Chancellorial search challenged

By Phillip Carter
Daily Bruin Staff

Meeting in a secluded conference room in Sunset Commons, UC
President Richard Atkinson sparred with student leaders yesterday
over the search process for UCLA Chancellor Charles Young’s
successor.

But what should have been a title match between undergraduate
President John Du, graduate President Chris Tymchuk, and the UC
system’s chief turned into a technical knockout when Atkinson cited
the system’s bylaws governing the search process.

Those rules, to Du and Tymchuk’s consternation, cast the UC-wide
search committee of regents, students and others as "strictly
advisory," giving the appointment authority solely to the UC
president, who then recommends a singular choice to the regents for
approval or disapproval.

"This is one area where the president has the sole
responsibility of bringing a recommendation to the regents,"
Atkinson said, rebuking the student officers’ inquiries about a
formal student role in the process.

"The committee is advisory to the president; depending on how we
do our business, (the committee) may not even vote," Atkinson
continued. "The committee will provide me with advice, and I make
the recommendation to the regents."

Atkinson’s remarks came in response to queries from Du on the
"politicization" of the process, which he saw as a potential
problem after the UC Board of Regents July 1995 decision to end
affirmative action policies in university admissions and
hiring.

"We want to know what you’re going to do to ensure that the
process does not become politicized like it did on the affirmative
action issue," Du said.

While Atkinson stressed the centrality of his personal role in
the process, he assuaged Du’s concerns by saying that "(affirmative
action) was not a litmus test" in the selection of the new UC San
Diego and UC Santa Cruz chancellors this summer, and that it would
not become one for the impending UC Berkeley and UCLA chancellorial
searches.

Nonetheless, Du and Tymchuk still expressed concern that UCLA
students would not have a significant role in picking Young’s
successor.

"Students need to have a very important role in this whole
decision," Du said. "To give us the position of advisory is pretty
much a slap in the face of shared governance."

Tymchuk added that the small amount of student representation
­ two students on a board of 17 ­ would force students to
politicize themselves in order to increase their effectiveness on
the board.

"The fact is that we’re two students on a board of (17), five of
which are regents," Tymchuk said. "John (Du) and I really have to
stick together and get our agenda straight before we go into
this."

Their first opportunity to do so will come just over four weeks
from now, when the search committee first convenes at UCLA on Oct.
30.

Young announced his retirement last February, citing personal
reasons. When he steps down in June 1997, Young will have served
longer than any other university president in the nation.

The search committee includes Regents Frank W. Clark, Leo S.
Kolligian, Velma Montoya, Gerald L. Parsky and Tom Sayles. In
addition, Board Chairman Tirso del Junco will serve on the
committee, which will be chaired by Atkinson.

Five faculty members, selected by the statewide Academic Senate,
will also serve on the search committee, along with delegates from
the alumni association, the UCLA Foundation and campus staff.

Undergraduate President Du and graduate President Tymchuk will
represent UCLA’s students in the search process.