Bok has especially been criticized for fostering a tenure system that hardly takes teaching ability into account when evaluating scholars for lifetime professorships.

Bok says that research and teaching are equally important aspects of research universities. Good teaching, he says, is normally a natural outgrowth of research, since it constantly expands and renews both field and teacher.

And senior faculty members tend to agree that, while it is difficult to balance the two factors, teaching skill alone does not make a good professor.

"There is a tension between teaching and research, but to resolve it by saying, 'focus only on teaching' is not a solution," according to David A. Riesman '31, Ford Foundation professor of social sciences emeritus, "because then faculty members members only get older, and not wiser."

Despite the criticisms Bok has weathered, Riesman concludes that the president's academic vision for the University has translated into reality.

"Bok will leave a legacy of excellence," Riesman says, "whether people have liked the process or not."