College Provost Lee Bollinger visited the University of Michigan yesterday to participate in a series of meetings, which University Regents will use in their evaluation of him as a candidate for Michigan's presidency.
Bollinger participated in a two-hour public interview with the Regents and then a two-hour town meeting in which he answered questions from students, faculty, staff and alumni.
He was the third of four candidates to visit the Michigan campus during the university's two-week campus interview period.
Thomas Dunn, chairman of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said Bollinger "told the Regents why he wanted to be the President of the University of Michigan."
"He said it is a very special place," Dunn told The Dartmouth. "He said it is great, but that he thought it could be even better."
Bollinger was asked about the size of Michigan and Dunn said Bollinger told the Regents, "Michigan's size is probably its greatest strength."
Dunn said Bollinger "answered the questions courageously."
"He stuck his neck out on a number of answers and faced most of the questions head on," Dunn said. "He gave the impression of someone who would like to be President but was not willing to give answers he didn't believe in to get the position."Michigan Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman told The Dartmouth Bollinger was asked questions about a variety of topics.
"They asked him about his views on speech codes, hate speech, affirmative action and diversity," Lehman said. "He was asked to discuss the differences between a public and a private institution and to talk about the role of the arts in a research university."
During the interview with the Regents, Bollinger was also given the opportunity to ask questions of the Regents.
Bollinger asked the Regents only one question, said Lehman, who moderated the town meeting.
"He asked them their views of Michigan and asked them to lay out their goals for the future of the University," Lehman said.
Bollinger spoke "glowingly" of Dartmouth, he said.
"He told the Regents what an outstanding job Dartmouth does at taking teaching seriously and spoke about Dartmouth's notable sense of history and tradition," Lehman said.
Dunn said Bollinger "used Dartmouth's use of history to show that Michigan doesn't really capitalize on its own history."
"Bollinger said the University of Michigan tends to not have a complete view of itself in a historical sense," he said.
Bollinger also discussed the Baker-Berry library expansion, which Lehman said "sounds spectacular."
Dunn said he thinks the Regents "were particularly interested in the library project" because they think it would be helpful for the new president to have knowledge of new library technology since many changes are planned for the future of the Michigan library system.
Bollinger was also asked to give his ideas of what Michigan will be like in the year 2010. Dunn said, "Bollinger said he doesn't think it will be as different as many people think. He believes there will be significant changes, but does not think there will be a total revolution."
One of the Regents asked Bollinger about his testimony against Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork during Bork's congressional confirmation hearing.
"He was asked if he would testify in a similar circumstance if he was president of Michigan," Dunn said.
According to Dunn, Bollinger said being president would give him "bigger baggage" which would prevent him from acting in the same way he did in the Bork hearings.
"He said the presidency and the university would be his principal focus and that would prevent him from testifying again," Dunn said.
"The Regent seemed very happy with the answer," Dunn added.
Dunn, who also attended the post-meeting dinner with Bollinger, said Bollinger seemed "very relaxed" both during and after the meetings.
Lehman said, "Bollinger did extremely well."
"Each of the three candidates was able to convey their personality, warmth and depth," Lehman added.
Dunn said he felt Bollinger made a good impression during the interviews.
"There was no one in the room that wouldn't feel Bollinger would be an appropriate president," he said. "All three candidates so far must be considered serious contenders."
The Regents will meet to decide the next step in the search process after the final candidate visits the campus on Monday.
