EDIT: Chobanian on the right foot

After a year in which the Boston University Board of Trustees was thrust into the national spotlight for tossing former President-elect Dan Goldin out before he even became president, the board went part of the way toward mending fences by completely reorganizing itself and making a number of much-needed changes that will only prove beneficial to the university.

But while the Trustees made a mistake in selecting Goldin for president and then going back on themselves, they made the correct decision by naming Aram Chobanian as the ad interim president back in November. When Chobanian stepped into his new role, he was faced with a number of challenges – the university’s image was severely tarnished and relations between the administrators and faculty had almost ceased to exist. Chobanian has only been at the reins for six short months, but he has made a number of significant changes and completely transformed the tone of the administration, a remarkable feat for the amount of fall turmoil.

Chobanian has increased the level of communication between both faculty and administrators and the student body and administrators – an important and difficult task to tackle, especially in such a short period of time. Chobanian has given off an approachable aura in a number of ways, best of which has been attending Faculty Council meetings and listing his personal email address on the university directory. By making himself available, he has created a more open and friendly environment for the entire university – a much-needed change from the cold atmosphere he inherited.

Because Chobanian will only be in office for a short period of time, he must not attempt to make huge changes but instead tackle goals that while smaller, are just as significant. When Chobanian was first named president ad interim he said his number one priority would be to heal the university – a feat that would also include focusing more on student concerns, an area many critics would say President emeritus John Silber ignored. He has healed those wounds by increasing communication and by listening to students, a feat made possible by remaining open to them.

The cable issue is a great example of Chobanian’s more-positive approach. While Silber saw the idea of bringing cable to campus as a moral problem that would go against his philosophical – and outdated – idea of today’s college student, Chobanian has begun to address the issue in a realistic manner. His involvement in the creation of a committee to investigate the possibility of bringing cable to campus – a main student concerns – demonstrates that Chobanian has a much more realistic impression of what students want. And if he doesn’t, he has done an admirable job of trying to find out.

The Board of Trustees must also be commended for becoming more open and making a number of drastic changes to the board’s structure. While critics may claim that the board’s quick decision to completely overhaul the body’s composition was an overreaction, the changes were imperative. But the board’s real test will come in November, when the Trustees will basically rebuild themselves – a number of trustees who had remained favorable to Silber in the past will be removed and fresh faces will come into play. The board’s decision to name Alan Leventhal – a young and upcoming businessman – as chairman began the process of restructuring the board, and it seems to have been a solid beginning. There is work to be done, but the board’s second-semester moves were productive.

While Chobanian has done an excellent job of being more available to students, he could also stand to follow Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore’s idea of “Coffee and Conversations” by holding an open forum for students to meet and discuss ideas with him regularly. When Chobanian does attend events on campus, students must be able to put a face to the name and meet the president. But students probably will not make the first move. To give students that opportunity, Chobanian must remain involved in campus events and should consider putting in an appearance at Student Union meetings in the fall. The Union could stand to increase student involvement and Chobanian’s presence could draw a number of students.

The board must look to Chobanian as an example – they should recognize the way in which he has behaved and improved the overall atmosphere on campus. Chobanian has tackled a number of issues in his short time as president – he has set the standard for his successor and the board must find a suitable replacement. But while such a task will be difficult, Chobanian’s successes and his continued victories will provide the opportunity to allocate the proper amount of energy, time and effort into searching for his replacement. The Goldin fiasco demonstrated the problems with making rash decisions about candidates for such an important position – a difficult (and costly) lesson learned. The return of former board Vice Chairman David D’Alessandro, who resigned just after Goldin was named president because he saw problems with the appointment, demonstrates the possibility of a more unified and stronger board in the future.

Both the Board of Trustees and its last-second interim presidential appointment, Aram Chobanian, have done a commendable job this semester of starting to repair the damage the Trustees inflicted on the university community in the fall. Chobanian has opened up lines of communication, mended fences and started the healing process. It may be a while before things are completely back to normal, and the board still has a lot to do to clean its image, but the university is headed back in the right direction.