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UO finds an interim President: Robert Berdahl

11/30/2011: From Robert Berdahl’s Op-Ed in the RG today:

… The chancellor and board have recklessly ignored the wishes of donors, alumni, faculty and students. They have signaled the academic community throughout the nation that innovative, courageous leadership will neither be sought nor tolerated.

If you want to be president of the University of Oregon, be prepared to knuckle under to the chancellor and the board and be wary of the promises of the governor.
Robert Berdahl was a professor of history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. He is a former president of the University of Texas at Austin; chancellor emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley; and president emeritus of the Association of American Universities (AAU).

He’s qualified, respected, extraordinarily experienced, and he certainly understands what Chancellor Pernsteiner is looking for. Will he take the job?

Unacceptable interim presidents. Sorry, but we’ve moved on:

Clearly unqualified, but apparently mentioned:

  • Jamie Moffitt, Robin Holmes

To replace Chancellor Pernsteiner:

  • Frog, Zach, Richard Lariviere, Donald Trump

    8 Comments

    1. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      How about
      Professor Robert Kyr or
      Professor Nathan Tublitz?

    2. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      I think Frog should be the new chancellor. He’s clearly more qualified than the current one.

    3. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      Berdahl combines extraordinary academic credentials, personal integrity, UO ties. He gets my vote.

    4. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      And the answer is…Francis Dyke!

    5. Zach 11/30/2011

      Frog can be vice-Chancellor, he’ll be happy to be able to park his trailer in Treetops’ driveway.

      He’s always happy to find a driveway to park his trailer in.

    6. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      Donegan and the rest of the board and the Chancellor all said that they agreed with much of Lariviere’s vision, that they wanted a change agent, and that his firing wasn’t about a power trip or them being thin-skinned to disagreement. Well, Robert Berdahl has shown that he is ready to continue Lariviere’s vision, and his long track record of service shows that he can work with a wide range of people he disagrees with. Appointing him interim President would be a strong showing that they weren’t just spouting empty words.

      However, since I believe that they actually were just spouting empty words, I’m not holding my breath.

    7. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      “I see this conflict more as a style thing, a mismatch of business styles,” she said. “The next board search committee may look more closely at how (candidates) go about doing business.” (Jan Greenwood, a Florida-based consultant who works on university president searches; Register-Guard, 11/30/2011).

      That’s the death knell right there. She just told the world SBHE doesn’t want leadership; they want a business manager.

    8. Anonymous 11/30/2011

      Dog’s next suggestion:

      Their old drinkin’ buddy

      Derek Bok

      Now that would be interesting!

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