Page Six
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursday, Septernbe'r 9, 1976 1
Thus._ .S_7 mbe 9 97
*. I r ~
I
Policy
at the
U'-
Makers
and
shaKe rs
Fleming and the boys at helm
While it is in some circles tantamount to being accused of he will probably walk away from the job because he has had
child molesting, Robben Fleming makes no bones about his self- enough, not because it became too hot to handle.
image as a "classical liberal." Six vice presidents collaborate with Fleming and the Board
"The liberal image among some people is a bad image," of Regents in the formulation of University policy. Each of 'the
Fleming, 58, said not long ago, "They say, 'Well, liberals don't president's men' commands an extensive chunk of a multi-
really believe in anything, that they always find some accommo- million dollar bureaucracy: academic affairs, student services,
dation with the system, and you never really progress that way.' finance, research, state relations, and University relations and
That might be true in that you don't make enormous break- development.
throughs. Well, show me where some of our highly activist The powers delegated to them by the Board of Regents gives
friends who see themselves as revolutionaries have made any each of them considerable control of their administrative king-
progress." doms, control which they in turn can delegate to a network of
FOR BETTER or for worse, and there are fairly heated assistant and associate vice presidents, and seemingly enough
opinions either way, Robben Fleming has served as University committees to fill Michigan Stadium. It is their recommendations,
president since 1968, through nearly nine turbulent, and some- coupled with Fleming's approval, that almost always determine
times violent years. Reviled on different occasions by both ends Regental action on important policy questions.
of the political spectrum, he has managed to weather the rage of
the anti-war 60's as well as the mounting deficits of the budget WHEN FRANK RHODES was appointed vice president for
cutback 70's-problems that have long since sent scores of academic affairs in July 1974, there was pleasant anticipation
administrators packing. that a progressive, far-sighted administrator could use the
As if this were not enough, ::::a.:.........................s................University's top academic
consider the following: . : ,, *. " :: > policy-making post to effect
-the 1970 Black Action Move- I don t get very excited because people some long-needed changes. But
ment Strike (BAM) that par- criticize, or because there are tumultuous the 49-year-old British born
alyzed the University for nearly Issues going on. I long ago learned that geologist's reputation was ser-
two weeks as black student iously tainted by the Cobb af-
leaders sought and received an people feel compelled to say things they fair. It was Rhodes who origin-
administration pledge for ten don't really mean, and that you shouldn't ally extended an insulting, two-
per cent black enrollment by - year offer to Cobb. And it was
the fall of 1973, a pledge still take it personally.-Robben Fleming Rhodes whose ambiguous letter
unfulfilled; -'-s...*.*s*.*.*.s.*.*.*..*.*.*...*.*.*.. . . . . . . . . . . .s.. . . . to Zoology Department Chair-
-a winter, 1975 strike of the Graduate Employes Organiza- man Carl Gans requesting tenure for Cobb (tenure that was
tion (GEO) that disrupted classes for almost a month before the quickly denied), led to the termination of negotiations with the
teaching assistants won a settlement with provisions for wage dean of Connecticut College. Rhodes, normally known for his
increases, agency shop, and a partial tuition waiver. It's not over gracious manners, was stung by the Affirmative Action Com-
y mittee's conclusion that he had been less than profesisonal in his
yet, because GEO s contract expired at the end of last month, and Irelations with Cobb.
they have set their strike deadline for October 5;
The manv
-the incredibly damaging Cobb affair in early 1975, when lives of studen
Fleming and Vice President for Academic Affairs Frank Rhodes Johnson. The
web of basic
apparently subverted the Regents' appointment of Jewel Cobb, career plannin
a black woman educator, to the Literary College (LSA) dean- JOHNSON
ship. Both Fleming and Rhodes were taken to task by a subse- spent several
quent investigation for their lack of good faith in negotiating W. J. Maxey
with Cobb. The senior
with perhapsn
YET, EACH time the smoke lifted, Fleming was still there, anyone may k
with the same steely, unflappable reserve, and a hidebound un-;Wilbur Pierpon
willingness to yield to what he thought to be unreasonable de- has had gener
mands. He attributes much of his resiliency to a background in ,ments, proper
labor law and mediation. THE OTH
an impact on
with possibly the most to say about the day-to-day
nts is Vice President for Student Services Henry
only black executive officer, he administrates a
services that include housing, health service, and
g and placement.
, 39, is a psychiatric social worker by training, who
years as a social welfare administrator at the
Boys Training School in nearby Whitmore Lake.
