Bok Opts for 'Character' Over Consensus

A day after professors sharply criticized the appointment of Professor of Law Robert C. Clark as the next Law School dean, President Bok said he expected Clark to be more conciliatory as a faculty leader than he was as a professor.

When left-leaning law professors learned Thursday that Bok had chosen Clark--known for his vocal attacks on radical scholarship--they were unusually critical in their comments. One professor called the appointment a "disaster," and another said Bok was "out of touch" with the faculty.

But yesterday Bok said he had considered Clark's history of attacks on the left wing in his deliberations, and did not think Clark would "purge" radical professors from the school. Bok said he expected the 44-year-old Clark to be a moderate faculty leader, and said he was not trying to "send a message" to the faculty about its ideology.

"Choosing deans is not a matter of choosing sides," Bok said. "I would not pick a dean without having made the strongest possible effort to convice myself that the dean I chose is determined to be the dean of all the faculty."

Bok has said all along that the new dean would have to be a strong leader who could force the divided faculty to put aside its political differences and concentrate on academic issues.

When Bok described Clark yesterday, he characterized the corporate law expert as just that type of "strong character." Specifically, Bok said Clark's commitment to high academic standards, along with his interest in legal education, made him an exceptionally qualified candidate to succeed outgoing Dean James Vorenberg '49.

"I think he is very interested in legal education and the reform of legal education," Bok said. "He has very high aspirations for the Law School,"

But Bok's choice left many observers puzzled, particularly because Bok's decision seemed to defy the recommendations of a faculty search committee.

During the 10-month search, professors and students had often urged that Bok choose a moderate candidate who could unite the Law School's hostile political factions. On Thursday, members of the committee said they had told Bok that Clark would be the "most polarizing" of the candidates under consideration.

Bok said yesterday, however, that he did consider the committee's recommendations, and insisted they had no more reservations about Clark than about any other candidates.

Bok--who alone makes deanship appointments--also said he chose the candidate who he thought would best pursue academic excellence. Only two weeks ago, Bok had said appointing so-called "consensus candidates" might not be the best choice for that objective.

"You don't always agree with all the advice that you get," Bok said yesterday.

At a faculty meeting yesterday afternoon, professors gave Clark a "very warm and sustained round of applause," Bok said. While there were reportedly one or two holdouts who greeted the annoucement with indifference, Bok said he expected the controversy would be short-lived.

"I think [that type of criticism] is kind of a not unexpected thing to say when you disagree with a choice of this kind," Bok said.