LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 15, 2002 - 3A
Transitional period of interims common
Former president
to speak about
moral leadership
Former president of Costa Rica and
Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias will
come to the University Wednesday to
speak about "Moral Leadership in
Today's World."
Arias won the 1987 Nobel Peace
Prize for his work to facilitate Central
American peace and has continued his
work for world peace since he left the
presidency in 1990.
Arias will speak for the School of
Public Policy's annual Citigroup Lec-
ture, at 4 p.m. in the Business School's
Hale Auditorium at 701 Tappan St.
Mideast dialogue
focus of lecture
"Islam and the West: Clash or Dia-
logue of Civilizations?" is the topic of a
lecture by American University interna-
tional relations Prof. Akbar Ahmed. He
will speak at noon today in room 1636
of the School of Social Work Building,
at 1080 S. University Ave.
IIiFilm festival will
focus on human
rights issues
The International Human Rights
Watch International Film Festival, a
documentary series focusing on world-
wide human rights issues, continues
today and tomorrow in room 140 of
Lorch Hall at 611 Tappan St.
Today's film, "Nazareth 2000,"
begins at 8 p.m. Tomorrow the festival
will feature "Jung (War): In the Land
of the Mujaheddin" at 6 p.m.
Edmund White will
keynote Hopwood
award ceremony
The annual Hopwood Awards cere-
mony, which recognizes excellence in
writing by University students, will
feature Edmund White as its keynote
speaker. White, who attended the Uni-
versity, is an author and cultural critic
who often writes about gay culture.
The ceremony will be held tomor-
row at 3:30 in Hale Auditorium.
Author will speak
on historic photos
of Ann Arbor
Grace Shackman, author of "Ann
Arbor in the 19th Century: A Photo-
graphic History," will give a talk on
"The History of Ann Arbor" at 9:30
a.m. Thursday. All area women are
invited to the lecture, which is organ-
ized by the International Neighbors
women's group and will be held at the
Zion Lutheran Church's Piper Hall at
1501 W. Liberty St.
Architecture prof.
will speak about
performing arts
Princeton architecture Prof. Eliza-
beth Diller and her husband, Cooper
Union Prof. Ricardo Scofidio, will
speak today at 6 p.m. in the Art and
Architecture auditorium at 2000 Bonis-
teel Ave.
The couple have collaborated on
many projects, including exhibits
considering the connections between
the visual and performing arts and
architecture.
Cultural festival
features world
folk music, dance
The "Global Voices Performing Arts
and Cultural Festival" begins today and
ends Friday at the Washtenaw Commu-
nity College. The festival includes
dance, drama and music from around
the world as well as lectures.
French, Lebanese, Mexican, Korean,
Native American, gospel and American
folk music will be presented at various
times during the festival. The event
also includes a lecture by Ypsilanti
recording company owner, videos on
African and Middle Eastern culture, a
live recording session featuring a local
sound engineer and singing and danc-
ing performances by WCC students.
- Compiled by Daily StaffReporter
Jordan Schrader
By Kara Wenzel
Daily Staff Reporter
The announcement of LSA Dean Shirley
Neuman's departure last week is the latest in a
list of University higher-ups to leave their posi-
tions this academic year.
Two University administrators are following
former University President Lee Bollinger to
Columbia University, where Bollinger will
assume the top position July 1.
Neuman, who is to become provost of the
University of Toronto July 1, is the first dean to
leave following Bollinger's departure. Bollinger
appointed Neuman two years ago.
"Shirley Neuman left for a considerable pro-
motion," University of Michigan spokeswoman
Julie Peterson said. "She went from being a
dean to a provost at the top university in Cana-
da."
Peterson said the University of Michigan's
administrators are "prized and wel-respected,"
and it is not unusual for other universities to
consider University of Michigan executives for
jobs when there are holes in their leadership.
"The University is full of talented people
doing a great job," Peterson said.
So far, the University has not faced any obvi-
ous problems coping with a lack of leadership
considering the holes in its executive offices.
"Departures of these kinds and of this rate
are normal," said interim University President
B. Joseph White. "Senior management organi-
zation is to some extent a team, and when the
leader leaves some of them reconsider."
