Hall to Remove Director Of Buildings and Grounds; Cites Leadership Problems

Stephen S.J. Hall, vice president for administration, said yesterday he will remove the current director of the Department of Buildings and Grounds (B&G) as soon as he can find a replacement for him.

Hall said the current director. Paul K. Rouillard, "doesn't seem to be getting the results that I thought he would get at B&G." He said he has established a University search committee to find the "best physical plant director in the country" to replace Rouillard.

"I'm not completely at ease with him at the top of B & G." Hall said "Although the decision really hurt, it is mine, I made it, and nobody forced me to make it."

Hall said when a new director is found Rouillard will probably be moved to another position in B & G management. "He has not been terminated or asked to resign," Hall said.

Hall appointed Rouillard director of the $35-million-a-year operation a little more than a year ago. Rouillard served as acting director for six months before receiving the appointment.

Rouillard could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The problems with Rouillard centered around his style of leadership. Hall said, "His form of management, his personal approach, has not caught the imagination and fancy of the Faculty," he said.

The members of the search committee for a new director have "a mandate to cast their net as broadly as they can cast it." Hall said. He declined to say how much the University would be willing to pay a new director.

Janet G. Short, director of the office of the Masters in Business Administration program at the Business School and a member of the five-person search committee, said yesterday that committee "hasn't gotten that far yet."

She said the committee will try to come up with the names of eight to twelve candidates and then narrow that number down to about two candidates after interviewing them.

The committee is looking for a person with strong leadership qualities who has worked with professional trades people, she said.

Hall said there is no shake-up planned at B & G. "However," he added, "months from now after this guy is on board there may be some changes."

He said he plans to spend less time managing the 1100 full-time staff members of B & G himself when the new director takes over. "I've become too involved with the top management," he said. "I'm too close to the problems and too close to the people. When he comes in he is going to run B & G, not me."