Provost's plans should survive his resignation

Ongoing projects won't be slowed too much, officials said yesterday. When Provost Stanley Chodorow steps down from his post in December, the major academic initiatives and campus projects he initiated during his three years at the University are likely to continue on schedule. Chodorow's resignation last Friday, in conjunction with his being named one of five finalists for the presidency of the University of Texas at Austin, has raised questions about the immediate future of academic life at Penn. Administrators who work closely with Chodorow said they are confident his major initiatives -- including the 21st Century Project and the overhaul of residential life -- will survive the transition process following his departure. University President Judith Rodin said this week that she will name an interim provost before the end of the semester and begin a search for a permanent provost "in a timely manner." Until then,"many of the initiatives [Chodorow] has put in place can continue to develop through a short period of an interim provost," College Dean Robert Rescorla said. "But it will be important for Penn to move rapidly to appoint a new provost," he added. On his major initiatives, Chodorow has worked closely with faculty and administrators, who will likely assume responsibility for them following his departure, Deputy Provost Michael Wachter said. "He has really put together a team that works well together," Wachter said. "I personally don't think anything much will change between now and the end of the semester." Many of these projects "have sufficient momentum behind them" to survive the administrative interruptions due in the next few months, Wachter added. The 21st Century Project, developed in 1994, is an effort to revamp the undergraduate experience at the University, focusing on research opportunities, advising and residential programs. Chodorow appointed a student board for the plan last year to advise administrators on programs under its purview. College junior Rachael Goldfarb, who chairs the advisory board, said the provost's departure will create uncertainties for the body's future. "We've been very much in limbo recently," Goldfarb said. "We're hoping the interim provost will be someone who is equally interested in the 21st Century initiatives and in seeing student input as part of those initiatives." And the upcoming overhaul of residential life -- which Chodorow and other University officials announced last month-- will survive the provost's departure without a problem, Director of Academic Programs and Residence Life Chris Dennis said. "We have built a planning structure and course of action that will ensure a strong, new college house system here," he said. "We're going forward with the comprehensive system and expect to get it up and running for September 1998." But introducing new academic projects may take a backseat to administrative reorganization until the permanent provost position is filled. "You won't find the creation of new projects under an acting provost," Art History Professor David Brownlee said. Chodorow will travel to Texas for a series of interviews next month. The school's Board of Regents is expected to announce its final decision in approximately five weeks, according to UT spokesperson Monty Jones. But the need for Chodorow to spend time away from Penn for interviews is not new. Chodorow took part in searches at the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona and the University of California-Los Angeles last year, all of which sent him off campus briefly. Chodorow continued as provost while the universities were considering him for their top posts, but questions arose about how long he would remain at Penn to see his programs through. "The difficulty was the uncertainty," Wachter said. "When we knew he was being actively considered, it put things on hold." With the announcement of Chodorow's resignation, the uncertainty is gone. "Everyone knows what's going to happen next and we know what needs to be done," Wachter said. These next steps include the appointment of a 21st Century Project coordinator -- a position that has remained vacant since last spring. Brownlee said he expects a new coordinator to be appointed "within the next few weeks."