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Page 16 -The Michigan Daily, Thursday, September 10, 1987
Results of six point plan to
presented in fall report
(Continued from Page 1)
Education Professor Charles Moody implement a complete overhaul of
was named to the position in May the current programs concerning
and began active duty on June 1. minority recruitment and retention.
Moody said he does not plan to Instead, Moody hopes to improve on
existing strengths as well as develop
some new policies.
"I hope to create new variations
or new approaches to the same
theme. I want to try to develop some
novel, unique, innovative ways of
recruiting and tapping into minority
organizations. I will try to maximize
the resources we have at our
disposal," he said.
WITH the aid of Vice Provost
for Academic Affairs James
Duderstadt, Moody is currently
working on the establishment of an
advisory committee to his office.
The committee, which will consist
of representatives from various
minority groups and will provide
input to the office.
Moody stresses that attempts to
alleviate racism on campus is not a
one- man show. It is a problem that
requires the cooperation of the entire
University community. "More than
one person created the problem. It's
going to take more than one person
to solve it."
The rest of the initiatives are still
in the early stages of being
implemented and it is too early to
evaluate their progress, said Jacoby.
For example, the $35,000 dollars
which is to be appropriated to a
black student union is currently
being allocated, but that is the extent
of the development so far, said
Roselle Wilson, assistant to the vice
president of academic affairs.
BLOOM COUNTY.
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Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY
The University's newest Regent Phil Power (D-Ann Arbor) says he has a lot to learn about his new position.
Newesthregent prepares
44
Watch for it in
e irbigan 13 at-IV
for job on t
By ALAN PAUL
Philip Power, the newest member of the
University's Board of Regents, is hardly a stranger to
the University. He was appointed to the board in June
to replace his wife, Sarah Goddard Power, who
committed suicide in March. Power's father, Eugene,
served as a regent from 1956 to 1966.
Power, who was an executive editor of The
Michigan Daily in 1960, likes to refer to himself as a
"newsman." He currently owns Suburban Commun-
ications Inc., a suburban newspaper chain.
Sitting in his comfortable and casual Ann Arbor
office, Power seemed at ease and genuinely excited
about many of his ideas and the prospect of being
intimately involved with the University and carrying
on what is fast becoming a family tradition.
STILL, he does not yet feel ready to assert himself
on the board, nor to discuss in detail the racial tensions
on campus last semester and other events immediately
preceding his wife's suicide.
"My priority is to learn about the institution and to
learn about the priorities of the executive officers and
the board of regents," Power said. "I'm the junior
regent and it's presumptuous of me to force my agenda
on a very large institution and a very capable group of
people."
There seems to be little public doubt among the
regents that Power is a capable person, ready to begin
active contribution to the board.
"I've known Phil for many years," Thomas Roach
(D-Saline) said. "He's dedicated to the University as we
all knew he was. He's already shown that dedication
and energy. I'm very satisfied with the selection."
DESPITE the fact that both his father and wife
served on the board, Power had never attended a regents
meeting before June, his first as a member of the
board. His first impression is one of near awe.
"My first impression of the board is to be struck by.
the amount of time, energy, and commitment members
have to the University," Power said, leaning forward
and raising his voice. "They don't get paid. They don't
get any perks to speak of, they get a lot of criticism,
and in return for this not great compensation, they have
to read huge amounts of paperwork, participate in
interviews, and try to set policy.
"They really work hard. I think we really love the
place. It's inconceivable that someone would put that
much commitment into something they didn't really
care about," he said.
Entering what he thinks will be a "very complicated
and interesting year" for the University, Power believes
the most pressing issue facing the institution is the
selection of a new president. There has been a very
ie 'U' board
high faculty and executive turnover rate, and Power said
leadership is needed now more than ever. He believes
that University President Harold Shapiro, despite
charges of aloofness from students, will be very
difficult to replace.
"I DON'T think President Shapiro is low profile.
I think he's been accessible and I think he's been
available," Power said. "He is a very, very able, low
key man who has been one of the finest University
presidents in the country. No person is irreplaceable
but Harold is about as close to that as you can get."
Power thinks the University has made great strides
in the past 15 years, becoming a more renowned and
respected research institution, advancements which he
says must be dutifully maintained. Yet he is not as
confident that undergraduate education has improved in
the same fashion.
"I don't know about that," Power said after a long
pause. "That's certainly a subject that is concerning the
executive officers and I think:you'll notice that in the
budget. It's a much harder thing to gauge (than
research)."
Yet Power does believe that it is both proper and
realistic for undergraduates, though transitory in the
University community, to exert influence over
University policy.
"I think that the University is a community and .. .
students are the core of this endeavor and they do and
ought to have a great influence on the course and
values of the institution.
"NOW, any one student is here for a relatively
short period, and if you compare the ability of one
student to have an affect on the institution with a
faculty member who's here for 30 years, that's a very
different time of involvement. But if you look at the
student body as a whole, it is here continuously."
Remaining quite reserved about University issues,
Power stuck close to the basics, rarely venturing
beyond fairly pat answers. He declined to elaborate on
what qualities were important for a quality president
and said he has not yet developed a stance on the
proposed code of non academic conduct. However,.
when discussing national and state politics and issues,
Power opened up and the breadth of his intelligence and
creative thinking became apparent.
Power has been involved in state politics for most
of his adult life. In 1978, he ran for the Democratic
nomination to the United States Senate, losing to Carl
Levin. He has also been concerned with human
resources, serving on several governor's committees,
including the Michigan Job Training Coordinating
Council, which he now chairs.
See POWER, Page 17
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