THE 12TH PRESIDENT
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 6, 1996 - 38
Faculty excited about Bollin er's return to
'U'
By David Rossman
Daily Staff Reporter
Under the University's 12th president, faculty
members are hoping to gain a louder voice and
more muscle in adminstrative decisions. And
many have said" Lee Bollinger - the regents'
ire - will lend a more sympathetic ear to fac-
y concerns.
A former dean of the University's Law School,
Bollinger will leave his current post as provost at
Dartmouth College to return to Ann Arbor in a
new light.
"I wish I were as happy about the outcome of
the U.S. presidential election -as I am about the
selection of Bollinger," said Law Prof. Terry
Sandalow, who worked under Bollinger during
his period as Law School dean. "I was not sur-
'sed. It seemed to me that he was such an out-
standing candidate that it would turn out the way
it did."
Prof. Thomas Dunn, chair of the Senate
Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said
Bollinger's experience at the University should
allow him a head start.
"I think (Bollinger) is very popular on the part
of the faculty. It was not a big surprise," Dunn said.
"Obviously he's not a stranger to us. He will be
able to hit the ground running."
The faculty is interested in exactly where
Bollinger will be running after settling down in his
office, said SACUA co-chair Louis D'Alecy, who
advocates increased faculty involvement in the
administration.
"Being a sort of semi-insider, (Bollinger) should
be sensitive to the compelling need for faculty
involvement in the governance of the University,"
D'Alecy said yesterday.
"As we have seen from previous presidencies,
excluding the faculty is not beneficial," he said.
Law Prof. Samuel Gross agreed that the regents
made a good choice, and said he looks forward to
working with Bollinger.
"(Bollinger) has deep values, and he's very good
at communicating with people," Gross said. "He's
someone who knows and loves Michigan."
Gross described Bollinger as "a (former) mem-
ber of the faculty who believes in the educational
mission of the University, and understands direct-
ly what faculty members do."
Many faculty members said the selection didn't
come as a great surprise, and Dunn credited the
choice to the strengths Bollinger will bring to the
University.
"His outside experience is very broad," he said.
In addition, Law Prof. Theodore St. Antoine
said Bollinger is a good fit with the University. St.
Antoine also worked with Bollinger when he was
dean of the Law School.
"(Bollinger has) a strong adherence to intellec-
tual and academic values. He is also very warm
and understanding with individuals," St. Antoine
said.
While faculty members anticipate Bollinger's
arrival, some expressed a desire for a president
with no previous ties to the University.
"Some faculty members would have preferred a
total outsider," Dunn said. "We felt that each of the
candidates were not only acceptable, but all were
excellent."
"I wish him all the best - it's going to be a chal-
lenge (for Bollinger), but he's got a long history,"
D'Alecy said.
t1 believe he
can hit the ground
running and move
quickly."
- Regent Nellie Varner
(D-Detroit)
Far left: Regent Shirley
McFee (R-Battle Creek) lis-
tens to her colleagues as
they deliberated over the
selection of the next
University president yester-
day morning.
Above: Regents Philip Power
(D-Ann Arbor) and Nellie
Varner (D-Detroit) embrace
after the board's selection.
Left: Presidential search
consultant Malcolm MacKay
of Russel Reynolds Inc.
speaks to the regents.
Photos by JOSH BIGGS
and WARREN ZINN/Daily
Bollinger
comes the closest
to corresponding
with the criteria."
- Regent Philip Power
(D-Ann Arbor)
Other 3 candidates face
futures away from 'U'
The Remaining 3
After days of interviews and town
meetings, three of the four candi-
dates will remain at their college
campus.
yJodi S. Cohen
Daily Staff Reporter
After conducting the most public search in the
University's 179-year history, the Board of
Regents chose the finalist with the most intimate
*rowledge of the University. And the candidate
iom the regents know the best.
While former Law School Dean Lee Bollinger
will return to Ann Arbor, the other three finalists
will stay at their home institutions.
"I wouldn't do it again," said Larry Faulkner,
vice chancellor and provost at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about participating
in the search.
University of Pennsylvania Provost Stanley
Chodorow said he "had a good time" during his day
campus interviews and public meetings and said
has no regrets about participating as a finalist.
"It is not something one is disappointed about.
It is not like getting into college," Chodorow said.
"It would have been an opportunity."
"It's over and by tomorrow afternoon, the sub-
ject will be in the past. It was in the past for me this
afternoon since I heard," Chodorow said about his
phone call from Law School Dean Jeffrey
Lehman, chair of the Presidential Search Advisory
Committee.
