Gutmann may shape Ivy sports policies

The announcement of Princeton's Provost Amy Gutmann as Penn's new president has far-reaching implications well beyond the West Philadelphia campus, as the future direction of the entire Ivy League will be shaped in part by Judith Rodin's successor.

Unlike many other athletic conferences which vest much decision-making power in the hands of school's athletic directors, the Ancient Eight uses its university presidents to sculpt changes in conference policy.

Each June, the Council of Ivy Group Presidents meets to review the past academic year, discussing pressing issues that are both athletic and non-athletic. While Rodin will be attending this year's meetings, Gutmann will have to quickly learn the ins and outs of Ivy athletics protocol.

"Once she's installed in July, I hope to meet with her," Ivy League Executive Director Jeff Orleans said. "I try to get in touch with each new president. I offer to come meet with them and get to know them."

At Penn, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky reports directly to the provost's office. This keeps the provost aware of the most crucial issues facing Ivy League athletics.

Princeton, however, has its athletic director, Gary Walters, report to the vice president of campus life.

Both Walters and Bilsky were unavailable to comment.

While she may not have been closely affiliated with the Princeton Athletic Department, Gutmann approved an operating budget in 2002-03 that provided needed financial support to athletics.

Gutmann approved needed funding to the school's Stephens Fitness Center last year. She also added athletic trainers to Princeton University Health Services.

The new Penn president also seems willing to discuss sports in public.

On Dec. 8, 1997, Gutmann participated in a Penn National Commission panel -- which also featured Rodin, former Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and noted Penn psychology professor Martin Seligman -- that discussed the topic of "Professional Sports and Public Behavior."

Gutmann addressed the coverage of professional athletes by the media, noting that athletes who frequently get in trouble receive the best publicity while their racial and ethnic groups receive much worse publicity for the event.

"Is there a way out of this paradox," she said, "which is that the publicity of bad behavior actually can rebound to the benefit of individuals [and] at the same time ... [can] rebound to the disadvantage of the group that that athlete ... is representing, even if that athlete doesn't want to be representing that group?"

The Council of Ivy Group President has been accustomed to fresh faces over the last few years. Just last year, Columbia welcomed former University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger, and Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman, former dean of Michigan's law school.

Orleans -- who knows Gutmann from his days of teaching a freshman seminar at Princeton on values in athletics -- is not concerned that this recent turnover in presidents will have a drastic effect on the direction of the league.

"If you compare our president's group to lots of other conferences, our presidents have a fairly long tenure," he said.

Still, the executive director welcomed a new voice.

"She brings a new set of experiences and a new set of interests," Orleans said. "That's a good thing -- a new way of looking at things."

The Ivy Council is not scheduled to address any major issues in its upcoming meetings, having made broad-sweeping changes to Ivy admissions and practice policy this past summer.

However, Orleans is confident that if an issue was to arise, Gutmann would be able to handle it with ease.

"Our presidents aren't reluctant at all to speak up, as long as they feel informed on an issue," he said.

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