The following letter was also submitted to The Boston Globe.

The Emperor Strikes Back! This would have been a more appropriate headline for the front-page story in today’s Globe regarding the recommendation of the Executive Committee of the BU Board of Trustees that it renege on its decision to install Daniel Goldin as President on Nov. 1.

It is now abundantly clear that John Silber is unwilling to surrender any of his power at BU. The only individuals qualified to become president of BU are pliable sycophants, preferably trained within the warped administrative dynamics typical of the institution.

When Daniel Goldin made it clear that he would accept Silber’s offer to step down as Chancellor, he was asking for trouble. He did so because he realized that no president with an ounce of dignity would be able to function with Silber constantly meddling and second-guessing.

While serious damage to BU’s reputation has already been caused by the Executive Committee’s machinations, it will only get worse if the full board endorses its recommendation. Who in their right mind (besides the aforementioned sycophants) would ever consider becoming president of BU when Silber maintains his ironclad grip on the institution and the board that oversees it?

The questions needing to be posed are these: Will the full board function as a rubber stamp for this outrage? Will BU alumni, faculty and students stand by and watch as their university is made a laughingstock by one man’s ego? And will Attorney General Thomas Reilly stand by and watch while the situation partially remedied by former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger (who forced reforms on the BU Board of Trustees after uncovering a variety of shady dealings in the mid-90’s) deteriorates irrevocably?

And to Daniel Goldin I say this: stand firm and don’t be bullied by Silber’s lap-dogs. You will receive ample support from a variety of constituencies if you do so.

James Iffland Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies Associate Chair of the Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures Boston University

The author is a former chairman of the Boston University Faculty Council.