Rodin enjoys smooth transition period

Compared to former University President Sheldon Hackney, President Judith Rodin has had smooth sailing during her transition and first months in office. Hackney came to the University in 1981 amidst controversy, unhappy constituents, a financial crisis, resignations and the pressing need for policy and personnel decisions. By comparison, many say, Rodin has had a very smooth transition into the President's Office. Today, the University is not faced with major financial difficulties. And, unlike Hackney, Rodin had the support of the University community when she came to campus. "This is more like a bike ride in the park," said Astrophysics Professor Benjamin Shen, who served as acting provost after Hackney was appointed. "The last one was a rush hour trip on the Schuylkill Expressway." And Rodin herself cites the length of the transition as a benefit. She was appointed in December 1993 and did not take office until July of this year. "I was trying to understand Penn's strengths and any weaknesses that Penn has," she said recently. "A person from the outside needs to learn all the different ways people see the same University." In September 1979, when President Emeritus Martin Meyerson announced his plans to resign, he gave the University Board of Trustees two years to find a replacement for him. Hackney was chosen in October 1980 after a national search. And the selection, as well as the four months before he took office in February were controversial. The faculty had wanted former Provost Vartan Gregorian as their new president and protested Hackney's selection. Gregorian, now president of Brown University, had expressed interest in the position. "I took it for granted that Vartan Gregorian would be my successor and he was not," Meyerson said. "Now, universal enthusiasm exists for both our new president and our new provost." Before Hackney was officially appointed, student leaders protested the lack of consultation and openness -- especially because Hackney was selected at a closed meeting. Gregorian resigned the day Hackney was appointed, and was replaced by Shen, on an acting basis. Shen called the time period "a crisis atmosphere." "It wasn't an easy time," he said. "I wanted the University to stay on an even keel and I didn't want the educational enterprise to suffer -- but that wasn't easy." Hackney took office in February 1981. One day after his presidency began, Shen resigned. Hackney was forced to appoint a new acting provost immediately and selected former Vice Provost for Research Louis Girfalco. Girfalco, much like former interim Provost Marvin Lazerson, expressed no interest in retaining the position on a permanent basis, although many wanted him to continue in the provost position. On May 14, Thomas Ehrlich was nominated, and later approved to the provost position without problem. During Hackney's opening months in office, Girfalco needed to make serious budget cuts because of a $9.5 million deficit. Girfalco cut several sports from the athletic program, and the Dental School suffered serious budget cuts as well. Students were mainly affected, though, by the 15 percent hike in tuition. Hackney also faced the need for an established affirmative action policy along with many staff changes, including several resignations. Although Rodin has had a much easier appointment and transition --and a much longer "honeymoon" period -- many of the issues are similar to those her predecessors faced. Rodin, too, faced several resignations, including those of Assistant to the President Nicholas Constan, Executive Vice President Janet Hale and Executive Director of the President's Office Linda Hyatt. Rodin has made several appointments in her first few months, and Mathematics Professor Gerald Porter said this process is common for new administrations. "It's sort of like Washington," said the Faculty Senate's former chairperson. "A new president comes in, and people go away, and new ones come in." "But here the president and provost have to evaluate the various members of their staffs and decide what they want," he added. According to some, the University does have financial problems now that must be confronted, though they are not as critical as those Hackney or Meyerson faced. "There remains serious financial problems within the University," Porter said. "We have schools that are not financially viable and one has to devise systems to make them financially viable." On the whole, Rodin has been well-liked and accepted by many since she arrived at the University. She has not made major policy decisions so far, and her contact with the University and surrounding areas has mostly been through press conferences or celebrations. But Rodin was forced to confront the murder of fifth year graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed last month. During public appearances, she assured the community that safety was one of her highest priorities. And she began to address financial and administrative issues by hiring Coopers and Lybrand to consider methods of cost containment and administrative overhaul. In many ways, Rodin's beginnings at the University resemble the transition and opening term of Meyerson, who became president in September 1970. Trustees, student leaders and faculty members applauded Meyerson's appointment. But Meyerson did have to deal with what he calls "terrible financial problems" and the general atmosphere of the late 1960s and early 1970s -- including Vietnam protests and sit-ins. Meyerson did not begin proposing policy until February 1971, almost six months after he took office. Rodin has promised action and firm decision making for her first semester in office. But she has said that, like Meyerson, she is in the midst of a "learning curve," which Hackney never really experienced. Although each administration has a different "personality," with varying experiences, including triumphs and failures, Porter said, Rodin can learn from her predecessors. "It is a mistake to begin with a blank slate -- a tabula rasa," Porter said. "They should look to the past as they move toward the future." Meyerson agreed, saying that "having great continuity is important" and looking to the past can do that. Porter said the main issue for any president and provost is "what is it that they view as putting their mark on the institution." And Executive Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons said "knowing whose judgement you can trust is the hardest part." The next months will show the University and surrounding communities what Rodin's priorities are and where her vision lies. But, her predecessors' patterns and methods could serve as a guide for her first months in office.