University officer in terms of service, and the one
more control over the institution's pursestring than
now, is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
nt. For 25 years, the dour, humorless Pierpont, 62,
ral executive power over the University's invest-
ties, and all aspects of its finances. t..-
ER three vice presidents have somewhat less. of
student life than the above three. but their func-
ninac- Wtt
"I don't get very excited because people criticize, or because tions are no less important. Vice President for State
there are tumultuous issues going on. Because of my given past Richard Kennedy has the sometimes unenviable task o
history," he said, "I've seen that all my life. I long ago learned together the University's frequently frayed relations
that people feel compelled to say things they don't really mean,; legislators in Lansing. They picked the right guy, too
is far and away the most affable and easy-going of the
:;"' f and that you shouldn't take it personally." ices
f - Fleming said he would "evaluate" his future at the end of Vice President for Research Charles Overberger,
ten years in office. But there is little doubt that he will move molecular chemist, supervises all research activity, a
on, for he is on record as saying no president should serve as a liason between the University and private found
longer than a decade. When Fleming finally does step down, the federal government in trying to attract grants.
there are more than a few who will enthusiastically welcome his Michael Radock, a former journalism profesor,
title of Vice President for University Relations and De
Fleming departure, and presumably, he won't take it personally. He heads up an intricate system of information
BUT THE LAST laugh will almost certainly be Fleming's, as strive to promote the University in a favorable light.
Regets:Powers or patsie,,
Relations
f patching
with state
. Kennedy
executive
Daliv Photo by STEVE KAGAN
Rhodes
Shortly after his appointment to
the Board of Regents last spring,
David Laro pondered a frequently
leveled charge that the eight-mem-
ber panel is little more than a rub-
berstamp for the wishes of Univer-
sity President Robben Fleming and
the other executive;officers.
"Yes, it's true. We come up here
once a month and it appears to be
rubberstamping," said Laro. "But
I don't think I'm here to rubber-
stamp."
YET TO MANY students, the Re-
gents remain a curiously aloof, face-
less assemblage, making their month-
ly pilgrimages to town from various
corners of the state (only two live in
Ann Arbor) for two days of carefully
orchestrated public meetings, recep-
tions, and briefings. Much of their
contact with the mainstream of stu-
dent life here comes in the form of
the monthly "public comments" ses-
sion, an occasional tour of a Univer-
sity facility, or, if they are feeing
particularly intrepid, a dormitory
meal.
The Board members, currently
numbering six Democrats and two
Republicans, run in statewide elec-
tions for eight-year terms, with the
contests generally swayed by the
overall strength of the party ticket
and almost always characterized by
an anemic voter turnout. The Re-
gents are primarily successful law-
yers and businesspeople, some of
immense personal wealth. They are
compensated for food, travel and
lodging expenses incurred during the
monthly meetings, with the Univer-
sity footing the bill.
IN A technical sense, the Regents
wield formidable power. They may
hire or fire as thev please, from the
P--id-t down to the greenest fac-
V-h-r. Thv can also deter-
necessarily, their powers are sub-
stantially dispersed throughout a
labyrinthine bureaucracy of vice
presidents, deans, search commit-
tees, and specifically charged com-
missions and fact finding groups.
They personally review only the most
important academic appointments,
and not without a heavy reliance on
the recommendations of Fleming
and Vice President for Academic
Affairs Frank Rhodes.
Party lines tend to dissolve within
the fortress - like Administration
Building. Only occasionally will the
Board make an important move
with something less than public unan-
imity: and the operative word here
is public. According to the Regental
Bylaws, only all "formal" Board
meetings shall be open to the public,
allowing much of the significant de-
bate to take place amid the infor-
mality of closed-door executive ses-
sions.
This angers many student leaders,
sufficiently so that as recently as
1973 members of several key campus
organizations filed a complaint in the
State Court of Appeals calling on the
Board to show cause why they
should meet in closed session. The
complaint was thrown out by the
court for a variety of reasons, some
simply procedural. But the feeling
persists that the Regents are syste-
matically excluding students from the
most powerful realm of Un
decision making.
