Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom
Vol. IC, No. 1
Ann Arbor, Michigan-
Thursday, September 8, 1988
Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily
Dude,
a
new
prez
Provost
takes
over top
'U' post
BY RYAN TUTAK
James Duderstadt became the
11th University president Sept. 1,
and he has set a bold agenda - to
build the campus into a multicultural
model for other universities, and the
country, to follow.
Some faculty and students praise
Duderstadt's vision, but others say
it's a slick campaign to please the
public. Skeptics doubt the ambitious
engineer is sensitive to the social is-
sues underlying the march toward
"diversity" - that is, can he meet a
challenge where ingenuity and care-
ful calculation alone don't always
produce results?
The answer will emerge soon, as
Duderstadt admittedly moves fast.
"I'm results-oriented," he said. "I
like to move rapidly, but also to
learn and listen what people are
concerned about. Because without
consensus, we can't move ahead."
AND HIS RISE through the
University ranks is testimony. After
coming here as a professor of nu-
clear engineering in 1969, he be-
came dean of the engineering col-
lege in 1981 and provost and vice
president for academic affairs in
1986.
But even administrators who laud
Duderstadt fear he may move too
fast. "His strategic planning and in-
tentions to deeply understand the
University in a focused way to
achieve goals is working well," Mu-
sic School Dean Paul Boylan said.
"But he's a hard-charging guy, and I
hope we can keep up with him."
And Duderstadt's drive for
success has had dehumanizing
effects. He has alienated community
members with his stated preference
to deal with people through
computer messages, rather than
personal meetings. But he has
vowed to bridge communication
gaps and has met with leaders of the
Michigan Student Assembly and the
Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs over the summer.
But MSA External Relations Co-
mmittee Chair Zach Kittrie, an LSA
junior, said he doubts Duderstadt's
intentions, pointing out that the
New University President James Duderstadt - previously provost and vice president for academic affairs
as well as engineering dean - addresses the University's Board of Regents.
But
was he
the top
choice?
BY RYAN TUTAK
The University's Board of Re-
gents settled on James Duderstadt as
the University's 11th president this
summer - but only after the four
other finalists were out of the pic-
ture.
After sifting through almost 300
names, the regents appointed Duder-
stadt, then University provost and
vice president for academic affairs, to
the post in a special meeting June
10.
They announced the meeting June
9, three days after the top candidate,
New York Public Library President
Vartan Gregorian, pulled out. Three
sources close to Gregorian said he
rejected a private offer June 6 from
the regents to take the post.
"If he wanted the job, he could
have had it," said one, adding that
former U.S. President Gerald Ford
- a University alumnus - and
Gov. James Blanchard called Grego-
rian asking him to come to the Uni-
versity.
Gregorian would not comment,
but the regents denied their alleged
offer to him.
Walter Massey, the only Black
finalist and University of Chicago's
vice president for research, was sec-
ond in line.eThe exact date of his
withdrawal is unknown, but after the
search he told The Maroon, Chi
cago's student newspaper, that he
had no plans to leave Chicago to
come to Ann Albor.
And it's not clear the regents
wanted Massey. Two members of
presidential search committees said
Massey's background was too nar-
row for the University's large liberal
arts program.
But both Gregorian and Massey
may have had good reasons to hold
out. At the time of the University's
search, they were the top two candi-
dates for the presidency of Brown
University.. Gregorian accepted the
Brown post Aug. 31.
State University of New York at
Buffalo President Steven Sample,
one of the remaining three finalists,
See Duderstadt, Page 13
provost cancelled several scheduled
meetings with the assembly last
year.
WHEN THE University's Board
of Regents publicly interviewed
Duderstadt for the post in June, he
said the success of the University
would depend on
its ability to inte-
grate the broadest
spectrum of ideas.
