Forrest Gump might have compared a dean search at Harvard University to a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get.
That maxim is usually true as search committees gather names of possible candidates in the early stages of the process. And it's always true when the search provides a president with the chance to determine the path of a school whose educational future is uncertain.
Faculty, staff and administrators at the Harvard Business School are busy writing letters to and meeting with President Neil L. Rudenstine during the search for a successor to outgoing Dean John H. McArthur. Ideas about the qualities for the new dean are abundant, rampant--and above all, as assorted and extravagant as the cremes in a box of Godiva.
Some members of the Business School community are urging Rudestine to select an outsider to replace McArthur, citing the need for a fresh perspective to help the school recapture its fomerly unchallenged perch at the pinnacle of business education.
Others are telling the president to pick an insider, saying that only someone intimately familiar with the historically independent school can be a successful leader.
Finally, many say they want a dean in place as soon as possible, while others--including the president himself--cite the need for a careful, through search.
But as Rudenstine prepares to replace McArthur, all parties agree on one thing. As school stands at a crossroads and the choice of its new leader will not be easy.
The Four Early Favorites
The search process is still in its infancy--advisory committees have just begun to meet and a list of potential candidates is currently being complied, according to Rudenstine.
Still, just six weeks after McArthur announced his intention to retire after 15 years in the deanship, observers' speculation has been centering around only a few names.
In the days following McArthur's announcement, many dubbed Robison Professor of Business Administration James I. Cash Jr. as the favorite to be his successor.
Since then, though, it has become evident there is no consenus pick.
Sources also have repeatedly listed Figgie Professor of Business Administration Kim B. Clark '74, Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration William A. Sahlman and Professor of Business Administration Leonard Schlesinger as likely candidates for the post.
Especially in recent weeks, Schlesinger's name has come to the Assistant Professor Kazuro Mishina says thatSchlesinger is appropriate for the position. "[Schlesinger's] specialization is servicemanagement. A lot of students ask why we know somuch about service management but practice solittle," Mishina says. "It's time to put thatpractice into use." But despite potential contenders, Cash is stillthe favorite in the eyes of many observers in theBusiness School community. Cash, currently thedirector of the MBA program, led the school'srecent comprehensive restructuring of the MBAcurriculum," Leadership and Learning." In addition, Cash has one other characteristicthat makes him a hot commodity for a diversityconscious University: He is Black. Harvard has 10faculties, all of which are presently headed bywhite males. Still, at least one professor says that Cash isnot the most well-liked member of the BusinessSchool's faculty. Cash may have "alienated a lot of people" asdirector of Leadership and Learning, one professorsays. "Jim took a lot of the heat for [Leadership andLearning's unpopular changes], which makes hiscandidacy a little more difficult," the sourcesaid. Other Business School observers, however, pointto Clark as the best candidate. Clark's chances may be helped by the fact thatunlike Cash and Schlesinger, he has not previouslyheld a high administrative position, says aprofessor who named Clark as the most likelysuccessor. "People who...have power and responsibilityhave lots of influence, but make enemies," saysthe professor, who insisted on anonymity. Sahlman, the director of the Business School'spublishing activities, has drawn praise from somesources for his lead in the rebound of theschool's publishing enterprise. As a senior associate dean at the school, hehas also been described as an accomplishedbusiness negotiator and effective capitalist. Those four names are the among hundreds beingoffered to Rudenstine, who is in the process ofsoliciting advice and suggestions from HBScommunity. Last month, less than three weeks afterMcArthur's announcement of his intention to retireas soon as a successor is found, Rudenstine sentout letters asking for input from faculty, staff,administrators and students from the BusinessSchool. He also named members of twocommittees-one composed of faculty andadministrators and another composed of alumni andBusiness School affiliates--who will assist himwith the search for the next dean. In addition, Rudenstine has been meetingperiodically with various groups from thecommunity. Last Monday, for example, the presidentheld a meeting with a group of junior professorsat the Business School. Insider or Outsider? The question of whether the next dean should bechosen from within the Harvard Business School--asMcArthur was--or from another university remainsopen. "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. He adds that any internal candidate will be toowed to the present system to make the necesaryadjustments. Another professor, who likewise insisted onanonymity, says he will not be surprised ifRudenstine looks outside Harvard for someone toreplace McArthur. "We have had several deans in a row now thathave been from the faculty," the professor says."Some of