BOARD MEMBERS regula
press their anguish and regre
announcing the inevitable
budget cutbacks or fee hikes
take great pains to emphasi
the decisions were made reli
and only after a painstaking
nation of all the options. Th
of the matter is that nobody
the Regents and the executiv
ers know exactly what optio
explored, or what system of r
tradeoffs may be employed
evaluating those options. T
gents will contend with appar
cerity that they do no b
with the administration in
lusive or conspiraorial mannf
recent events seems to lend c
to arguments that a little s
would help to disinfect doub
have been raised abou the R
ability to oversee the Univer
In January 1975, the Board
to name then-Connecticut
Dean Jewel Cobb, a black v
new dean of the Literary C
Rhodes offered a two-year c
(even though a five-year t
customary), and sent a st
ambiguous letter to Zoology1
ment Carl Gans asking abo
prospects of awarding Cobb
in hisdepartment, but never
it quite clear that she was t
gental choice for dean. The
was denied within 24 hours, a
gotiations collapsed, even
Cobb was reportedly willing
cept a non-tenured anvoir
somethine the administration
",inhparable"
LFADTNG WOMEN and n
members of the University co
itv were shocked and anwere
The'-n hlditi that neither
icr orRhneiia xx O'P gnrinifl
Pct-~d in c Anr nb her'nme d
a macro-
nd serves
!ainsad LSA Deans Frye proves tha~t
ations and n O e
holds the- I 1
vnice guys can finish first
.vices that
The time-honored baseball maxim not "You don't have to maintain the same bud-
withstanding, nice guys do manage to finish , get to maintain the same quality." He is a
first from time to time, and Literary Col- strong supporter of such academic alterna-
lege (LSA) Dean Billy Frye is a good case tives as the Pilot Program and the Residen-
in point. tial College, and would be extremely reluc-
The affable, unobtrusive zoology professor tant to see them crippled or wiped out a]-
was an associate dean of the college until together by budget cutbacks.
July 1974, when LSA Dean Frank Rhodes Frye must also attempt to fashion a
iversity was named vice-president for academic af- meaningful affirmative action progrgm
fairs. Frye soon found himself the affable, while the College has imposed a hiring
unobtrusive acting dean, and subsequently freeze, a task roughly analogous to cleaig
rly ex immersed in one of the most embittering the Augean stables with a toothbrts". H?
et whenn and embarrassing disputes in the Univer- said, however, that he would like to mk-
annual sity's administrative history. exceptions to the freeze "if an owtstaniina
ze They minority (faculty) candidate comes along."
'tz tat yTHE SEARCH for a permanent dean
ctantly erupted into the "Cobb affair" in early 1975 BVT FRYE STARTS to fizzle when the
exami- when the Board of Regents se-
e truth lected then - Connecticut Col-
except lege Dean Jewel Cobb, a black
e offc woman, to run the college. But
)ns are
olitical she was denied tenure by the
pticl wzoology department, Frye's
he Re- academic turf, following a
whirlwind 24-hour review. Cobb
e si insisted she would accept a non-
business tenured appointment, but the
a col- administration terminated ne-
er. But gotiations, amid angry accu-
redence
unlight sations that an "old boys net-
its that work" was perpetuating Frye's
deanship. Frye piloted the col-
segent lege as best he could during
vote this administrative tempest,
College quietly earning widespread re-.h
Colleg spect for his dedication and
College. fairness. Frye
The search procedure was
ontract started again from scratch and, mysterious- conversation turns to the subject of student
erm is ly, Cobb's name did not even appear on input into the College's decision-making pro-
:rangely the list of ten finalists. But Frye's did, and cess. Frye believes that students have no
Depart- on February 12, bolstered by overwhelming place on LSA's powerful executive commit-
cut the faculty and administration support, he was tee, which, among its other functions, re-
tenure, named LSA dean. Predictably, the 43-year- views recommendations for tenure.
making old Georgian is irritated by the suggestion "I'm not at all convinced that we should
heqRe- that his appointment was something of a expand student participation to that level,"
request fait accompli. h
and ne- fhe said. "I don't feel that students have yet
though "I simply see no basis for that kind of a had the kind of experience to qualify them
to ac- charge at all," Frye said in an interview for that kind of input."
ntment, shortly after his appointment. "It's just a
called circumstantial charge because I happened A retirig, quietly gracious man with a
to be in the picture both times." soft southern drawl and a knack for self-
deoreciation, Frye is aware of the non-de-
c mmn-FRYE DOES NOT promise to be a par- script figure he strikes. During the Febru-
d as it ticularly imaginative or visionary dean, but ary interview, he warned a photographer
he is apparently the administration's ideal
Fcom-e t hel the olleg tron's thea not to take his picture for fear that the lens
T int~r choice to helm the college through the latter oac
lenAhalf of the seventies, a time of constricting o i aeamgtcak
.;::..;...:.; ;:"::;;.: "::.:.:::.;::f:;.:::::;.