Thursday, March 6, 1997
ADMINISTRATOR:
Demeanor, experience with racial preferences give edge to
candidateBy Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Contributor
Robert Berdahl, president of the University of Texas, Austin,
will probably be named UC Berkeley’s next chancellor at a special
meeting of the UC Board of Regents today, according to sources
close to the selection committee.
UC President Richard Atkinson has already made his choice for
the position, which will be voted on by the regents in a
teleconference today.
Regent Ward Connerly told the Daily Texan that the selection
process is "very much in (Berdahl’s) favor."
The committee has been looking at potential candidates for the
position for six months, since current Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
announced that his retirement would be effective no later than June
30, 1997.
The selection committee, which consisted of 17 regents,
students, faculty and staff, interviewed four finalists for the
position last week.
Sources close to the committee named the four finalists as Carol
Christ, Vice Chancellor and Provost of Berkeley; Laura Tyson,
economics professor and former White House National Economic
Advisor; William Kirwan, University of Maryland president; and
Berdahl.
Tyson was considered by many to be Atkinson’s favorite, but
sources said that her interview did not go well. Tyson reportedly
removed herself from the selection process after the interview.
Regents on the selection committee were unavailable for
comment.
Berdahl’s selection comes as a surprise to most. His name did
not appear on the short list of candidates published recently by
the Daily Californian, and sources close to Berdahl were surprised
to learn that he was even being considered for the position.
Berdahl’s demeanor seemed to be an important criterion used by
the selection committee, possibly because of Tien’s ability to
charm potential donors while chancellor.
Sources close to the selection committee said that Berdahl
"acted most like a chancellor" during the interview, the Daily
Californian reported.
Apparently, the committee was concerned about the future of
fund-raising at UC Berkeley, since fund-raising has been such a
large issue at the university over the last few years.
Under Tien, UC Berkeley fund-raising efforts have garnered $780
million over six years. Much of this success is credited to Tien’s
personable manner when dealing with potential donors.
However, Berdahl is not widely known for fund-raising efforts at
the University of Texas, where his area of expertise dealt with
restructuring the university’s budgetary concerns.
Berdahl, like Tien, has dealt with budgetary and administrative
crises, but has responded by restructuring from within, as opposed
to launching huge fund-raising drives to make up the
difference.
The University of Texas has also had problems dealing with
racial preferences, much like the University of California.
Berdahl, who is personally in favor of affirmative action
policies, was forced to discontinue race and gender-based
preferences because of a Texas State Supreme Court ruling that
outlawed such preferences.
To make up for the loss of these preferences, Berdahl re-routed
funds from two scholarships into a new "President’s Scholarship,"
which is awarded based on socioeconomic background instead of
racial or gender factors.
Considered somewhat of a recluse, Berdahl’s style would be
markedly different from that of Chancellor Tien, said Michael
Chrissey, a staff writer for the Daily Texan.
Tien, popular among students, is known for cheering on the
sidelines of football games and establishing a strong rapport with
the student body.
Berdahl, though popular among administrators at the University
of Texas, is not as well-known among his students as Tien is among
Berkeley’s.
Berdahl will have large shoes to fill, since Tien’s legacy is
impressive by many standards.
During Tien’s chancellorship, Berkeley matched the "largest
budget cuts in the history of the university," with the largest
fund-raising campaign in the history of the university.
Berkeley also attracted the most diverse and talented student
body in the nation during Tien’s tenure. The campus enrolled more
freshmen in the top ten percent of their high school class than any
other university.
The undergraduate student body at Berkeley is now 40 percent
Asian American, 31 percent Caucasian, 14 percent Chicano/Latino, 6
percent African American and 1 percent Native American.
Atkinson will officially announce Berkeley’s next chancellor
after the regents vote in a teleconference today at noon.
The Daily Texan
Candidate Robert Berdahl.