Tulane taps Chodorow as finalist for top post

The provost travels today to the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a presidential candidate. Provost Stanley Chodorow is one of two finalists for the presidency of Tulane University, in a confidential search expected to wrap up by the end of next week, according to a member of that school's search committee. Chodorow, who was also named one of five finalists for the University of Texas at Austin last month, will travel to Austin this afternoon for two days of open interviews with students, faculty and members of the Board of Regents. Regents will make a final decision early next month. Unlike the Texas search, where state law requires the release of all candidates' names, the Tulane search is "semi-confidential" and only a final decision will be officially announced, according to search committee Chairperson Cathy Pierson, a member of the school's board of administrators. Chodorow announced October 31 that he would resign as Penn's provost at the end of the year in order to pursue the presidency of another university. That announcement came in conjunction with the news that he was a finalist at UT-Austin. Though he indicated that he was also involved in other searches, he didn't say which ones. Last night, though, Tulane Student Body President and search committee member Jeremy Shaffer confirmed that Chodorow was "one of the two" finalists for the New Orleans-based school's top job. The Tulane junior added that Chodorow visited the school November 2-4 for a series of interviews with campus groups. Shaffer refused to comment about the other finalist, except to say that he had also been on campus for similar interviews. Tulane's Board of Administrators will make a final decision on the school's next president by the end of next week, at the latest, Shaffer said. But Chodorow said yesterday he was unsure when a final decision would be made, adding that "they don't give us that much information." "I really don't have any idea what's happening there," he said. "I'm not the last person visiting." The seven-member search committee at Tulane narrowed a list of more than 100 candidates down to two October 25, Shaffer said. The Tulane search began last March, when former Tulane President Eamon Kelly announced his retirement. As for the Texas job, Chodorow will return to Austin once more after this week's interviews, to meet with members of the Board of Regents. Breakfast with community leaders and alumni and a lunch with academic deans are among the meetings on Chodorow's schedule tomorrow. He will meet with groups of students, faculty and staff representatives during the afternoon. And in the evening, Chodorow will attend a dinner with Acting President Peter Flawn, search committee Chairperson and Board of Regents member Lowell Lebermann and UT-Austin Chancellor William Cunningham. Friday's meetings include several interviews with vice presidents and an interview with a reporter from The Daily Texan, the school's student newspaper. Chodorow will leave Austin Saturday afternoon. Although campus groups can make recommendations to the Board of Regents, the final decision is up to the board, Lebermann said this week. And because the search committee did not rank its preferences when it identified the top five finalists -- out of an initial list of more than 100 -- members said it is impossible to identify a front-runner. In previous bids for university presidencies during the past year, Chodorow was passed over for positions at the University of Michigan, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Arizona.

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