our competitors have had very succesfulappointments from outside the university." "I guess President Rudenstine would think thatthis is an onetime opportunity to find a leaderoutside the community," he adds. Several sources interviewed, including HeinzProfessor of Environmental Management Richard H.K. Vietor, say that A. Michael Spence, currentlyStanford University's Business School dean, wouldmake an excellent choice as one who might appeaseboth sides. Spence also has administrative experience atHarvard, Where he was Jeremy R. Knowles'spredecessor as dean of the Faculty of Arts andSciences (FAS). Many say, however, that the University isunlikely to offer Spence a top position at Harvardbecause he left the FAS deanship for Stanfordafter only one year--a highly unusual move thatproved embarassing to Harvard. The Golden Age A new dean, most professors interviewed say,should be approximately the same age McArthur waswhen he took on the job. The four most prominentcandidates: Cash Clark, Sahlman and Schlesingerall fit that profile. "[The dean] ought to be somebody between theages of 45 and 50, so that this person would havea decade-plus [to work], at a relatively young agewhen the person has a lot of energy to meet thedemands of the job," says Timken Professor ofBusiness Administration Hugo E. R. Uyterhoeven. "It has a got to be younger person--40s, maybelater 40s, because administration at institutionsis such a grueling experience," agrees a source inthe Business School community. "It should besomeone who is aware of the fast changes withinsociety and business." "The [new] dean should be of an age where hecan be here long enough to affect things," addsprofessor of Business Administration William J.Bruns. Another professor who spoke on condition ofanonymity, however, says some may see no reason touse such an age litmus test. "A group of folks are contemplating [JapanProfessor of Finance Thomas R.] Piper and [WalkerProfessor of Business Administration F. Warren]McFarlan as possible candidates," he says. Piper and McFarlan, who are currently bothsenior associate deans under McArthur, are hiscontemporaries in age. But citing McArthur's own claim that the timehas come for a new generation to take on theleadership of the Business School," the sameprofessor notes that "a mandate for a youngergroup of people" seems to be present. Yellow Brick Road Despite the speculation about the identity ofthe next dean, professors agree that whoever fillsMcArthur's post will be assuming responsibilityfor a number of important tasks. "I think the next dean is going to have to besomeone who can lead the faculty into thechallenges of the next century," Aguilar says."The present dean has sort of provided a goodbase, a launchpad for that next task." "The more immediate task for the next dean willbe to take the enormous work that's been done toredefine the MBA program and to implement thechanges," Aguilar says. "[It will] take a greatdeal of organizational skills and leadership." "The business environment is more challengingthan it was 15 yrs ago," says Kaplan, who was deanof Carnegie Mellon's business school before hecame to Harvard. "There's more competition fromother schools and corporate training programs." For the most part, members of the faculty saythey will trust the final judgement of Rudenstineand the advisory committees. "There are capable people inside, there have tobe capable people outside, so Harvard is notworking from weakness in this case," Aguilar says."It's a selection among strength to find the rightperson." "I think [the business School] has a culturethat will permit the community to rally aroundwhoever is chosen," Cash says. How Soon? In a letter to faculty and administratorsexplaining his retirement decision, McArthurexpressed hopes that his replacement would be"settled in" by next fall. Members of the Business School faculty saythey, too, hope this timetable follows through. "Interregnum is never a good idea, andcertainly not in an academic institution,"Uyterhoeven says. But many interviewed say they doubt that thesearch will end as quickly as is hoped. "I think it's going to be a longer process thanwas envisioned in the announcement [of McArthur'sretirement] that I read," Aguilar says."[Planning] to have a dean in place by the timeSeptember begins is very optimistic." Rudenstine's success in filling topadministrative posts have been sporadic. In the best of times, he was able to completethree dean appointments in his first year inoffice. But the worst of times have consisted ofthe seemingly eternal searches for the vicepresident of government, community and publicaffairs and the current quest--now nearing itsfirst anniversary--for a new dean of the KennedySchool of Government. Rudenstine defends the long dean searches,saying that there are few tasks more importantthan selecting deans for his various faculties. But he has also repeatedly pointed out that theBusiness School dean search should not take aslong as its Kennedy School counterpart, sincethere will be fewer problems extracting candidatesfrom current posts in the government. The Resolution Whomever the president chooses in the end, theHarvard Business School will remain one of thebiggest names in business education. The questionis whether it will remain at the top. And though a low-cost high profit movie likeForrest Gump would seem to be a perfectcase study for the school, one hopes that thisstory will be a bit shorter in the telling. Jonathan N. Axelrod and Todd F. Braunsteincontributed to this report.
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