David Canfield: [To Dr. Likins] “As the individual who oversaw Lehigh's growth during the 1980s and 1990s, we feel you can give us a better idea of how the presidency has changed in the past several decades. Specifically, do you feel the role of the president has been strengthened or weakened over this time period? And what area or areas best describe the role of the president today?”
Dr. Likins: “You are interested in the ways the role of the president changed during my tenure. I was told upon my arrival by the board president (a fine gentleman named Hal Mohler) that Lehigh had survived the recent shocks of admitting women and coping with student anti-war demonstrations and there was no appetite for (nor need for) disruptive change. I invested a full year in learning more about Lehigh before I began pushing for significant changes, and I’m sure there was a more conservative element of the board, the faculty and the alumni body who were uneasy about my initiatives. Gradually my positions prevailed, suggesting a strengthening of the presidency, but after fourteen years I was told by a new board chair that I had just two more years to serve; after just one year I competed successfully for the University of Arizona presidency and left Lehigh.”
“This much has not changed: The role of the president is ultimately determined by the governing board.”
“Any university president in a research-intensive university must satisfy multiple constituencies: students, faculty, staff, the community, alumni and benefactors, in addition to the governing board (and the state legislature for public universities.) At different times in history different constituencies have been dominant in the life of a president, in part because of changes external to the university. In eras of dramatic change in society, related for example to wars or civil rights struggles, the primary challenges come from students and faculty, but when the most difficult problems are financial, as they have been in the past decade and more, the governing board (including individuals expert in financial management) steps into the role of change agent.”
“I can’t comment on trends at Lehigh in presidential leadership, but across the nation, in fine universities both public and private, there has been a shift in presidential focus from matters of intellectual and social policy (primarily affecting students and faculty) to matters of financial policy (primarily of immediate concern to trustees or regents and external constituencies.) In the current environment the president can easily be caught between conflicting constituencies, resulting in shorter presidential terms and more circumscribed power for the president to effect change.”
“I hesitate to respond directly to your question: Has the role of the president been strengthened or weakened in the past several decades? From my perspective, based on my own experience and observations nationally, I would say that the president has been strengthened relative to faculty and weakened relative to the governing board.”
