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Image provided by: University at Buffalo
Meyerson takes leave: Regan is Acting President The University convocation, generally a dull, routine affair, held some surprises for State University of Buffalo students and faculty Monday when it was announced that University President, Martin Meyerson was taking a y ear’s “leave of absence” from the full duties of his office to assume the chairmanship of The Assembly on University Goals and Governance. Executive Vice President, Peter F: Regan will serve as Acting President of the University for 1969-70. Throughout last year and the summer, Mr. Meyerson had been continually cited as a leading candidate for the presidency of Columbia University, a speculation which he denied as frequently as it was raised. Word that Mr. Meyerson would not be serving as President for 1969-70 after all came as a surprise to most members of the academic community — the announcement being made just three days before the resumation of classes. Teaching and Evaluation; Research and Service; Access, Scale and Quality; and Models of Governance. have probably gotten as fuzzy as has ever been the case. Teaching, research and service - we don’t know what they mean. There hasn’t been a real service role m universities, and what there has been has not been from the mainstream of Ihc University, but from areas vestigal to the institution. Assembly will do good, Mr. Meyerson said; “I like to think we have such a wide range of strengths on this campus that it hardly depends on a single person. And as you know. I’ve never been an advocate of the ‘cult of personality’. Dr. Regan who served as President in the past when Mr. Meyerson was out of town has “developed a work style, and we’ve increasingly become interchangeable as an Executive Vice President and the PiesidCnt of a university should,” according to the departing Mr. Meyerson. Commenting on his new responsibilities. Dr. Regan said: We've made a goal when Martin comes back next September, we’re going to give him a 'better University than he left.” He sees this being accomplished through “hierarchical agents being loosened up and anarchical agents tightened up ... We want to take this place and improve it, but not destroy it in the process . . . And we’re not going to do this by governance alone, but by busting it open through communications getting to people. We’re going to play this thing with every device that a psychiatrist and a social scientist (Warren E. Bennis, Vice President for Academic Development) have between them . . . We’ve made a basic assumption that we’ll survive. If we don’t survive, someone will write our epitaphs.” Mr. Meyerson will still maintain an office in Hayes Hall and will be based in Buffalo while doing work for the Assembly. His only administrative concerns, however, will be the planning of the Amherst campus, the University of Buffalo Foundation, and the recruitment of deans and faculty. Dr. Regan will have full power in all other matters. Mr. Meyerson said that he would be returning as President next fall. When asked to comment on the speculation that, to the contrary, he was a likely candidate for the job of State University Chancellor, Samuel Gould, and would be assuming that position after work on The Assembly is completed, he made this statement: “I regard myself mostly as a professor. I want to be in-a situation where I’m as close to students and faculty colleagues as I can be. It’s by belief that Chancellor Gould is deeply attached to what he’s doing and will continue for many years, and I’m delighted he will.” Mr. Meyerson’s Assembly work will be completed next summer with the issuance of a report. In a letter to the University community, Meyerson explained why he was leaving office at this time to devote most of his energies to the work of the Assembly: “The lack’ of broad and comprehensive knowledge, and the absence of full discussion at a national level, have made it difficult for our University and for others to come up with sound and fresh proposals for models of governance ... I regard the Assembly as a challenge and responsibility which could be of great help to our campus, to all of the State University and to other institutions as well. It is because 1 have come more and more to feel that local efforts - including ours at Buffalo - have suffered from a lack of national perspective, that I have concluded this task should have a high priority.” At a meeting at his home Wednesday night, Mr. Meyerson further elaborated on his decision: “I am making two basic assumptions in accepting this assignment. One is that colleges and Universities are fairly important and not about to be obliterated. And the other is that there are very strong forces which need a base within the University and with people outside so that there can be shared bases for change, improvement and innovation. This is important for our campus and for every campus. I’m not sure how successful such an effort can be, but every path of this kind must be pursued, “Colleges and Universities have to face up to these things - the areas of teaching, research and service, which the Assembly wilt deal with - in the very near future, not in a structural fashion, but in the sense of the mission of higher education. These terms “In the area of research, some Universities have become a conduit for granting foundations not ours, but many others. There are certain advantages to this, but these are not advantages to the students. The Assembly which Mr. Meyerson will chair is being established by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and will be funded initially by the Ford Foundation. It will devote itself to such themes as Learning, \Teaching by the very term, raises a whole series of problems. Certainly we're more concerned with learning than teaching, and if so we have to make teaching the instrument of learning. I’m not sure that students in times of crises don’t learn more from each other than from those we label ‘teachers’. BRING THIS AD IN AS A SPECIAL COUPON NEW and USED FURNITURE and APPLIANCES We have been selling apartment-size stoves, refrigerators, bedding and fur- niture to U.B. students for 15 years. Call . . . MINDY'S TL 2-9828 Tl 2-3255 - FREE DELIVERY - Dir.: Main to Seneca (Downtown) Elm Street Exit of Thruway Kensington Expressway - Michigan Ex. to Seneca “We’re about to enter the decade of the 70’s and 1 can write two scenarios. One is the utter loss of resources for the University both public and private. Universities would close down for whole periods of time the kind of thing we've seen in Japan. This would be coupled by a silent migration of the faculty. And 1 can imagine a converse plot to the drama — the most tremendous improvements in the substantive character of the Universities and also the governance of them.” The Assembly of Goals and Governances Mr. Meyerson feels, will improve the chances of the latter scenario’s realization. Asked whether his departure might do more harm to this campus then the report of The “Safety belts? Not if I’m just going down to the supermarket.” — Kathleen Farrell (1943-1968) \Safety belts? They just make me nervous. Besides, they wrinkle your clothes.” — Loair Clay?**! (1931-1968) “Who can ever remember to use the darned things?” — Gordo* Feato* (1921-1968) Whatfc yourocuseP Page three. The Spectrum. Friday. 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