Lee Bollinger, who has been provost for a little more than a week now, is very much the new kid on the administrative block.
Last week, the humidity had gotten to him so much that he contemplated climbing on a chair in his office to turn on a fan, before a secretary informed him that a light switch would do the trick.
And just as Bollinger is still feeling his way around the office, he is also trying to get a sense of what Dartmouth and its provost position is all about.
When asked about Bollinger's performance so far,College President James Freedman said, "Oh, I've just been delighted. I think he's thrown himself into the fray this last week, and he's learning as much as he can."
The provost is frequently defined as the chief academic officer or second in command at the College. When asked what exactly that means, Bollinger said, "That's probably the question I've been asked most frequently by friends and acquaintances this past year."
"As universities have become more complex, there has been a need for a subdivision of administrative responsibilities at every level, including the very top," he said.
He said the provost is more involved in the day-to-day operation of the college while the president is involved in the broadest level of policy-making.
He said there are a number of things he will have to address such as "the planning of the budget for the next several years, working with the College to bring the new curriculum to fruition, helping to select the deans of the Tuck and Thayer schools and working with the medical school as health reform presses in."
But Bollinger declined to comment on what direction he thinks the College is headed. "I'd say come back in six months and ask me," he said. "This is an enormously successful institution. It would be arrogant of me to say at this point what I think it needs to do to improve."
Bollinger said he entirely supports Freedman's professed mission to "nurture the intellectual, artistic, academic health of the place."
However, he cautioned, "What that means exactly is something I need more time to figure out."
Bollinger gained experience in addressing such problems during a distinguished career of scholarship and administration.
He attended the University of Oregon as an undergraduate and graduated from the Columbia University Law School, where he focused his legal studies on freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
After clerking for Chief Justice Warren Burger of the U.S. Supreme Court, Bollinger joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School in 1973 and later became its dean.
He has not given up the life of a scholar to pursue his administrative interests. He is a tenured member of the government department and will be teaching a course on the first amendment in the fall.
"There's a great similarity in the sorts of issues I think about as an intellectual and the ones I confront in an administrative position. I never felt that I was giving up anything when I became a dean. I like to engage in a high-level analysis of problems, and the office is a sort of a laboratory where I can work them out."
He said there are many reasons why top administrators remain educators and scholars. "I think it is really helpful to performing well because you really find out what is on student and faculty minds. You really are part of a place as issues come up."
Deputy Provost Bruce Pipes, who was the acting provost this past year, said Bollinger's experience at a larger university should provide a unique, outside perspective as the College continues to grow.
"He comes from a very different academic environment, both as dean of a law school and as a faculty member at a large state university," Pipes said. "He will surely have valuable insight on Dartmouth's academic and residential programs."
Provosts often go on to become presidents of colleges, but Bollinger said he is unsure of his future plans.
"One simply doesn't know," he said, shaking his head, when asked about the possibility of eventually becoming a president.
"When I started as a professor, I never thought I'd be a dean, and when I started as a dean, I thought I would step down after five years and return to teaching." he added.
Bollinger has some time to think about all that, and for now, he is just enjoying the novelty of his situation.
"The whole experience is very exciting. Starting fresh with a community of people -- administrators, faculty and students -- is an enormous stimulation and pleasure. I also very much like the outdoors," he said. "And Dartmouth is unmatched for the richness of its natural environment."
Bollinger has been married for 26 years. His wife, Jean, is a mixed-media artist and will have a studio at the Ava Gallery in Lebanon.
They have a son, 21, who will probably attend the Michigan Law School in the fall, and a daughter, 17, who will begin at Harvard University this fall.
When asked if he'd attend the next Dartmouth-Harvard football game, Bollinger smiled and said, "And guess who I'll be rooting for."
