it. "A good deal of my functions," Fleming - theorizes, "is reconciling the two sides, (students and administrators)." The president, once a labor mediator, has found a natural outlet for his conciliatory abilities. LEMING HAS MEETINGS like the one concerning student space every day- sometimes more than once every day. And for each session, he must be familiar with the facts, aware of all viewpoints, and poised to present new solutions to recurring problems. The president leaves his office at noon, -walking briskly to a luncheon meeting in the Bate's Room of the University Club. The occasion is a monthly get-together of the University's Development Steering committee, which oversees the collection of monetary contributions by Michigan Alum- ni. Beef stew, tossed salad, cold cuts, bread and some type of pineapple upside-down cake constitute lunch. A long and winding trip through a varied agenda follows. Money-raising efforts are described, along, with their results, and the results of years' past. Speeches are made, ideas are proposed and tallies are projected. Fleming sits through all of it, his apparent interest never waning. The president smiles and laughs and delivers off-the-cuff remarks. At 1:50, back in his office, Fleming calls his life "highly public." "It's a different life," he says, talking about the never- ending speech-making and constant travel. Just the week before, he'd been on a lecture trip to West Germany. The following week stint pointing out what we just pointed out now," the president directs. "They (the students) want some signs that we are taking them seriously." Reflecting on the meeting, Fleming em- phasizes, "We're dealing with 100-odd problems here at any one time. Each one is most important to each group." Students, he says, are expecting the University to correct their problems immediately, and do not appreciate the volume of problems nor lengthy rumination over issues by ad- ministrators. Yet, University officials must take the time to consider what effects any solution might have on the University in future years. N he would be in Washington. Ceremonial din- ners and luncheons frequently replace meals in the privacy of his home. But, the president says smiling, he is accustomed to most of the attention paid the importance of his job. "I don't get nervous anymore" ap- pearing in public, Fleming comments. "I do it so much." AT WORK: The president attends conferences big (ab( some time at home to jot some notes. AT LEISURE: President Fleming scans the morning newspaper at breakfast (above), and poses for a portrait with wife, Sally. "There are too many constituencies being served."- The president sets out for home at about 5:30, but his duties are not yet finished. By 7, Fleming and his wife, Sally, find themselves in the University's plush Inglis House as guests at a dinner reception for a visiting lecturer to the Center for Near' Eastern and North African Studies. The visitor is an authentic "Sir" from the Univesity of London. The Flemings sit among the tuxedos and gowns, hobnobbing at a furious pace with faculty members of endless variety. The socializing settles down as the formal multi- course dinner is brought out, but almost without-rest, the president participates in a healthy round of light speeches. T HAS B] ing set Adminis and jokes v might think I The Flem posing white darkness. 'I along with tI goodnight ar The follo; arise and b mirth-deflat nearly ten ye Breaking comes a nova laughter fro into is hous