"Diversity and jthdate:i2
excellence are in- PMone 764-9'
timately linked in prior posltc
our future," he 1986-present. 1w
said. "Our capacity 1981-1986.
to achieve quality Education: 1
in teaching, re- Engineering, 19(
search, and servicel gn rgS.c
will be determinedE196g.
by our diversity. published: E
We must propel,
the University into
a position of leadership in this area."
To that end, Duderstadt, while
provost and vice president for aca-
demic affairs, began a minority re-
cruitment program which has re-
sulted in the hiring of 16 Black fac-
ulty this summer.
"I've been very impressed with
what he's done with diversity and
minority hiring," said Sociology
Prof. Jeffrey Paige. "His commit-
ment is a genuine one. Although
without a lot of pressure, it is doubt-
ful the University would have done
it."
BUT PAIGE said Duderstadt
must seek a balance in the strength
of the various academic fields as
money into the social sciences, then
he can't begin to- talk about diver-
sity."
Others said Duderstadt's "diver-
sity" commitment is a ploy to ap-
pease pressure to address racism,
while creating a slogan by which he
can be remembered.
"People in the
engineering col-
lege don't pay the
least bit of atten-
tion to it," said one
ad Affairs,.engineering prof.,
veering[)can, who requested an-
onymity. "They
igcticalview it as part of
Ph..the low-key pro-
f ~chno.1,y, paganda that the
University is di-
recting at the pub-
lic."
"Duderstadt expresses himself
with jargon, using catch phrases like
'excellence' and 'diversity,' to ex-
press an idea that gives the impres-
sion of promoting something new
and meaningful."
MECHANICAL Engineering
Prof. Maria Comninou said the di-
versity commitment will remain su-
perficial unless Duderstadt backs it
See Agenda, Page 13
well as in the cultural complexion of
the campus, adding that hiring in the
social sciences has suffered recently,
while fields such as computer sci-
ence and engineering continue to
grow rapidly. '
"You need to be competitive in
salaries with other institutions and
pay to keep good faculty," he said.
"That's the nuts and bolts of the
University. If he's not willing to put
Tuition hike may
drop for in-staters
BY RYAN TUTAK
A proposed doubling of registration fees for all stu-
dents will dilute the impact of a University plan to cut
an initial 12 percent in-state tuition hike five percent-
age points - resulting in an overall reduction of only
two percent.
At the University's Board of Regents' monthly
meeting next week, Interim University Provost Robert
Holbrook will propose to reset in-state tuition increases
at 7.2 percent for first-year students and sophomores,
except engineers, and at 7.5 percent for upper-level
students. Lower division engineering students would
see a 7.3 percent increase.
THE UNIVERSITY will concurrently offset losses
from the tuition rollback by doubling the $30
registration fee to $60 for all students, inching up
overall costs for out-of-state students to 12.3 percent.
"What we will realize in revenue this year is the
same amount," University Director of Communications
Keith Molin said.
The regents voted 5-3 at their July meeting to raise
undergraduate tuition 12 percent for the 1988-9 fiscal
year, marking a 25 percent increase over the last three
years.
"This year we'll accommodate the governor's wishes,"
he said. "But you can't keep doing that again and
again. Sooner or later, you'll reach a saturation point."
Molin said programs dependent upon tuition as a
major source of revenue are most likely to be trimmed.
"Financial aid will be one of the programs that will be
jeopardized because that's where most of the new
money goes."
THE REVISED tuition and registration fees mean
lower-division in-staters would pay an extra $126 each
term, while upper-division students would face an
additional $141. Out-of-staters would see an additional
$1,230 per semester.
The increases for graduate students are more severe.
MBA candidates will see a 13.6 percent tuition in-
crease, while graduate pharmacy students face an
additional 15.2 percent.
Democratic regents said low state appropriations
forced them to approve the 12 percent increase- the
University's second-largest source of funding. But Re-
publicans voted against the increase, demanding
across-the-board cuts of all University programs.
"A 12 percent increase will not sit well with the
public." said Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arhnr) whn
. Mm"