trojan
Volume LXXXVIII, Number 71
University of Southern California
Thursday, May 22, 1980
Trustees unanimously elect pre
By Susan Pedersen
Assistant Citv Editor
James H. Zumberge, president of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, was unanimously confirmed as the new university president Wednesdav.
Zumberge, 56, will assume the post after President John R. Hubbard retires Aug. 3, ending a controversial 15-month search
process.
"The most important thing is that we have come up with someone that the university can be proud of. We are not getting anv crumbs off the table," said Carl Hartnack, chairman of the selection committee and president of Security Pacific Bank.
"I think a lot of people were prepared to accept whatever came along. 1 am glad to have found someone of such .caliber,” said J. Robert Fluor, chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Fluor Corp.
Speaking at a press conference broadcast simultaneously to Dallas from the Security Pacific Bank building in downtown Los Angeles, Zumberge was articulate and confident.
Zumberge has no plans to alter the current administrative structure at the university, but will strive to maintain a positive university image, he said.
"Everybody has to understand that we need to have an image that matches the real thing," Zumberge said, adding that if there was anyone who did not conform to this image, he "will not tolerate their presence."
"1 arrived at SMU during a two-year (athletic) probation, and the first thing I did was
fire the football coach," he said. "I'm mean, all right, I'll tell you."
Zumberge stressed his interest in the undergraduate students at the university as well.
"One of the things I'm concerned about is to maintain the importance of the undergraduate education. Students are my strong suit. Students are the
guts of the university."
When asked what his polic\' would be toward the university's large Iranian student population, Zumberge said, "I have no intent of restricting admission to USC to anyone simply because they are of a foreign nationality".
Another area that has come under strong criticism during recent years is the university’s policy on acceptance of foreign corporate gifts.
"Funds given legitimately to the university for educational purposes make no problem for me," Zumberge said.
Zumberge has a wife, Mari-
lyn, and four children, John, JoEllen, James F., and Mark.
Hartnack said it was important to acquire a husband and wife team that could work in the community for purposes of fund raising and representing the university.
Zumberge has been president of Southern Methodist University from 1975-80 and was chancellor of the University of Ne-braska-Lincoln from 1972-75.
He received both his B.A. and Ph.D. in geology from the University of Minnesota in 1946, and 1950, respectively.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from March 1943 to December 1945.
Zumberge is the director of Dresser Industries in Dallas and has been the director of General American Oil Co. since 1977. In addition, he is an expert in geomorphology, the study of land formations and has led a number of expeditions to the Antarctic.
JAMES ZUMBERGE
Zumberge’s decision ‘stuns, surprises’ Southern Methodist University officials
By Steve Padilla
Feature Editor
The selection oLSouthem Methodist University (SMU) President James Zumberge as new university president left the Texas institution "stunned and surprised."
A statement released simultaneously at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles and Dallas yesterday was completely unexpected, said Richard Sutcliffe, director of public relations at SMU.
Six weeks earlier Zumberge had said he had ever\' intention of finishing his career in academic administration at SMU. At commencement ceremonies last week, he never mentioned the move, Sutcliffe said
"We thought that SMU would be his swan song in education," Sytdiffe said.
"When the presidential selection committee first approached me, I was very surprised," said Zumberge in the release. "I was not a contender for the presidency and did not even know I was being considered. After talking with the selection committee, I realized that a new dimension in administration for me was available."
Zumberge took the post because he realized a similar opportunity might not be available again in his lifetime.
(Continued on page 3)
Naming of president ends 15-month search
Hunt for acceptable candidates often controversial
By Robin Oto
Editor
James Zumberge, the new university president, is the result of two searches over a 15-month span.
The original search ended after three candidates withdrew amidst a series of well-publicized controversies.
This search began when President John R. Hubbard announced his resignation Feb. 7, 1979, amid controversies including the Middle East Center and the honorary degree the shah received in 1975. (Hubbard insisted, however, that these incidents had nothing to do with his resignation.)
A 23-member search committee, consisting of representatives of university constituencies,' was announced the day of his resignation. Headed by J Robert Fluor, chairman of the Board of Trustees, the committee included representatives from the faculty, staff, students, administration, deans and trustees.
The board created a number of lists, rating nominees according to desirability. The search process consisted of three phases; Phase I was an initial meeting with a small group of trustees; Phase II consisted of a one-day campus visit and trustee meetings by the candidate and his wife; and Phase III, the most critical stage, included meetings with various campus constituencies as part of a rigorous two-day schedule.
By November, the committee had announced its first candidate, Thornton Bradshaw, president of Atlantic Richfield Co. Shortly after, the Los Angeles Times announced a second candidate, Richard C. Atkinson, director of the National Science Foundation. The Daily Trojan later announced David P. Gardner, president of the University of Utah, as a third candidate.
Controversy began when Bradshaw withdrew Dec. 6, reportedly due to attempts by administrators and trustees to generate support for Atkinson. The Los Angeles Times also implicated Zohrab Kaprieli-
an, executive vice president, in backroom politics and in circulating a memo with the candidates' resumes, asking faculty to send their opinions to the board. The Daily Trojan later discovered the author was a faculty member, Ward Edwards.
Despite rumors that trustees and members of the committee wanted Bradshaw to reconsider, the board decided not to approach him after Bradshaw stated he was not interested.
Atkinson withdrew Dec. 14 because he had told the board not to consider him as a candidate if they could not decide on a final choice by December. The board would not decide until after Gardner had visited campus.
Gardner canceled a first visit to campus due to administrative politicking in favor of Atkinson. He later toured the campus, but did not meet with any groups. Gardner withdrew Jan. 17, 1980 citing personal reasons, but sources speculated he was under pressure from the University of Utah to stay and that his family did not want to move.
The board was now faced with the prospect of starting over and with the possibility of having no replacement for Hubbard before his resignation date of Aug. 3, 1980.
But in a surprise move on Feb. 6, the board created a five-member selection committee, comprised of board members, whose sole responsibility was to find a presidential candidate before Hubbard left. Chaired by Carl Hartnack, a trustee and chairman of Security Pacific National Bank, the committee was strongly criticized by university constituencies concerned about their lack of participation in the search process.
But the board explained that the need to maintain confidentiality to protect the candidates and expedite the search precluded involvement from groups other than appointed members.
Nothing was heard from the committee until Zumberge's confirmation on Wednesday, although Hartnack admitted the committee had decided on Zumberge by May 6, less than two months after the second search began.
New leader to study system of governance
By Cliff Tan
Staff Writer
James H. Zumberge, newly appointed university president, said Wednesday that he must familiarize himself with the university's governance system before deciding whether or not to retain it.
The President's Advisory Council, comprised of representatives from the facultv, students, staff and administration, has been the university's governance system since 1973.
Zumberge said he would like to observe how the council operates, see how effective it is and hopefully adjust to the system.
During his four years as president of Southern Methodist University, Zumberge often consulted the university community, said William Stallcup, associate provost of SMU.
Zumberge makes his own decisions, but wants them to be based on consultation, Stallcup said. There have been no problems of interconstituencv conflict at SMU."He gave real direction to the university."
Since SMU is a small university, with only six schools and approximately 500 faculty members, Zumberge said he was able to maintain personal contact with the faculty and get to know many of them by name.
At the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he was chancellor from 1972-75, Zumberge consulted the faculty senate and worked through them, said Edward Schwartzkopf, a member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
He met weekly with the Faculty Senate executive committee at SMU with the committee setting the agenda, Zumberge said.
(Continued on page 2)