May 19, 2008

New Chapel Hill Chancellor Got His Job Offer at the Gas Pump

The University of North Carolina’s president, Erskine B. Bowles, picked an Exxon gas station as the venue for his hiring pitch for the chancellor’s job at Chapel Hill, the system’s flagship campus.

During a meeting several weeks ago in Greensboro, N.C., university officials discussed the job with H. Holden Thorp, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Bowles made his move on the drive with Mr. Thorp back to Chapel Hill.

As Mr. Thorp related in a university-published account, Mr. Bowles was pumping gas into their tank at the Exxon when “he leaned back into the car and said, ‘I know this probably isn’t the place where you thought you’d get the most important job offer of your life, but I’d like you to be the chancellor at Chapel Hill.’”

Mr. Thorp accepted. With his hiring, which was announced two weeks ago, the university has bucked a trend in which most major institutions choose established leaders as their chiefs. However, Chapel Hill is not alone in promoting from within, as it is following similar hires by Vanderbilt and Harvard Universities.

One of the key selling points for Mr. Thorp, an esteemed chemist, North Carolina native, and university alumnus, is that he is only 43 years old. The ideal tenure for a president is a decade, experts say. But only 8 percent of college chiefs are under 50, according to a recent Chronicle survey. —Paul Fain

Comments

1. I’d accept that job even if it was at a bp or shell station!!!!

   — stuart lenig    May 19, 04:29 PM    #

2. Well, maybe not a Shell station…

   — PS    May 19, 05:56 PM    #

3. Makes for great PR, doesn’t it? The wheeling and dealing and networking are left out of the details. We are suckers for a good story.

   — xol    May 19, 07:50 PM    #

4. Is there any wonder there isn’t any faith in the search process, or diversity on the administrative staffs of major universities? I guess all of the culturally diverse candidates were scared away by the high price of regular?

   REJ

   — Dr. Raymond E. Janifer    May 19, 11:15 PM    #

5. Glad to know the good ole boy network is alive and well in North Carolina. What an absurd and outlandish story, one that should be used as a test case for discrimination and unfair labor practices.

   — Mary    May 20, 06:12 AM    #

6. What is missing from the article and the posted comments is how it really played out before the offer. This followed a very thorough and exhaustive search committee process with representatives from faculty, students, staff, trustees, etc. A consulting firm was involved to ensure a strong pool. A short list was provided to the President of the system. He selected Chancellor-elect Thorpe from that short list.

   — RP    May 20, 07:04 AM    #

7. We used to get trading stamps at the gas station. All I get now is hosed…..

   — GT    May 20, 07:55 AM    #

8. The gas fumes from the pump obviously influenced the Dean’s decision. President Bowles is to be applauded for his cunning.

   — ricardo    May 20, 08:21 AM    #

9. REJ wrote:

   Is there any wonder there isn’t any faith in the search process, or diversity on the administrative staffs of major universities? I guess all of the culturally diverse candidates were scared away by the high price of regular?

   REJ

   Amen to your statement! I am sure (or at least I hope) that there were other things behind the scenes to get Thorp chosen.

   — D    May 20, 08:39 AM    #

10. As a footnote, why an Exxon station? Exxon Mobil is virtually alone among major oil companies in its denial of global warming, its funding of junk science to discount it, and its lack of investment in alternative energy sources. Some smarty pants Chapel Hill dudes are spending public money very stupidly.

    — Marc    May 20, 08:57 AM    #

11. It’s always entertaining to see yet another higher education institution headed by and selecting as president/chancellor/CEO men whose first and last names appear interchangeable.

    This practice used to be reserved for Ivy-league institutions but has invaded many of the publics as well.

    — Anti-hypocrisy advocate    May 20, 09:23 AM    #

12. U r who u know, not what u know and, more importantly, u r how comfortable u make those above u. Nothing changes, thousands of dollars spent on hiring for a position that probably a couple of thousand people at UNC alone could hold. What a waste of many to pay someone for their CV and not their prospects.

