Syracuse University Political Science Professor Linda Fowler confirmed yesterday that she is likely to become the next head of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences.
"I have an offer from the Dean [of the Faculty] to be head of the Rockefeller Center with tenure in the government department, pending approval" by the Advisory Committee to the President, Fowler said in a telephone interview from Syracuse, N.Y.
Fowler said if the committee, composed of senior faculty members and chaired by the College President, approves her appointment she will accept the five-year position and begin work on July 1.
The Rockefeller Center has been without a head since Geography Professor George Demko decided not to apply for another five-year term last February.
Assistant Dean of the Faculty George Wolford, who chaired the committee searching for a new head of the Rockefeller Center, said the advisory committee will likely meet this week and a decision on Fowler will "probably be finalized by Friday."
In a typical decision the College's Board of Trustees makes a final offer based on the advisory committee's recommendations, according to Roxanne Waldner, the acting director for the Rockefeller Center.
Fowler, who specializes in American public policy and the U.S. Congress, received an informal offer for the position last fall from the search committee, contingent upon an offer of a tenure position from the government department.
The government department deliberated about tenure and made a recommendation to then-Dean of the Faculty James Wright, Fowler said.
Wright, now acting College president, completed the next step by making a suggestion to the advisory committee, Fowler said.
Fowler said she has "no clear agenda yet" since her appointment has not been finalized.
But, she said, if she is given the opportunity to head the Rockefeller Center she will "continue the strong student association of the Rockefeller Center that was established by the previous director."
Fowler said she would also like "to strengthen the supporting role of the Rockefeller Center in teaching and social lines ... and have fewer conferences, but have them oriented around a theme."
Fowler said she likes the strong emphasis the College places on both teaching and research.
"Supporting that kind of institutional ethic would be a pleasure and the Rockefeller Center is well adapted to doing that," she said.
