Senate solicits characteristics of Ikenberry's successor

By Craig Chamberlain

The next president of the UI should be an academic, familiar with the needs
and workings of a large public institution of higher learning.

But he or she also should be ready to lobby outside academia, communicating
with the state legislature and the people of Illinois.

These were among the criteria suggested by members of the Urbana-Champaign
Senate in a special meeting Monday convened to address issues related to
finding a successor to UI President Stanley O. Ikenberry.  Ikenberry
announced in June that he will step down as president by Aug. 31, 1995. 
The UI Board of Trustees formally began the search process with discussions
at its July meeting.

Senators were given up to an hour to talk about issues that will be faced
by the university in coming years and the future president's role in
addressing them.  They needed only about a third of that time, however, and
their comments mostly were in line with common faculty and student
concerns.

"There are things you want in a president that never change," said Martha
Friedman, professor of library administration.  Among those things, she
said, are someone who has spent the bulk of his or her career in academia,
has respect for issues of academic freedom, and is sensitive to the need
for consultation with faculty.

Richard Schacht, professor of philosophy, noted the need for experience in
higher education administration, and suggested there would be an advantage
in choosing someone not tied to either campus, to avoid the appearance of
favoring one or the other.

Howard Ducoff, professor of physiology and biophysics, said the university
needs a president who will encourage innovation but also will "resist
change for the sake of change."  His particular concern, he said, was that
efforts to improve undergraduate education not reduce the support for
research and scholarship.

Jason Hsu, a junior in electrical engineering, stressed that the next
president needed to understand the importance of teaching, in particular
undergraduate teaching.

R. Linn Belford, professor of chemistry, said the next president needed the
ability "to explain the university and interpret the university to the
entire state."

A tape and minutes from the discussion will be passed along to the
consultative (or search) committee, still being formed, which will assist
in the selection process.

The other part of business on Monday was to elect nominees for that
committee.  From 11 faculty names recommended by the senate's Committee on
Committees, faculty senators chose eight candidates.  Student senators
chose one undergraduate and one graduate student from among two names in
each category.

The faculty members selected were A.L. "Tad" Addy, head of the department
of mechanical and industrial engineering; James D. Anderson, head of the
department of educational policy studies; Marianna Tax Choldin, the
Mortenson Distinguished Professor for International Library Programs; Judy
S. DeLoache, professor of psychology; James A. Gentry, the IBE
Distinguished Professor of Finance; Jane W. Loeb, professor of educational
psychology; Harry C. Triandis, professor of psychology; and Thomas S. Ulen,
professor of law and economics.

The undergraduate student selected was Eric A. Hiller, a senior in
mechanical engineering, and the graduate student selected was Douglas B.
Wojcieszak, pursuing a master's degree in biology.

These names will be forwarded to the University Senates Conference, which
will narrow the list further in order to make recommendations to the UI
Board of Trustees.  The consultative committee will include 20 members, of
which eight will be faculty members and two students, each number evenly
split between the two campuses.  The other half of the committee will
include representatives from the support staff, academic professional
staff, administration, Alumni Association and Foundation, as well as a
faculty member at-large who will serve as chair.