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November 6, 1996
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ision
Bollinger picked for
leadership, passion
By Jeff Eldridge
Daily Staff Reporter
Nine public forums, one unanticipated lawsuit and three hours of
open deliberation all came down to one name: Lee Bollinger.
The Dartmouth College provost was approved unanimously by the
Board of Regents just before noon yesterday. He was selected president
after each of the regents assessed the candidates and events of the
search process.
"I liked especially his understanding of the intellectual and personal
value that underlies leadership," Regent Philip Power (D-Ann Arbor)
said of Bollinger.
Bollinger said in an interview that he is excited about the offer.
"I am deeply academic at heart," Bollinger said. "I love these insti-
tutions - that is, institutions of higher education. And I really enjoy
working with people to make them better."
Two regents were initially reticent about hiring Bollinger: Regents
Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) and Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann
Arbor) voted for Bollinger only after the board's other six members
expressed a strong desire for a Bollinger presidency.
Baker was especially hesitant to back the University's former Law
School dean. He first expressed support for the possible presidency of
another nominee - University of Illinois Provost Larry Faulkner.
Baker cited Faulkner's "knowledge of Midwestern values and their cul-
ture in the University setting," among other reasons, when announcing
his endorsement of Faulkner.
Later in the meeting, Baker sharply assessed Bollinger's stance on
speech codes, his testimony against failed Supreme Court nominee
Robert Bork and a perceived "campaign" to flood the regents with tes-
timonials on his own behalf.
Newman, who often articulates
S ltough, strong opinions, was unchar-
acteristically quiet yesterday when
j n my opinion asked her thoughts on the candidates.
say. ,I "I am awed, in a sense, by the mag-
nitude of this responsibility,"
Newman said. "I am comfortable
candidate for the with the four. I lean toward one in
particular," she said, without identi-
pre idenCy of thais fying her preference.
Newman said she would have
university," liked to meet the candidates for a
second time to ask them more ques-
- Regent Laurence Deitch tions. On the first two rounds of
(D-Bloomfield Hills) regents' statements, she declined to
endorse any of the four.
Though Baker and Newman were
hesitant, the other six regents strongly supported Bollinger. Board
members expressed admiration for the three unchosen candidates -
Faulkner, Berkeley Provost and Vice Chancellor Carol Christ and
University of Pennyslvania Provost Stanley Chodorow - but it was
clear early in the meeting that many of the regents would support
Bollinger.
"Lee Bollinger is, in my opinion, an extraordinary candidate for the
presidency of this university" said Regent Laurence Deitch (D-
Bloomfield Hills). "If we do not hire him, he will eventually be the
president of Berkeley or Dartmouth or Harvard.... He is an intellectu-
al of enormous breadth."
Regent Daniel Horning (R-Grand Haven), who said frequently that
he expects the next president to possess a passion for the job, became
quite passionate himself when declaring his support of Bollinger.
Horning described waking at 4 a.m. to drive across the state to come
to Ann Arbor and interview candidates, and the emotional toll the work
has taken. "They're all exceptional," Horning said of the four nominees.
"They're stellar, they're wonderful."
Horning said he has "no doubt ... that Lee Bollinger is our man."
Noting Bollinger's declaration of fondness of the University, Horning
joked that "he ought to come here and work for free."
Regent Nellie Varner (D-Detroit) relayed a long list of superlatives to
describe Bollinger, offering words like "brilliant," "inspiring," "vision-
ary" and "exciting."
"He is exceptionally well qualified and ... prepared to provide the
exceptional leadership the University needs at this point in its history,"
Varner said.
Power said he focused his assessment of the candidates on four cri-
teria: the ability to "heal" the University community, assemble a strong
management team, address the challenges of the Medical Center, and
establish a collective vision for the University.
Power said Bollinger "met very nearly exactly" his list of criteria.
"Most of all, I admired his intellectual and personal values," Power
said. "My evaluation of the four candidates is not that one is good and
three are not so good. My evaluation is that. Provost Bollinger comes
See BOLLINGER, Page 4B Dartmou
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BRIAN S. HUGHES/The Dartmouth
uth Provost Lee Bollinger sits in his office and talks to reporters from The Dartmouth after hearing about his selection as the next University president.
From N.H. to Michigan, it's 'extraordinary
What's Next
Now that the UniversityBoard of
Regents has selected the 12th
University president, there are still
some loose ends to tie up.
U The regents and Dartmouth
Provost Lee Bollinger still need to
hammer out the details of a con-
tract, a process that could begin as
early as the end of this week.
Yesterday afternoon, Dartmouth College
Provost Lee Bollinger spoke with Daily Staff
Reporter Jeff Eldridge about the University
Board of Regents'decision to ask him to serve as
the 12th niversity nresident.
Bollinger 'profoundly honored'
position, through this position. I have many
friends here, colleagues I think the world of-
Students have been wonderful to teach and won-
derful to work with, and the same is true of the
board of trustees, so I have formed attachments .