IVORY TOWERS: After year of turmoil, Yale continues president search

As President Bill Clinton was sworn in as President last week, a search committee at Yale University was continuing to narrow down its choices for Yale's highest office. Former Yale President Benno Schmidt, Jr. resigned suddenly last May, just a few months after Yale Provost Frank Turner and College Dean Donald Kagan had also stepped down from their positions at Yale. The search committee of four faculty members and and eight Yale trustees is in the process of finding a replacement for Schmidt. Schmidt left Yale to become president and chief executive of the Edison Project, a group that plans to create a chain of private, profit-making schools. Upon leaving, he said that he wants to create 100 such schools by 1996 and create a "blueprint for a new American school." Howard Lamar, who was appointed acting president, is not being considered as a possible successor. The search began in June of last year when 371 names were submitted. The committee has narrowed this down to a short list of 15 to 20 candidates. Several of these candidates, however, are reportedly under consideration by Columbia University, which is also searching for a new president. Indiana University President Thomas Ehrlich, who was a finalist in the 1977 Yale presidential search and the University's provost, is being considered for both positions, according to the Yale Daily News. A spokesperson for Ehrlich, however, said that the former provost was not interested in either job. "President Ehrlich had said that he is not interested in being president of any university other than Indiana University," said Jim Green, assistant vice president for Indiana University relations. Another potential candidate, former Wellesley College President Nannerl Keohane, was taken out of the running in December, when Duke University hired her as its president. If history is any guide, the next Yale president may come from the top levels of the Yale administration. Two of the last six presidents were provosts before they were tapped for the top job. Judith Rodin, the present Yale provost, is the most likely prospect, according to The Yale Daily News. In 1990, Rodin withdrew her name from consideration for the Radcliffe College presidency. Yale has never appointed a woman president, however, and has traditionally not appointed non-alumni, such as Rodin. The last non-alumnus to be president was selected in the 1920's. Despite the uncertainty of the search's outcome, many Yale students seem unaffected by the turmoil at the top. "There's not a lot of publicity about this," Yale senior Suchi Gururha said. "It really doesn't affect me at all. We really don't know who's going to be the next president." Freshman Andrea DeFlorio said she felt equally uninformed. "We're really pretty powerless to do anything," she said. "I'm not sure the university really wants our input on this." The Yale search committee is meeting frequently to discuss prospects and review interviews of possible presidents. According to the timetable published by the search committee, they hope to appoint a president in March after final interviews this month. The Yale Daily News and the Associated Press contributed to this article.