Rodin decision surprised many

The President Search Committee's work burst into the spotlight yesterday with the announcement of Yale Provost Judith Rodin's nomination to the University's presidency – but until the press conference, even committee members were in the dark. Most members of the committee and the University community professed they didn't have a clue Rodin had been picked. Even Rodin herself said she did not receive a call from Board of Trustees Chairperson Alvin Shoemaker until 7 p.m. Sunday. "I met with the [Trustees' Executive] Committee until about 5:30 p.m. [Sunday], and went back to my room and changed," she said last night. "I went over to my mother's, and the phone rang – and I was astonished." Shoemaker said Rodin gave her answer over breakfast yesterday morning, and commented that even he was astonished at the fluidity of the process. "I didn't know things would go this smoothly, but the momentum for Judy blew like a steamroller," he said, adding that the Executive Committee of Trustees, to whom the search committee had forwarded its recommendations, chose Rodin unanimously. While the process was over rapidly, members of the search committee said the decision was not as sudden as it appeared. They said the short list of candidates had been whittled down to three people by this weekend, and all three were recommended. "[The Trustee's Executive Committee] needs some leeway, and we gave them that," Nursing Professor and committee member Barbara Lowery said. Other members, though, said the choice was clear. "We knew she was one of the very obvious candidates," Statistics Professor David Hildebrand said. "Every major candidate's materials were gathered in a big looseleaf notebook. Judy Rodin had two notebooks, full of recommendation letters and commentary of all kinds. She was certainly one of the natural candidates from the go." Search committee member and English Professor Houston Baker said the decision process did not speed up over the weekend, but simply came to a conclusion. He said the transition process can begin with the spring semester, easing the administration shift. "[Interim President] Claire Fagin and [Interim Provost] Marvin Lazerson have done a wonderful job," Baker said. "But as with all acting administrations, how long can the honeymoon go on?" While most around the University had speculated an announcement would be made by January, some were taken aback by the swiftness of yesterday's announcement. "I had vast advance notice – three hours," Hildebrand said. And both undergraduates on the Search Committee, College senior Jun Bang and Wharton senior Sharon Molinoff, said they did not know about the choice until yesterday morning. "I think that when they do something like this, they want to make it so that everybody finds out at the same time," said University spokesperson Barbara Beck. "The whole University knew at the same time."

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