Ryan Benjamin | Perfectly perfect in every way

As we retreat to our study spaces over the next few days and ultimately leave for winter break, someone else will be preparing for his departure from Penn - for good. In March, Provost Ron Daniels, the University's academic number two, will trade the red and the blue for the blue and the white and become president of Johns Hopkins University.

Over break, while most of us celebrate the holidays, some of the University's big shots will be thinking about what they want in a new provost.

I often find that most people don't really know what the provost does - let alone who he is - so I went straight to the source. "The provost is Penn's chief academic officer, [who works] closely with the President and the deans [and] oversees all aspects of the University related primarily to education, research and teaching," the provost's spokesperson said.

Well, that's just about everything. (So you might ask, then what does Amy Gutmann do? Alas, another column, another day.) If you haven't noticed, Penn's a big place: 24,179 students, 20,381 faculty and staff, one of the largest hospital systems in the country, a $5.5 billion budget (and shrinking), one president and one provost. So the selection committee has a lot to consider.

How does this translate to the search for a new provost? First, academics: We have four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate schools but one university. As such, we need a provost who understands the balance between research, teaching and learning - and can capitalize on it.

Of the 12 graduate deans, I asked one, School of Education Dean Andy Porter, what he wants for his school. Daniels, he said, has been a "terrific" provost, and in his mold he wants someone who is "open, honest and a good listener." He also would like to see Daniels' use of data-driven decision-making continue on in the next provost.

From an undergraduate perspective, College associate director of Academic Affairs Eric Schneider said the provost "should foster cooperation among the four undergraduate schools as well as with the graduate schools." He noted that the current funding scheme of awarding tuition based on the classes students take encourages competition between the schools, which a new provost should "discourage."

And over 200 student groups depend on funding trickled down from the provost's pen. Daniels has made this a priority. "I hope that the next provost can continue to work with student groups with the same zeal and commitment," Harrison College House Dean Frank Pellicone said.

Let's take just one of these many student interests: Civic engagement, a part of the Penn Compact, to which Provost Daniels has committed significant resources. College senior and Hillel Soup Kitchen director Dave Weinreb wants the new provost to "give serious consideration to orienting Penn as the pre-professional, civic-minded Ivy." The next provost should continue Daniels' commitment to Penn-in-Botswana and other global initiatives.

Then there's the medical system, libraries, arts and culture, the museum and athletics, all of which have no room in this column. And I almost forgot the 264,000 living alumni around the world who undoubtedly have a say because - let's face it - they fund the endowment.

Ultimately, the new provost will serve at the pleasure of the president and will be chosen by Amy Gutmann and a selection committee headed by Wharton Dean Tom Robertson.

Above all, the new provost must intimately understand each of Penn's many components and their combined synergy that makes this a world-class university. But this person must realize his or her limitations in a system ultimately ruled by ther deans and the faculty.

In this economic climate, it may be wise to select from within Penn rather than choosing from the outside so the provost can get right down to business on day one without wasting time to understand the minutiae of Penn's decentralized nature.

If one thing is clear, it's that Penn's next provost will have a lot of work to do and people to please. The Selection Committee should find someone committed, savvy and dynamic enough to build consensus between constituency groups while being a strong leader.

Ryan Benjamin is a College senior from New Haven, Conn. His email is benjamin@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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