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"