At the only full faculty meeting scheduled for this term, College President James Freedman officially announced his selection of Michigan Law School Dean Lee Bollinger to be the next provost.
At the meeting, Freedman describing and briefly defended a search process that came up with a short list of four male candidates.
The faculty also heard Director of Admission Karl Furstenburg report on the Class of 1997. Nine retiring professors were honored at the meeting.
Bollinger will take over as provost in July 1994. Bruce Pipes, associate provost for academic affairs, will serve as acting provost for a year after John Strohbehn steps down at the end of next month.
The provost is the College's top academic official and oversees all major divisions of the institution.
Freedman said Bollinger accepted the job with one condition -- that he be allowed to teach an undergraduate course.
Freedman said he had been concerned about choosing a law school dean, since he himself was a law school dean at the University of Pennsylvania. Two of the final four candidates were law school deans.
He said he told the search committee, "You must be kidding. I can't appoint a law school dean as Provost. There can't be two of us."
According to Freedman, the committee of seven professors, brushed his concerns aside.
Freedman said he spoke with the Princeton University President Harold Shapiro, who as president of the University of Michigan in 1987 named Bollinger dean of the law school.
Freedman said Shapiro had a high opinion of Bollinger.
One faculty member expressed her disappointment that no women were among the final four candidates for Provost. Freedman said the search committee made an effort to find qualified women to consider for the position but were unsuccessful.
The faculty also approved a booklet describing the new faculty structure, which includes the year-old Committee of Chairs and concluded the meeting with a standing ovation to nine professors who are retiring after this term.
