Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 83.djvu/277

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THE NEXT COLLEGE PRESIDENT
273

of the state university; the educational system of the state may be represented by the state superintendent of the public instruction who may also be an ex officio member of a board of trustees; ecclesiastical bodies are as such sometimes represented on boards of trustees; the alumni now have representatives elected by and from their own number on many boards of trustees. But members of a college faculty have no voice whatever in the election of boards of trustees who control the policy of a college, nor have they any representation on the board of trustees. It is indeed sometimes said they are so represented by the president of the college, but since the president is elected by the trustees, not by the faculty, such a statement seems to be a mere juggling with words.

The question therefore of who is in actual control of our colleges and universities can be answered clearly, authoritatively and emphatically—it is the college president and the university president. The answer does not follow as a result of eliminating from the eight factors concerned in the problem all of the other seven whose authority has been shown to be either negligible or negative—it has been given in unmistakable terms on more than one occasion when a new college president has been elected or inaugurated, as also at other times and in other places.

The theory of the presidency is definitely stated in a series of statutes defining the powers and duties of the president that were drawn up a few years ago when a president was sought for an important university. They were formulated by the trustees after consultation with the leading candidate for the position, and the}^ are given in full as being probably the most explicit statement as yet made concerning the office.

First. The president shall be ex-officio a member of each faculty, and it shall be his right and duty to preside at every meeting thereof.

Second. The president shall have the power of nominating the dean of each faculty, subject to the approval of the board of trustees.

Third. The president shall have the right to attend all meetings of the board and to address the board upon all subjects connected with the university. He shall be ex-officio a member of all standing committees of the board.

Fourth. The president shall have the exclusive right to transmit all communications from each faculty and from each member thereof, to the board.

Fifth. The president shall have the right to recommend to the board the vacation of professorships and other positions in all departments.

Sixth. The president shall have the exclusive right to nominate professors in all departments except in so far as this may be inconsistent with the contracts under which certain of the departments are now conducted.

Seventh. The president shall have ultimate authority in all matters of discipline.

Eighth. The president shall have the right to advise the board in all matters of expenditure.