University of Southern California
vol. Ixv no. 59	los angeles, California	thursday, january 4, 1973
K
n:
Hubbard9®
a visor
By Peter Wong
associate editor
He is probably not known widely among students and faculty who have concentrated their efforts in classroom and laboratory work.
But his influence is such in academic policy that he has been called President John R. Hubbard’s top adviser in this area—and he is also the chief budget officer.
Faculty critics have accused him of trying to manage the university like the corporations of the military-industrial complex are run, with experts as the key decision-makers and the students and faculty holding only minor roles.
But his supporters say he is only trying to bring the benefits to USC that come with the use of modern management techniques, which they say are long overdue, and to supplement the decision-making system with a reliable network of information on which policy can be based.
The man behind so much controversy is Zohrab A. Kaprielian, vice-president for academic administration and research.
Kaprielian holds not just one but three jobs, any one of which easily is a full-time position—a vice-presidency, dean of the School of Engineering, and direct of the Graduate Center for Engineering Sciences.
He has jurisdiction over a number of offices and programs, academic and administrative, that cost an estimated $31.4 million in the 1971-72 financial year—not quite one-third of the university’s $106.8-million budget.
Realm in three areas
His realm can be divided into three areas. First, Kaprielian supervises the university’s major research centers that are not placed within established schools or departments—the Gerontology Center, Allan Hancock Foundation, Marine Science Center, Sea Grant Program, Solid State Sciences Center, University Computing Center and Vivaria.
The Office of Government Contracts and Grants also is under Kaprielian’s jurisdiction, since much of the money that the university gets from the federal government is for research. In 1970-71, the government granted $30.9 million, or 32% of total university income.
Second, some academic-related programs—Admissions and Registration, Student Aid Office, University College and Summer Session—are under Kaprielian’s jurisdiction.
The third area of Kaprielian’s concerns as vice-president—academic planning and administration—is the area of the greatest controversy because fundamental questions of the university, its decision-making process, and its goals are involved.
Kaprielian has a staff to help him as vice-president. He has an associate vice-president—Taylor W. Meloan, Robert E. Brooker professor of marketing management. He also has three coordinators—for research (Don Lebell), management (Colin MacLeod) and academic planning (Donald L. Pyke).
Furthermore, besides an additional four-member administrative staff, Kaprielian also has the Office of Institutional Studies to provide statistical data, with Robert H. Linnell as its director, two research associates, two staff associates, and an administrative assistant.
Involved with academic planning
Kaprielian is also chairman of the Advisory Committee on Academic Planning, a 16-member faculty-administration committee that supervises two standing committees. University Priorities (15 members) and Resource Management (18 members), and as of April, when the full Advisory Committee issued its annual report, eight task forces on specific aspects of the university.
These include the Offices of Admissions and Registration (9 members), Aerospace Safety and Management (12), Annenberg School of Comm unications (12), Continuing Education (19), Educational Technology (15), Gerontology Center (15), Health Sciences (18), and Von KleinSmid Center (7).
There are 153 places for the faculty and administration on the 11 groups, two students, and Kaprielian.
However, this is somewhat misleading because several faculty members and administrators sit on more than one group.
There are 84 faculty members of the Advisory Committee on Academic Planning and related groups, or 54.5% of the
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