Derek Bok leaned back in his dean's chair this morning, waiting for the call from University Hall, talking about his new job.

Before the call came at 12:30 p.m., he spoke again and again of the importance of achieving contact with students.

"My own feeling is that it is really terribly important that you be as open as you can be about what you're doing, be very careful about what you promise and that you break your back to fulfill and commitments that you do make-and in that way very slowly build up trust in at least a substantial number of students and faculty," he said.

Bok seems to know that won't be easy, and he has no illusions that he will remain in office until retirement.

"The strains and difficulties of the job, the pace and rate of change all suggest very strongly that one should look forward to more limited periods" than recent Presidents have served, he said.

No one has raised the question of a limited term with him, Bok said, but he mentioned ten to 14 years as a reasonable term in office. "I don't say that has any magic for me," he added.

Not unexpectedly, Bok intends to delegate authority more than the present chief in Massachusetts Hall.

Bok spoke of "beginning to trim the job to manageable dimensions" but said that he has not decided whether this should be done through the appointment of one or more provosts or through the creation of other "relatively high-ranking posts."

"Trying to influence the agenda" is Bok's conception of his role in helping modernize the University, and he said he thinks the "internal" part is the most important part of his job.

"There is an obvious need to make contact with the alumni," Bok said, but in response to another question he added, "I don't think a President can do the job I think is needed if he spends a great deal of personal time raising money."

The University reportedly wanted a "Kingman Brewster type" for President. It got not only a friend of Brewster but a man who intends to speak out on public issues.

"I certainly think a President ought to be able to speak out as an individual on any issue he thinks is important," Bok said.

But apparently Presidential pronouncements will be few, at least for a while.

"It's difficult to inform oneself adequately on the wide range of public issues," Bok said. "One isn't going to be listened to for very long, if at all, unless he speaks with authority, from factual knowledge."

And Bok admitted that he is not quite sure what his new post consists of. "Since every tub sits on its own bottom now, the conception of a dean as to what the President's job consists of is very fragmented," he said.