Christina Domenico | Too soon to say goodbye

Provost Ron Daniels and I have something in common: We'll both depart dear old Penn next semester.

But we're also very different in that sense - I'll take off in May after donning a cap and gown, but he's heading to Johns Hopkins at the beginning of March to assume his new position as the university's president.

When I first heard that news, I was taken aback by the seemingly arbitrary timing - the only things that end mid-semester are half-credit Wharton courses. As chief academic officer and a visible liaison for faculty and students, the provost's tenure should match up with the school year. The transition to an interim provost mid-semester breaks up the flow of the academic environment for students and administrators alike. You don't change horses midstream, they say, but we're about to.

While the student body won't likely notice a day-to-day difference on campus come next March, there is some anxiety about making a change mid-semester. A few administrators expressed uncertainty about how the change will affect the tenure process and planning in previous DP articles.

So why is Daniels heading to Hopkins in March, of all the times of the year? A spokesman for the Provost's Office wrote in an e-mail that "President Brody at Johns Hopkins originally announced that he would resign as of the end of 2008. He graciously agreed to stay in office until the end of February 2009, so that Provost Daniels could have several extra months to help implement a smooth transition at Penn."

Ah, so it's the other guy's fault. An interim president makes even less sense to me than an interim provost, so it's good for Hopkins that Daniels is stepping in the moment Brody steps down. But there should be a guideline for when top administrators can resign - leaving in the middle of a school year makes zero sense for relationships with faculty and students. Without an unofficial "rule" for how these issues should play out, all parties involved have to scramble around, swapping titles and searching for new people.

Of course, the lengths of those searches all vary, so a uniform standard could face issues. In any case, all parties involved should try to avoid a midterm exit. There's no closure, no last "hurrah!" or "thank you!" when a school's number two leaves mere months before celebrating another commencement.

Currently, the University won't even be transitioning to a permanent new provost in March. Rather, the interim provost will be Associate Provost Vincent Price.

The provost's spokesman added "it is better for Interim Provost Price to begin his term in the middle of the spring semester, rather than in mid-summer, because there will be ongoing student, budget and school activities then, as well as meetings of trustees, undergraduate and graduate student government, University Council and planning for the fall semester."

But that's exactly the point. Any leadership transition always faces roadblocks - ask any student group how long it takes new officers to acclimate to their roles. Daniels has been a very hands-on administrator when working with student groups and faculty, and a mid-semester switch could impede their project planning.

As a recent example shows, a long transition period that extends into the summer can eliminate most consequences. Former Wharton Dean Thomas Harker left to become the president of the University of Delaware in July 2007, and that didn't fatally wound Wharton's ongoing events or planning activities.

Daniels and Price will have to capitalize on the short time they have to ensure that the spring semester's activities continue without a problem once March arrives. By that time, student and academic groups - especially student groups, many of which change their leadership in December - will be accustomed to working with Daniels, and it's up to Price to maintain that continuity throughout the end of the school year.

But next time, just let summer vacation bring on the changes. The University chose to do so with Logan (sorry, Cohen) Hall, this major change should be no different.

Christina Domenico is a College senior from North Wildwood, N.J. Her e-mail is domenico@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Undersized Undergrad appears on Wednesdays.

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