    — Anonymous    May 20, 11:00 AM    #

13. What’s most hilarious about this ridiculous story isn’t the gas station, but the fact that Bowles is so personally arrogant, has such an inflated view of UNC-Chapel Hill, or such a moderate opinion of Thorp that he refers to this offer to a 43-year-old as “the most important job offer of your life.” I guess he doesn’t think that Yale or Berkeley is likely to come calling. For that reason alone, I’d tell him where he could stick that gas pump.

    — Saucy    May 20, 11:09 AM    #

14. UNC actually followed a very thorough and appropriate process in making this drecision. Carolina has appointed a Chancellor who is an acclaimed academic, strong leader, and tireless advocate of the University. Holden Thorp is an outstanding choice for North Carolina. I think it’s refreshing that President Bowles felt comfortable making the offer when and where the spirit moved him. He certainly was correct in saying that this was the most important offer of Thorp’s life to date.

    — Ted Hill    May 20, 01:38 PM    #

15. Such as Adam Herbert, or is it Herbert Adams (I can never remember), the “retired” president of Indiana U. whose main claim to fame seems to be hiring the now disgraced basketball coach, Kelvin Sampson.

    — Raymond Shoemaker    May 20, 03:24 PM    #

16. Yes, one of the latest trends in academic “governance” is the world-wide search for a quality candidate, generally preceded by an increase in the salary parameters to be able to attract the most qualified person – only to discover that the best qualified candidate in the entire world was right there on the campus!

    Why, who’d a-thunk it?

    Seriously, if, instead of a corporate model of the university, the old tried-and-true model of faculty governance were to be revived – wherein the head of the institution was elected from the members of the faculty – then, and only then, could we applaud.

    — Anti-hypocrisy advocate    May 20, 04:09 PM    #

17. Were there more details that were omitted? Like did they get a cold drink and a moon pie? Did anyone kick tires to check inflation? Were dipsticks checked?

    — GT    May 20, 05:17 PM    #

18. Thorp is a dean and a well-respected member of the chemistry faculty at Chapel Hill. (In fact, it’s general operating procedure for deans to be drawn from faculty for a term and then return to teaching/research.) It’s astounding, and more than a little ironic, that more and more of the postings here (e.g., 5, 9, 12, 16) reflect the clueless ranting so pervasive in contemporary America. It’s obvious that many folks clearly don’t know diddly squat, but apparently since they have ‘good self-esteem,’ they speak and act as if whatever they feel/fear must be true and accurate. Why bother to educate yourself when it might interfere with your beliefs in your fears, anxieties, and stereotypes, right? Flaming ignorance is bliss.

    — John    May 20, 08:54 PM    #

19. Don’t worry, John. We’re just passing time and gas.

    — xol    May 20, 10:04 PM    #

20. Dear John,
    This story is so preciously idiotic and only confirms the ever-growing general consensus that the academy is in the hands of arrogant and hypocritical bigots hanging around for their fabulous golden retirement parachutes tocatch that final gust of wind to the sunbelt and that endless round of golf, while their botox’d wives get their manicures and pedicures and dream of that next bottomless martini. After having seen corrupt, fake, insider searches propped up as honest, equitable and “accessible”, UNC’s most recent contribution to that manure pile is just pathetic. But never mind, I am sure all the other well-intentioned, unsuspecting applicants are just as thrilled with this over-inflated display of “us-guys” egos as they are with the ever-inflating price of gasoline. Fill ‘er up please. For a reality check look into the last decade of President and Chancellor dog and pony shows at Cornell & UW-Madison for a good laugh.

    — Coldwell Butterworth-Czichiniski III    May 22, 12:05 PM    #

21. …“One of the key selling points for Mr. Thorp, an esteemed chemist, North Carolina native, and university alumnus, is that he is only 43 years old. The ideal tenure for a president is a decade, experts say. But only 8 percent of college chiefs are under 50, according to a recent Chronicle survey.”…. —Paul Fain

    Isn’t emphasis on age for job consideration illegal, oh, wait, I hear the excuses now…oh yeah….

    — agism anyone?    May 22, 02:29 PM    #

Previous: Lebanon's Universities Reopen
Next: American Universities Under Pressure to Develop More Programs in India