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Saturday, January 14, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - IU President gives advance notice of resignation

Last August 8th, the ILB reported here for the first time on the criticism surrounding IU President Adam Herbert's on-the-job performance. Additional entries followed on Aug. 29th ("IU embarks on image makeover") and Oct. 5th ("IU president answers critics").

Yesterday, President Herbert announced his resignation, effective at the end of his 5-year contract, in 2008. Here is today's Indianapolis Star coverage by Staci Hupp. Some quotes:

Indiana University President Adam Herbert told trustees Friday that he will quit when his contract runs out in 2008.

The announcement signals his surrender in a long battle with Bloomington faculty members, IU alumni, state leaders and others who have questioned whether Herbert was up to the job. Critics describe him as a weak, aloof leader.

His decision lets trustees off the hook on a call for an unprecedented midyear job review of Herbert. Trustees had been expected to address the issue at a special meeting today.

Instead, they will consider a proposal from Herbert to create a provost, or chief academic officer, for the Bloomington campus.

Now about halfway through his five-year contract, Herbert requested the search start for his replacement. He said the extra notice will give him and the trustees time to reform IU's leadership structure and fix its image troubles, for which he largely has been blamed. * * *

He has led a high-profile effort to turn around a financially ailing athletic department, and he identified a lack of direction for some of IU's campuses. Newsweek named IU the nation's "hottest big state school" in the fall.

Yet criticism has overshadowed the accomplishments. It comes from many sources, including alumni, state leaders, university deans and donors with deep pockets.
They characterize Herbert as a weak leader who is slow to make major hiring decisions, shies away from public appearances, snubs donors and spends too much time at a home he owns in Florida.

Herbert also has endured constant comparisons to Purdue University President Martin Jischke, who some IU loyalists say has managed to push Purdue ahead of IU as the state's premier research university.

The key complaint against Herbert, however, has been about his unwillingness to fill the position of chancellor at Bloomington. That job, IU's No. 2 administrative post, has lacked a permanent replacement for more than two years. Kenneth Gros Louis, who retired from the job four years ago, has filled in since January 2004.

The issue boiled over this fall when Herbert bypassed the Bloomington faculty's pick for chancellor and halted the search. The decision triggered a faculty protest that culminated in a request that the trustees conduct a midyear job review of Herbert.

Access an AP story by Tom Davies here, via the Louisville Courier Journal.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 14, 2006 09:37 AM
Posted to Indiana Government