Bollinger assembled his own executive board
after he became president of the University.
"When Lee Bollinger came in, and over the
course of the year or so after, there were a lot of
changes in the top leadership," Peterson said.
"It doesn't surprise me there were a lot of
changes when he left."
The University Board of Regents does not
seem concerned about the abundance of interim
officers.
"I think whenever there's a change in leader-
ship at the top, we can expect changes," Regent
Olivia Maynard (D-Goodrich) said. "I don't
think at this point it's a problem, but I might at
some point."
Maynard said the same sort of shifting in
executive positions has happened in other inter-
im periods.
"When I first became a regent, there was an
interim president and a lot of changes occurred,"
she added. "It's definitely not unusual"
White said the first priority for the University
is the appointment of a new president. From
there, other vacancies can be filled.
"The regents understand the importance of
an orderly succession," White said. "They set
a goal of making a presidential appointment
by mid-late summer. I think with an appoint-
ment made on that schedule, all these depar-
tures are manageable. (After a president is
chosen) they probably expect six to 12 months
of recruiting and appointments of people to
these senior jobs. Until then interim appoint-
ments work fine."
Last month, University Chief Financial Offi-
cer Robert Kasdin accepted a top position at
Columbia under Bollinger. In February, Susan
Feagin, University vice president for develop-
ment, announced she will take a similar posi-
tion at Columbia.
Liz Barry, University deputy general counsel,
is leaving the general counsel's office to
become co-director of the Life Sciences Initia-
tive. Barry's appointment was made after Scott
Emr, a medical professor at the University of
California at San Diego, decided not to take the
co-directorship of the institute. Emr was
appointed under Bollinger's tenure and cited
Bollinger's departure as one reason why he will
not join the LSI. Executive Vice President for
Medical Affairs Gilbert Omenn announced in
December that he will resign his position this
summer to work more closely with faculty.
Additionally, the University has been without
a provost since last summer, when Nancy Can-
tor assumed the chancellorship of the Universi-
ty of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Students question absence
of 'U' leaders, departures
LAUREN BRAUN/daily
Former Secretary of State James Baker gestures to a Hale Auditorium audience
Friday during a conference focusing on ethics in business work.
Baker G overmm-ent
should not overreact
to Enrnscandal
By Louie Meizlish
DailyStafReporter ng
By Karen Schwartz
Daily StaffReporter
LSA junior Michael Patton won-
ders why he learns about another
member of the administration leaving
every time he picks up a newspaper.
"Every week I'm reading that
someone eise left," he said.
The departures of University Presi-
dent Lee Bollinger, Provost Nancy
Cantor, LSA Dean Shirley Neuman
and six other high-ranking University
officials have left many students ques-
tioning who is running the University
these days and the future direction of
the University's leadership.
The administrative exodus sur-
prised Engineering freshman Ashley
Kurz, who said she is confident the
University will hire qualified
replacements but also wondered what
events transpired to lead to so many
departures.
"It kind of made me wonder why
they're leaving - why everyone's
leaving," she said. "And I wonder, if
they were doing a good job here, why
we couldn't get them to stay - to do
whatever it takes to make them stay."
Dana Glassel, Michigan Student
Assembly vice president, said she rec-
ognizes the losses but is trying to look
past them to see the brighter side of
the situation.
"I think it's really unfortunate that
so many of the administrators, espe-
cially in the higher levels, are leaving
because it's not consistent leadership.
The visions that we have, it's hard to
continue them when we have such
abrupt changes," she said.
Glassel added that she hopes the
members of the new administration
will be receptive and open to stu-
dent concerns in addition to work-
ing with MSA.
"I'm hoping members of the new
administration will be consistent in
terms.of holding on to that vision,
pursuing it and following it through in
the years to come," she said. "We're
looking for really accessible adminis-
tration, those who really want to work
with students."
Other students said they were not as
concerned with administrators leaving
because they do not feel it directly
affects them.
"Other than Bollinger stepping
down and (interim University Presi-
dent B. Joseph) White taking his
place, I haven't really been following.
it," Engineering sophomore Andrew
Strobe said.
