Corporation Meets With Students

The Corporation is uninterested in increased student input into the Presidental selection process, according to students who met with the University's highest governing body yesterday.

A delegation of eight Undergraduate Council representatives and two house committee chairs lunched for approximately two hours with President Derek C. Bok and four members of the Corporation in what has become an annual event.

The meeting was designed to provide Corporation members with student viewpoints, delegation members said. At the council's meeting with the Corporation last year, undergraduates said they were pleased with the body's willingness to consider their ideas. But council representatives said the Corporation this year was unreceptive to having greater student input into the search process.

"We presented different avenues that we thought could help the search committee," said former council residential chair Daniel H. Tabak '92. "They responded by telling us that they've already made those decisions without us, they don't really need our help."

Delegation members said they suggested the Corporation allow students to interview the finalists for the post. "We said, 'Why not just bring in students to meet with the last few people,'" said former council chair Evan B. Rauch '91.

But Rauch said Corporation members rejected the suggestion.

"They said these people are too distinguished, they wouldn't come to the interview," he said.

"My reaction to this is that when UHS appointed a new director, students and staff interviewed the five finalists. These are relatively distinguished doctors," Rauch said.

Corporation members also said increased student input would make the search process less efficient, delegation members said.

"If they let students [interview candidates], they have to let alumni and faculty. There are a number of different groups that now want equal input," Tabak said.

Tabak said University Treasurer D. Ronald Daniel suggested that students would be unable to keep the search process confidential.

Corporation members speculated that a decision will probably be reached in mid-March, but may be achieved earlier, Tabak said.

And the body, which makes up most of the search committee, said there are no surprise candidates in the running. "Chances are there's not going to suddenly be a mystery candidate," Rauch said.

Students said Corporation members revealed little about the details of the Presidential search.

"They withheld a lot of stuff from us," said council chair Robert C. Rhew '92.

"They didn't want to tell us anything, is the impression I got," Tabak agreed. "They didn't seem too interested in discussing with us what criteria they're using, or how students could help in the procedure, or who they're going to choose, for that matter."

Tabak said the undergraduate delegation offered criteria for their ideal president. They called for "a president who would be a full-time president and would be willing to spend time working with students and faculty and not on the board of directors of a corporation."

"We think that would be a bad omen for how they would treat the presidency," Tabak said.

Tabak said the students commended President Derek C. Bok for being "highly interested in working with students and faculty and adminisration and staff rather than on non-university-related ventures."

In contrast, Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein '61, who is reportedly a leading candidate for the post, currently divides his time between his professorial duties at Harvard and numerous responsibilities as an economic advisor in Washington.

The undergraduate delegation also suggested that an ideal candidate would be willing to work with undergraduates.

"We said we didn't want anybody who turned down an appointment to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, or had turned down an appointment to work with undergraduates," Tabak said. "That doesn't bode well for working with other undergraduates in the future," Tabak said.

Houghton Professor of Chemistry Jeremy R. Knowles, who was also a presidential candidate, turned down a Faculty of Arts and Sciences appointment several years ago because he didn't want to have to teach undergraduates.

The delegation's criteria are similar to those offered by a council delegation in November.

But Tabak said the Corporation did not seem to take these suggestions very seriously.

"They didn't seem particularly interested in getting more student input at this particular meeting," Tabak said.

In addition to the search process, students brought up such issues as minority and women faculty hiring, the tenure process and the Core curriculum, according to Rhew. But Rauch said the Corporation members were equally unreceptive to student input over these concerns.