Pres. search down to three candidates

Yale Provost Rodin rumored to be pick The search for the University's next president is down to three final candidates, said Alvin Shoemaker, who heads the President Search Committee. Shoemaker, who is also chairperson of the University Board of Trustees, said last week that the next president may be elected as soon as this week – seven months after the search began in May. "If all goes well, we may announce something before break," Shoemaker said. "We are down to a small number. We're down to the serious stuff." Shoemaker said he is certain the Trustees will elect a president at their January 22 campus meeting, adding that "with any luck" the announcement will come much sooner. Until then, he and other search committee members are busy "checking [the candidates'] references" and preparing to wrap up the search. Shoemaker would not release any names on the short list, citing the "sensitivity" of the process. He said if names were to "leak out," candidates might be forced to withdraw their names. "I'm sure you understand how sensitive this issue is," he said. Meanwhile, rumors have been flying about the names of the top candidate being considered for the University's presidency. Yesterday, Michael Sneed reported in her "Scoopsville" gossip column in the Chicago Sun Times that the University's next president will be Current Yale Provost Judith Rodin and that the announcement would take place today. Rodin, a University graduate and world-renowned psychologist, would be the first female, full-time Ivy League president. She was recently considered and passed over for the head of the National Institute of Health and the Yale presidency. No president search committee member would confirm or deny the rumor about Rodin. Shoemaker did not return two phone calls last night. Before the full Board of Trustees elects the next president, the search committee must submit its short list to the Executive Committee of Trustees. The Executive Committee, chaired by Shoemaker, will then interview the candidates, take a vote and recommend the final candidate to the full Board of Trustees.The board will then elect the next president. The new president-elect would assume the University's top position July 1, 1994, after Interim President Claire Fagin ends her term.

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