"An insider would have the advantage of knowinghow the place works," says Professor of BusinessAdministration Francis J. Aguilar. "[But] anoutsider would have a fresh perspective thatperhaps we don't get from the inside, and that'svaluable."

A number of faculty members interviewed say thetransfer of the deanship will be smoother if thefuture dean is already a member of the HBScommunity.

"If we pick someone internally, the odds of itbeing a good, sucessful fit without a loss ofmomentum are absolutely maximized," GoldstonProfessor of Business Administration Henry B.Reiling says.

"There's so much change underway at theSchool--if you look at publishing, if you look atexecutive education, if you look at the MBAprogram--obviously it would be easier for someonefrom the inside to have a sense of all that stuffand to come in running," says Cash, himself awidelymentioned inside candidate.

Dickinson Professor of Accounting Robert S.Kaplan agrees.

"If whomever we choose is not currently at theinstitution, anybody likely to be qualified willprobably take a while to make a graceful exit tocome here," Kaplan says. "If they choose aninternal candidate, there may be a more rapidtransition."

"It's important that the candidate has had someexposure to the Business School," Kaplan adds,citing the "uniqueness of the way the BusinessSchool teaches."

"It would be difficult to evaluate people inthis kind of environment if you personally hadn'texperienced it your self," he says.

Others interviewed, however, say that someonefrom another school would be preferable to anonacademic.

"Personally, I would like to see someone froman academic institution as opposed to someone fromthe business community," Assistant Professor ofBusiness Administration Robert J. Robinson says.

"We don't need the radical change that would beimplied by bringing in someone from industry,"Reiling says.

But some members of the faculty say much neededchange is exactly why they want the next dean tobe appointed from outside.

"I just think there are a number of changesthat would be difficult to make if we have aninsider," says an assistant professor who asked toremain unnamed.

"[Students should have] certain quantitativeskills, from operations, to accounting, tostatistics...not just the managerial perspectivewhich [the Harvard] Business School istraditionally good at [developing]," the professorsays.

One former Business School professor, who spokeon condition of anonymity, says he thinks theschool must go into the corporate world to findits next dean if it is to regain its preeminenceamong business insitutions.