Goldin said to insist that Silber step down

By Patrick Healy and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 8/25/2003

John Silber is stepping down as chancellor of Boston University in November at the insistence of incoming president Daniel S. Goldin, who told Silber and BU trustees that he would not accept the presidency if it meant sharing power with the university's longtime leader, according to several trustees and campus officials.

When he interviewed this spring with BU's presidential search committee, which included Silber, Goldin put his request flatly, saying he couldn't take "personal responsibility" for the school if Silber stayed in his perch as chancellor. Turning to Silber, Goldin said, "You have to step aside."

Silber's departure, after 32 years in office, marks a final chapter for a local power player whose name had become synonymous with BU -- and who won fans and critics alike for speaking his mind on everything from student morality to the intellectual threat of political correctness.

His exit underscores the degree to which BU leaders see the arrival of Goldin, who led NASA in the 1990s, as a new beginning for the nation's fourth-largest private university -- a president with no enemies and a fresh vision for the school.

Silber, 77, agreed to step down, campus officials say, in part because he is remaining as a BU trustee, allowing him to keep some influence over Goldin's plans.

Goldin's demand was not a reflection of bad chemistry with Silber, the BU sources say, noting that Goldin has already built a better relationship with Silber than some longtime BU trustees have. Rather, Goldin was willing to put the $600,000-a-year presidency on the line because he felt the secret to his successes as an engineer and as NASA's longest-serving leader -- "taking personal responsibility for everything I did" -- might be undermined by Silber's behind-the-scenes maneuvering and shoot-from-the-hip style.

Their relationship is also important in laying the groundwork for Silber's exit from BU, which some Silber-watchers chuckled about never living to see. As president from 1971 to 1996 and chancellor since then, he transformed the former Commonwealth Avenue commuter school into a worldwide draw.

"It was not originally John Silber's idea [to step down as chancellor] . . . but I think he is comfortable with that idea," said BU trustee Mel Miller, vice chairman of the BU presidential search committee that recommended Goldin's appointment. Miller did not discuss whether he supported Goldin's demand, and Silber did not return phone calls seeking comment last week. BU trustees are cushioning Silber's move from chancellor to president emeritus, which happens upon Goldin's arrival Nov. 1.

Silber has become a wealthy man on the school's payroll, earning $807,229 during the 2001-02 academic year -- one of the highest salaries paid to a US university leader -- and possibly making even more in 2002-03, when he became BU's leader after president Jon Westling was ousted by trustees.

After November, Silber will receive a $73,000 annual annuity, among other benefits, and be eligible to continue living in his spacious BU-owned house on Brookline's Carlton Street. Under an agreement with BU, Silber may remain in the house as long as he continues to hold some fund-raising and alumni events there.

BU officials would not say Friday if Silber will receive a corporate-style severance package or "honor-of-service" gift, increasingly common for leaders of public and private nonprofit universities.

Outgoing UMass President William M. Bulger has come under fire recently for negotiating a $960,000 severance deal, which Governor Mitt Romney has termed "excessive," although it is a fairly standard package for public university leaders.

Former Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine received $753,172 in compensation, benefits and expenses, and "gifts in honor of service" after stepping down in 2001, according to Harvard's latest tax filings, and John DiBiaggio received about $422,686 in compensation and benefits as president emeritus of Tufts University in 2001-02.

"We want to honor John Silber's service to the institution, and we will find ways this fall and this year to do that," said one trustee, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trustees will look at further financial benefits for Silber and permanent ways to recognize his service on campus.

Many professors and officials did not expect Silber to cede power easily to Goldin, given the chancellor's own history and personal stake at BU. When Silber ran for governor of Massachusetts in 1990, as the Democratic nominee against Republican William Weld, he installed his protege, Westling, as acting president -- allowing Silber to retain a say in running the campus.

In 1996, when Silber tapped Westling for the permanent presidency, the trustees created a new position for him, "Chancellor," in which he kept power to approve major decisions, a highly unusual arrangement. (At most private colleges, chancellorships are figurehead posts that allow ex-presidents to have a title.)

A philosophy scholar and cultural conservative, Silber intruded on Westling's authority last year when students proposed that they be permitted to sleep overnight in dorms with each other; Silber derided the notion of "weekend love nests" at BU and said dorm policy would not change.

After Westling stepped down in July 2002, Silber continued reshaping the campus's business agenda, and enraged some students by closing a gay club at a BU-run high school and then again by saying that BU needed to recruit more male students.

Goldin sought advice during the search process from some colleagues in academia and elsewhere about dealing with Silber.

"I think I need Silber to step aside," Goldin told one associate before the interview. The associate spoke to the Globe on condition of anonymity.

Goldin and Silber are both described by friends as exuding confidence, determination, and a certain willfulness, and those were qualities that Silber liked in Goldin, according to search committee members. When Goldin suggested directly to Silber that he should step aside, committee members said, Silber did not appear surprised by the idea.

"John was very supportive of what Dan said, and certainly did not take umbrage to it," said one person who witnessed the encounter, and declined to be named.

This person came away from the exchange wondering if Goldin and Silber had rehearsed the comments.

"At the time, I thought Dan and John might have been coaching each other, as a way of establishing an independent candidacy for Dan Goldin. No one can be sure," said the person who added that it was not clear at what point Silber decided to back Goldin for the presidency.

When BU announced last month it was negotiating with Goldin, school officials also disclosed that Silber would step down if Goldin came.

At the time, BU trustee chairman Christopher Barreca said that Silber would return to write and lecture. Some friends said that Silber, while energized by his job running the school again after Westling's departure, was also distracted at times. His wife has also been ill recently, friends said.

For his part, Goldin declined to comment last week on Silber's transition to president emeritus, except to say he expected to tap Silber's knowledge over time.

"I've had an incredibly positive, cordial relationship with Dr. Silber, every step of the way," Goldin said.

Patrick Healy can be reached at phealy@globe.com.