He added that as far as he knows
these changes do not seem to have a
large impact on his University expe-
rience.
"As far as what they do affects
what I'm here for, maybe there'll be
an extra program or a speaker but
what they do just doesn't seem to
have a big affect on me" Strobe said.
"I'm not saying that it's unimportant,
just that it doesn't affect me on a per-
sonal level."
LSA sophomore Kolby Wells said
he does not really pay attention to
administration news and did not
even know that administrators were
leaving.
He said while some students con-
sider it their responsibility to follow
University news, his focus and
responsibility is to go to class.
"As long as there's someone in
charge I think we'll be fine," he said.
"And as long as I'll still be able to go
to class I'll be happy."
The Enron Corp. scandal and
methods of preventing similar
occurrences took center stage at Fri-
day's business ethics conference
with former Secretary of State
James Baker at Hale Auditorium.
Baker said the scandal should not be
used as an excuse for overreaching
government-initiated reforms that
do more harm than good.
"I urge you to consider whether
you agree that the market is an ethi-
cal system and that further reforms
should be aimed in such a way as to
strengthen that ethical system, not
destroy it," he said.
Baker, secretary of state and later-
White House chief of staff under
Bush, secretary of the treasury
under President Ronald Reagan, and
undersecretary of commerce under
President Gerald Ford, addressed a
packed Business School audience
along with Business Prof. C.K. Pra-
halad and Internet Access Technolo-
gies, Inc. Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Robert Knowling.
"The proper response to Enron,"
Baker said, "is not to 'do some-
thing' but, like the doctor, 'do no
harm.'"
Baker said he did not want the
legislative response to Enron to be
similar to Congress' response to the
Watergate scandal in establishing
the Independent Counsel Law,
which provided for investigators
independent of the Justice Depart-
ment to look into allegations against
executive branch officials. By being
able to run seemingly unending
investigations with unlimited budg-
ets, he said, "these lone rangers
were not accountable to the checks
and balances of our system."
Baker, a native of Houston who
practiced law for 18 years before
entering politics by helping Bush in
an unsuccessful run for the U.S.
Senate, said he had several friends
at Enron and that "they didn't set
out one morning with the intention
of misleading anyone," but that their
ne proper
response to Enron
is not to 'do
something' but, like
the doctor, 'do no
harm."
- James Baker
Former Sec. of State
decisions could not be justified,
doing a "a lot of harm to a lot of
innocent people."
Nevertheless, Baker said, the
guilty parties "would and should be
punished."
Baker and fellow panelists
Knowling and Prahalad agreed the
Enron scandal had an overly detri-
mental effect on Americans' opin-
ions of business leaders and that
executives had a duty to always tell
the truth. But Baker and'Prahalad
disagreed somewhat as to the reme-
dies.
Prahalad, who is also the chair-
man and founder of the San Diego-
based technology firm PRAJA, Inc.,
said it would be better if the reforms
were overreaching than if they did
not go far enough.
"Overcorrections are the result of
not knowing what the correct bal-
ance is," he said. "If you do not
overcorrect, it's hard to know what
the proper response is."
Knowling, a Business alum, said
"the duty of management ... is to
create an environment of zero toler-
ance," which may mean going pub-
lic with bad news.
First-year Business graduate stu-
dent Sean Huston said he was
impressed with what the panel had
to say.
"It gave a high-level view of
ethics and the courage it takes to
stick with ethics," Huston said.
"Everyone I know in business has
examples of ethical dilemmas."
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS
"Nazareth 2000"; Spon-
sored by The Internation-
al Institute, Discussion
by Hany Abu-Assad, 8-
Talk by Akbar Ahmed,
Noon-2 p.m., 1636 SSWB,
International Institute
"Around the World in
191 Days"; Sponsored
by Pierpont Commons
the School of Music, 8
p.m., Hill Auditorium
Student Composition
Forum; Sponsored by the
School of Music, 8 p.m.,
Britton Recital Hall,
SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INFO,
info@umich.edu, or
www.umich.edu/-info -
S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK,
Call 24 hours a day,
seven days a week for an
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