The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 26, 1975 Page: 2 of 12
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the rice thresher
editorial
EtlENC
The Presidency and the Cult of Power at Rice
The method of President Hackerman's
appointment of a new dean of the school of
engineering must surely seem discouraging to
anyone interested in the welfare of this univer-
sity. Coupled with other incidents over the past
several months, it shows an insensitivity on the
part of the President toward faculty participa-
tion in the setting of common goals and demon-
strates once more his clear determination to
bypass the faculty in making important and far-
reaching policy and administrative decisions.
It would seem that Hackerman is more con-
cerned with preserving the powers of his own
office than in seeking a broad consensus for the
direction of the university.
High level appointments are made by and
from the President's office. And the University
Council, which ought to be strengthened, is
deliberately and sometimes deviously bypassed
by a President who is intent on preserving to the
fullest his own power. One faculty member says,
"Hackerman has an abysmal record of
appointments." Even when the people are good,
are well-liked, the methods are bad, for they
repeatedly illustrate President Hackerman's
reliance on the principle of rule by presidential
fiat.
Here are but a few other examples of Presi-
dent Hackerman's style of leadership:
In separating the school of engineering from
the sciences, Hackerman bypassed the University ,
Council, claiming that the move involved no
change in curriculum or programs. How can he
say this when he himself emphasized the need
for more professionalism in engineering and a
re-establishment of links with industry as justifi-
cations for the separation? If this does not
involve a change in programs, then what does?
President Hackerman again failed to consult
the University Council concerning the appoint-
ments of the two Vice Presidents — even though
the charter of the Council specifically says that
he should do so. Indeed, he has repeatedly insis-
ted that he will not consult the Council with
regard to high administrative appointments.
President Hackerman has repeatedly asserted
that he is the only link between the Board of
Governors and the rest of the University. Surely,
however, as he himself must know, no one can
or ought to be expected to convey alone that
infinitely complex pattern of needs which is
Rice.
The fullest sense of Hackerman's attempts to
buttress the position of the President as the ulti-
mate center of authority within the university is
his arrogant assertion, oft-expressed to both stu-
dents and faculty, "This is my university."
President Hackerman has at times noted the
corporate character of the university, stressing
his role as chief executive.
But the university is much more. In its most
precious essence it is a fragile collectivity of indi-
viduals. But this fragile collectivity, this essence
of free thought, is easily lost. And the evidence
of this loss is all too apparent now in the current
demoralization of the faculty.
The Hackerman administration has often
been based on expedience; it, like the adminis-
trations of Coolidge and Harding, has had for its
keynote "Balance the Budget." Laudably, Presi-
dent Hackerman has done that; but he has
shown much less commitment to principles and
ideals. To many students and faculty alike, the
University seems to be simply wandering, its
course uncharted.
That is the mood of Rice today. Good facul-
ty, good staff, good students, all know that the
situation is deteriorating. Faculty morale is at a
low. Meanwhile, the library, the very heart of
the university, continues to decline surely and
perhaps precipituously given the priorities of
this administration.
If the University is to survive during this
period of retrenchment, then it is essential that
the faculty be given a meaningful say in its fate,
and made to feel a vital and continuing part of
the university. It is not a matter of choice; it is
an absolute necessity. The view of the university
as corporation may be appropriate for a large
state university; but such a limited outlook at a
small private university can only result in disas-
ter.
Strong leadership linked to faculty participa-
tion has its place in the university; government
,„by presidential fiat does not.
—John anderson and gary brewton
Although Dr. Hackerman
prides himself on the fact that
he is accesible to anyone in the
Rice community, from my own
experience, the meaningfulness
of such personal contact is
questionable. One of Hacker-
man's techniques is to use the
telephone call as a vent for his
anger, a technique which con-
veniently leaves no tell-tale
traces the way a sharply-worded
letter or memorandum would.
Even in a personal interview,
Hackerman uses his position and
authority to intimidate even the
most docile reporter. On one
occasion, I had been informed
by one of Hackerman's adminis-
trators that there would be "big
changes" in the women's athletic
program next fall, and that I
should speak to the President to
get further details.
When I opened the succeed-
ing interview with the question,
"what changes will be made?",
Hackerman jumped on the word
"changes" and said there weren't
going to be any "changes" —
only "evolutionary changes,"
whatever the distinction is.
He also said, "You birds that
write have a bias," and accused
me, in very belligerent language,
of being hostile to the athletic
program and wanting to destroy
it.
When I asked him about a
petition with 70 signatures (sent
to the President's office several
months before) requesting that a
female faculty member be
placed on the Committee on
Intercollegiate Athletics, Hack-
erman flatly denied ever
receiving the petition, and curtly
suggested that I check my stories
more carefully.
(A week later, after checking,
we discovered that the petition
had somehow wound up in the
office of Doug Osburn, the
director of women's athletics,
yet it had been clearly stamped
"Received, Office of the Presi-
dent," with date and time.
When confronted with this
find, Hackerman became
agitated and insisted that he had
never seen the petition and that
there was "no chicanery" going
on in his office.
Though I believe him on this
point, it still mystifies me that a
petition with 70 signatures could
be sent off to someone else's
office without the President or
his executive secretary ever
knowing about it.)
At the previously mentioned
interview, though, I continued
by asking whether he was going
to appoint a woman to the Com-
mittee on Intercollegiate
Athletics. He replied, Yes, but
he couldn't give out her name
until she was approved by the
Board. The previous week at
Alfred's I had overheard a con-
versation at the next- table, at
which one of the people matter-
of-factly remarked that Mary
Wheeler had been appointed to
the committee. So I asked Hack-
erman, "Is it Mary Wheeler?"
He practically exploded. He
asked me if I had tapped his
phone, asserted that it wasn't a
difficult thing to do with all the
thres
m
John Anderson . Contributing Editor
Emily Coffman . . . .Hobbit Emeritus
Mark Linimon .... Back Page Editor
and Chief Technician
Debbie Osterman .... Sports Editor
E.E.'s running around, and that I
must have tapped his phone
since the only person he had dis-
cussed the appointment with
was Mary Wheeler herself and
that only over the phone.
—editor
GARY BREWTON
Editor
JANET DOTY
Business Manager
Cathy Egan Assistant
Business Manager
Elaine Bonilla Fine Arts Editor
Dana Blankenhorn . Features Editor
Staff: James Aronovsky, James Robert Sable, Jack Adams, Joel Rennie,
Michael Doty, Ed Deiter.
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University since
1916, is published semi-weekly on Mondays and Thursdays during the school
year except during examination periods and holidays by the students of Rice
University, 528—4141 ext 221. Advertising information is available on
request, 528—4141 ext 356. Mail subscription rate, $15 per year. The opinions
expressed herein are not necessarily those of anyone except the writer.
Obviously.
the rice thresher, thursday, june 26, 1975 — page 2
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 26, 1975, newspaper, June 26, 1975; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245241/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.