EDITORIAL: Lucky to keep our provost

Despite a rocky beginning at Penn, Chodorow has since proven his worth as an administrator. Chodorow did make several mistakes in the beginning of his tenure at Penn. He did not adequately handle the revisions of the judicial charter, often making decisions on the drafts without consulting the University community. Chodorow also criticized for his handling of the ROTC debate. The single incident that shaped student opinion of him was when Chodorow told a reporter students shouldn't have a large role in university educational policy planning citing time constraints. He said, "It's not as if students are the best organized people in the world." But in the three years since, Chodorow has made an effort to solicit student opinion on projects -- even forming a Provost's Undergraduate Advisory Board to specifically advise him of student opinion on the Perleman Quadrangle. And just this week, he held an open discussion to update students about the Perleman Quad and field questions. Chodorow has also spent a lot of time working with the Performing Arts Council to find better and adequate performance space on campus for student groups. In addition to interacting with student leaders, he teaches a history class every semester. He may not have been collegiate president material the first year he was at Penn, but Chodorow is definitely worthy of such a position now. He has learned from some of his earlier mistakes and has honed his skills in dealing with fellow administrators, faculty, alumni, potential donors and especially students. It is unfortunate Chodorow was not selected for the chancellorship at UCLA. But at the right school, he will be a good president or chancellor.