Former chair of the University Board of Trustees Scott Bok spoke out in an opinion piece published in The Daily Pennsylvanian, expressing concerns about the upcoming presidential search.
In the Feb. 1 column, Bok warned that the next presidential search will be different than previous ones. Writing that the turmoil last semester "shattered" the idea of broadly shared values across the University, he proposed five questions to consider before beginning the search process.
Bok served as the chair of the Board of Trustees during the search to appoint former president Amy Gutmann’s successor. He described the search process for Magill as a “harmonious, conflict-free affair” that reflected a set of widely shared beliefs among the Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and students.
He wrote that while the consultative committee held thorough discussion throughout the search, several major beliefs involving Penn's free speech policies, shared governance, and faculty and student diversity "did not require discussion or debate."
"Nobody suggested that Penn’s culture had gone wrong,” Bok wrote, adding that no one questioned whether Penn's rules on free expression or code of conduct should be changed.
Bok noted that while the technical process by which the next president is to be elected will remain the same, the terms surrounding that selection will be different. He suggested that the University ask itself several questions in preparation for seeking a presidential candidate.
“I know what my responses to those questions would be, but it is now for others to provide the answers," Bok wrote.
Among the questions posed by Bok, he asks whether the roles between trustees, the president, and the faculty should change, and if the University guidelines on free speech and open expression should be changed.
“Is there a shared belief in the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion?” Bok added, suggesting a focus on each of those words individually rather than the D.E.I acronym “that has become such a political football.”
Bok also noted that several other universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, will be looking for new presidents, making Penn's search more difficult than last time.
“To maximize the potential for success in Penn’s next search, it is worth taking whatever time is necessary to answer the foregoing questions, both within the board of trustees and across the other constituents that play a governance role at the University,” he wrote.
Bok stepped down from his position as the chair of the Board of Trustees on Dec. 9 minutes after Liz Magill resigned from her position as president. These simultaneous resignations were unprecedented.
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