Chodorow, a scholar in medieval history, joked
t the town-hall style meeting reminded him of a
medieval doctoral exam where a Ph.D. candidate
"has to stand in a public place all day long and
answer all-comers in any subject."
"Next time I teach a course in medieval history,
Ill be able to speak from personal experience
about what it was like," Chodorow said.
The finalists' experiences left them with a new
knowledge of the University, but also with a desire
to continue leading back home.
"Knowledge of another first-rate research uni-
*rsity is always helpful in giving you perspective
on what you're doing yourself," Chodorow said
yesterday. "Throughout that day, I was asked to
formulate my views. Hearing myself do that on my
feet was also very useful."
Faulkner, however, said the public search
process, which precluded private meetings with
the regents or other key University players, left
"the candidates and the regents with much too lit-
tle opportunity to learn what they needed to learn."
A lawsuit brought by area newspapers as well as
the judge's subsequent ruling, barred all private
interaction between the regents and candidates.
The court ruling made one candidate - LSA
Dean Edie Goldenberg - withdraw her name as a
finalist just hours before the advisory committee
announced its recommendations.
"At the end, I felt I knew very little about the
University of Michigan," said Faulkner, who
added that his respect for Lehman was a primary
factor in his decision to remain as a finalist.
"My continued participation was in no small
part due to loyalty to him," Faulkner said.
Chodorow realized that although the process
had barriers, it was necessary.
"There are limitations in an open process,"
Chodorow said. "There isn't anything to do but go
through it the way it was set up."
But the Illinois provost said that the daylong
meetings with the finalists could not reveal enough
of the candidates' personalities or leadership styles.
"A president does a great deal of business in pri-
vate conversations," Faulkner said. "The regents
have no ability to judge that in this type of process."
Faulkner acknowledged that the University may
have difficulty attracting candidates in future pres-
idential searches if the same process is used. It was
successful this time because of its reputation as a
high-caliber institution, he said.
"I think the University of Michigan has suc-
cessfully concluded a process like this largely
because of what it is and not because of what the
process is," Faulkner said. .
Carol Christ, the third finalist and provost at the
University of California at Berkeley, congratulated
the regents on their choice.
"I very much enjoyed my visit to Michigan and
the chance to learn more about the University,"
Christ said in a written statement. "It's a great
institution."
Pols see next
pres. as effective
link to Lansig
By Chris Metinko and Jenni Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporters
Although they were surprised about how quickly a new
University president was chosen, local and state officials said
they were pleased with tIe regents' selection of Dartmouth
Provost Lee Bollinger.
"I'm surprised they came to a decision today," said Mayor
Ingrid Sheldon (R-Ann Arbor). "Bollinger was a respected
dean in the Law School, so he has the advantage of knowing
the students, faculty and the campus:"
The University Board of Regents selected Bollinger as the
12th University president just before noon yesterday.
"I think (he's) an excellent choice," said state Rep. Liz
Brater (D-Ann Arbor).
Several public officials remember Bollinger from his 21
years at the University prior to heading to New Hampshire.
"I knew him when he was dean of the Law School," said
state Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Ann Arbor). "He is a man
of patience, he's very bright, very cordial, a bright talented
man who is modest."
Cynthia Wilbanks, associate vice president for University
relations, said, "I'm pleased the regents could come together
to select Provost Bollinger."
"He was the dean of the Law School when I was gover-
nor," said former Democratic Gov. James Blanchard. "He
was very highly respected. I would congratulate Lee
Bollinger."
Funding issues have strained relations between the
regents and Lansing over the last year, Smith said. However,
many feel Bollinger has the necessary administration skills
to tackle this problem. "He expressed himself well and
that's an important part of relations in Lansing," Wilbanks
said.
"He strikes me as an individual who is not afraid to come
and explain a University decision to the Legislature, even if
it's not our business," Smith said. "The Legislature in the past
year has overstepped its authority in terms of its relationship
with the University.
"In Lansing the University of Michigan is perceived, to a
lesser degree in the last year, as a very arrogant institution.
Bollinger is a very modest man who can deal with these dif-
ferences," Smith said.
See OFFICIALS, Page 48
I believe that
Lee Bollinger is
the best leader
for the University
of Michigan."
-- Regent Rebecca McGowan
(D-Ann Arbor)
"Lee Bollinger
is our man ..,, it's
rigft for Michigan."f
- Regent Daniel Horning
(R-Grand Haven)
Photos by JOSH BIGGS
and WARREN ZINN/Daily