Rodin campus visit hailed as a success

If Wednesday's series of introductory meetings were any indication of President-elect Judith Rodin's transition to the University, all is likely to run smoothly. Faculty and administrators said yesterday they were uniformly impressed with the woman who will be the University's seventh president and the Ivy League's first permanent woman chief. "I think she is a very exciting and engaging woman of enormous energy and convictions," School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Gregory Farrington said. Farrington, who met with Rodin and the Council of Deans, said he thought Rodin asked very insightful questions. "She struck me as someone who knows how to ask very good questions," he said. "I think [the deans] conveyed as a group our sense that this is a marvelous University full of untapped opportunity." School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens described Rodin's meeting with the deans as "freewheeling" and "wonderful." "I thought it was an excellent candid conversation among the deans ranging very broadly from how we think about the University to specific topics in undergraduate education," she said. Stevens said the deans specifically talked about issues of class size and how University students are expected "to be street smart" in selecting courses from a vast number of offerings. In addition to meeting with the Dean's Council, Rodin also had discussions with Interim President Claire Fagin, Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson, the Faculty Senate leadership and the Provost's Search Committee. Wednesday night she was treated to dinner with the deans and several other top University officials at Eisenlohr, Fagin's presidential mansion on Walnut Street. Economics Professor Andrew Postlewaite, the Provost's Search Committee chairperson, said yesterday his committee's meeting with Rodin allowed it to hear what qualities Rodin would like to see in the future provost. "The meeting was mostly just to get acquainted and it's very early in her transition," Postlewaite said. "We went through a little bit about her ideas and how she might interact with the provost." Rodin has ultimate responsibility for selection of the next permanent provost, choosing from a slate of finalist that the search committee will present to her. This list will be presented to Rodin sometime in March, Postlewaite said, adding that the committee's charter prevents him from speaking about any specific candidates that may be under consideration. Faculty Senate Chairperson Gerald Porter also said his meeting with Rodin went well. "I thought it was great," he said. "We explored a whole bunch of issues. Obviously the University has changed a bit since she was here and the perspective from the top is different from a student's perspective." Rodin graduated from the University in 1966. Porter said the Faculty Senate explored relations between the faculty and the administration, exchanging mutual assurances that both faculty and future-president will be open to each other's input and feedback. Wednesday's meetings are only the first phase of Rodin's transition, but Rodin will not have another chance to visit campus and meet with University leaders until March. Rodin, who is still provost at Yale University, has a budgeting process to complete and other duties to perform before she can begin to focus more attention on the transition. University Secretary Barbara Stevens, whose office is managing Rodin's transition team, said that after the University's spring break, Rodin will be on campus for meetings and discussions on a bi-weekly basis. Rodin officially assumes the University presidency in June. Stevens said the transition process will continue into next fall as Rodin becomes more acquainted with the University.