THE NEXT .: . a' a ' ? ' , .. t. ... _5&. PRESI .SPECI.A,,. S E 0- N ali ip4w~ Wednesday November 6, 1996 11 P 1111,11fillil ill RJR@I Pw Qu om i: i i 1 N 1 i i ;: i RM Op I !; - l ,,l---i " 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 or te > > . ------ aff - JL 'If W - x -- 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 .