Rodin faces tough issues in transition

University President-elect Judith Rodin said she is against speech codes in a telephone interview from New Haven, Conn. Friday. "I believe in norms, not speech codes," Rodin said, adding that she feels very strongly about free expression and First Amendment rights. "The freedom to speak the unthinkable and think the unthinkable is the way knowledge evolves and paradigms change," she said. "It is for that reason universities must commit themselves to preserving free expression." But Rodin also said she believes in "freedom of responsibility" and thinks that "hateful, hurtful things done to individuals are intolerable." "What Penn is facing is evolving the kind of norms that prevent hateful speech," she said. "That process will take time." Recommendations for changing the University community's norms will constitute a large part of the report of the Commission on Strengthening the Community, due out in tomorrow's Almanac. Rodin said she was not briefed on the Commission's report during her meetings on campus last week, but added that she expects she will be over the coming weeks. During her visit, Rodin spent her time meeting with senior members of the administration, including Interim President Claire Fagin and Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson. Fagin and Lazerson are the ones responsible for starting to implement the Commission's report, Rodin said. While the University's next president did not elaborate on the Commission's report, she did speak about an issue over which she has ultimate responsibility -- the selection of the University's next permanent provost. Outlining the information she told the Provost Search Committee during its meeting with her last week, Rodin said she wants a provost with a distinguished academic record. "I would like to see someone with very high academic credentials and standards," she said. "They have to be a good decision-maker with good academic standards and someone who really cares about students and can relate well to faculty." As president, Rodin will be working very closely with the provost, she said, adding that good chemistry between them is essential. Rodin did not offer the committee any names to consider during her visit, though. The search committee will give Rodin a slate of finalists from which she will select the next provost. Provost Search Committee Chairperson Andrew Postlewaite said he would like to have this list to Rodin sometime in March. While on campus Rodin also met with other officials in hopes of finding out more about them and the University. "I learned a lot," she said. "It's just the beginning point in my transition but I got to know the leadership of the Faculty Senate groups and senior planning group. It was a very successful day." Her meetings with Fagin and Lazerson allowed for candid discussion on a broad range of issues, Rodin added. "We discussed everything from re-engineering central administration to student life to core academic issues and the broad issues that are facing Penn from their perspective," she said. "I got to learn what was on their plates for the next couple of months and then, with each of them, I wanted to get up to speed on the process of decision-making at Penn," Rodin added. The president-elect, who is currently Yale University's provost, said she is asking as many people as possible how decisions are made at the University in order to gain a full understanding of the way the University functions. She refused to go into detail about possible changes she may make. Although Rodin was on campus for the whole day Wednesday, her tight schedule did not allow her to meet with student groups. She said, though, she will scheduling meetings with student leaders for when she returns to campus in March. At that time, she will also begin having meetings with individual faculty members, as well senior administrators. Rodin has also requested background papers from several groups. "It struck me that so many of the issues we are still dealing with were the subject of the reports of committees in the past," she said. "I want to find out why. This is another way I expect to learn." Because she was only able to meet with some of the University's administrative staff Wednesday, Rodin said it is too early to say what personnel changes she may make. While Rodin is expected to start work in June, she said she is unsure when she will move into Eisenlohr, the presidential mansion on Walnut Street. She said that will depend on when her 11-year-old son, Alex, finishes school in New Haven and when Fagin will be moving out of the house. "[Eisenlohr] needs painting," she added.