GRADUATION: ON THE RECORD: Provost Michael Aiken 1987-1993

In his six years as the University's chief academic officer, Provost Michael Aiken earned the respect of the faculty as well as a reputation for innovatice approaches to higher education. DP staff writers Scott Calvert, Stephanie Desmon and Stephen Glass recently sat down with Aiken to discuss his thoughts on the University. Aiken:Well, I don't think I could answer a single accomplishment or a single disappointment. I think there are a number of things that we tried to do over the last six years since I've been provost, some of which have been quite successful. There's been a lot of emphasis on undergraduate education and there are a whole series of things that have been put in place. There are still challenges there but I think we've done the freshman seminar program and the living/learning programs in the dormitories, the advising that some of the students have put into place. I think that those are great accomplishments. I think there has also the progress in terms of graduate education area in terms of support of graduate students, with the new Vice Provost of Graduate Education Janice Madden as well as some of the efforts that have been very successful this year to recruit outstanding minority students. In the research area, there were initiatives such as the new Institute for Environmental Studies that will probably be put in place over the summer and the fall. The things we've done in structural biology, the kinds of efforts that have been underway in the Medical School with gene therapy and really the revitalization of the basic sciences. And that has been a reflection of the commitment and the resources.... And I think the other area that I would want to mention would be the international programs here. The University's made a lot of accomplishments and had a lot of success. A lot of new studies have been brought up, there's been strengthening of areas that are currently underway. There have been a lot of exchange opportunities, a lot of faculty have gone overseas and a lot of faculty have come here. Obviously, those are some of the major accomplishments. In terms of some of the disappointments, or problems, I guess I feel somewhat saddened in leaving during a period in which some of the impact of the decline in revenues -- in particular the lack of state funding -- has had a maximal impact on the University. [Academic year] 1994 has been the most difficult budget year to put in place of any time that I've been at this University.... Also one of the other biggest disappointments is that I think Sheldon and I have both worked very hard to contribute to and encourage the creation of a climate where a diverse student body can come and get educated, but also get to know each other, develop a respect and mutual understanding. And I think I leave deeply disappointed that that has not made as much progress as I had hoped it would make. DP: Why do you think that is? How would you explain some of the recent tensions on campus? Aiken: Well, the tensions are not just on this campus, they're nationwide. I think that there have been some national events in the last two or three years -- in Los Angeles, for example -- which have contributed to the racial tensions. I think also that there has been, nationally, some backlash on the part of people from the majority community, and I think that is a factor. I think one of the problems here is that a lot of our students have come from relatively homogeneous circumstances in which they really have not had extensive experience -- whether they are majority students or minority students -- but they really haven't had experience with interracial circumstances. And therefore, one of the first times that people encounter such a community is when they come to Penn, and that's a very heavy burden to place on those four years without the expectation that there's going to be some kind of problem that can emerge. The outlooks and the tensions have been there throughout the time I have been here. All it takes are a few incidents that really crystallize the deep-seated fears and resentment and anxieties that members of diverse communities hold for it to really become very tense. And I think we've seen that this spring. So there have been many contributing factors to that, but as I said, I think it's a problem that the nation has not solved and when these problems occur in societies they usually find their ways to the university campuses first, whether it's in this arena or some other arena. But you will often find that major societal issues often find their way first of all to the college campuses. I would hope it means that the college campuses can also be the place where we resolve them and find solutions for them. DP: What will you do differently at Illinois about solving the problem? Aiken: Well I am not sure that I would do anything differently there than we have tried to do here. That campus has been very successful in bringing to the campus probably the most outstanding minority students in the state of Illinois.... DP: Do you have any idea then how you would try to solve those problems? Aiken: I think one needs to have structures in place for such things as student activities and making sure those bureaucracies are working with the students, as I think happened here very effectively. I think the orientation and the whole emphasis on freshman year to strengthen a sense of community among students is important, and we will spend a lot of time working on that. DP: As the University looks for a new provost, what kind of leadership qualities are most important to take Penn to the next level? Aiken: I think the most crucial characteristic of any provost is one that this individual needs to be an outstanding academic, someone who has the respect of the faculty because the provost is the person to whom the faculty looks for leadership. So there must be someone there who is outstanding in terms of his or her scholarly accomplishments. I think given the fiscal circumstances of the University at present -- and I think this is going to continue the rest of this decade -- one really needs someone who has very strong fiscal management skills. That is, someone who understands budgets, understands what the macroeconomic forces are that are impacting on the University and who will work with the deans and with the faculty in a way to make the adjustments that will be necessary in order to live in a declining state of revenue. What that means, also, is that there will some shrinkage in the programs at the University as well. I think this person also needs to be someone who is concerned with the issues at the University. If those issues are not addressed and some resolution found to these tensions, I think it will have a very deleterious effect on the learning environment and on the ability of the faculty to carry out their responsibilities. I think it also needs to be someone who has a very strong sense of what a great university is in terms of academic programming, and has a vision of exactly what is important within areas like undergraduate education, graduate education and research. And I would hope it would be someone who understands the importance of the international agenda that we put in place. DP: What have you learned from watching President Hackney in the last six years? Aiken: That's an interesting question. It really has been a learning experience for me....I think what I took away from that experience was to understand the great diversity of issues that arise in the University community, and to see the furor with which solutions were sought and the care with which solutions were found. At the same time trying to be just, trying to be responsible, trying to make certain above all that issues of integrity and issues of excellence were the values that were maximized. I think he has done that in an outstanding way, and I have learned a lot from watching Dr. Hackney.....I take away form the experience here confidence that I think I have a good grasp of what the major issues are and I don't think there will be a lot of surprises as far as the issues go. DP: How do you think changes in top leadership here will affect the University? Aiken: Anytime you have a change in leaership it means that the expectation of the people who worked with that leader will obviously change. And we have had changes in deans over the last five or six years. I think something like 10 or 11 of the deans turned over in the time that I was provost. In each of those circumstances, there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty of what was to follow. I think you have the same thing occurring within the larger community, because not only Sheldon and myself, but also Marna Whittington left last fall and Rick Nahm is also leaving. So I think it is very inevitable and natural that there would be uncertainty and some anxiety on the part of people because they're not sure what the next change will be. On the other hand, I am fully confident that Penn will find some of the most outstanding leadership in this country and second of all, within a year to 18 months, Penn will have a new president, a new provost and I think things will settle down. And the University will continue on its trajectory as a great university.