Champion Heads Search For New IOP Director

A search committee at the Kennedy School's Institute of Politics (IOP) will likely recommend a candidate for the directorship to Dean Graham T. Allison '62 by the end of next month, officials said yesterday.

The IOP, left without a director since the departure last fall of Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh, is searching for a candidate with experience in elective politics who will emphasize academia's links with the outside world, said committee chair Hale Champion.

Champion, who returned to the Kennedy school last week after serving more than a year as Gov. Michael S. Dukakis' chief of staff, also led the search committee that recommended Thornburgh's appointment two years ago. Champion said yesterday that this search would seek similar qualifications for the IOP director's post.

The committee, which is slated to meet for the first time next week, will encourage nominations of women or minority candidates for the post, Champion said. He added that Allison has already sent letters to several women's and minority groups seeking names of potential directors.

Key players in the recent presidential campaign will also be prime candidates for the post, said Kennedy School spokesperson Steven R. Singer.

Champion said that although "elec- tive experience" will be the leading criterionfor the new director, it is not a specificrequirement for the job. He said the committeewill be looking specifically for eitherpoliticians who have held elected offices orpeople with expertise in the area, such ascampaign managers and directors.

Committee Continuity

Champion said the interests and composition ofthe new committee basically "have not changed"from the last search committee. With the exceptionof Acting IOP Director Shirley Williams, all ofthe members on the present committee participatedin the last search, he said.

The committee, apart from Champion andWilliams, includes the IOP's first directorRichard E. Neustadt, future head of the DemocraticNational Committee Ron Brown, Sen. Robert Dole's(R-Kan.) chief of staff Sheila Burke, former IOPAssociate Director Nicholas Mitropolis and formerIOP Director Jonathan Moore.

Because most of the members on the committeehave already experienced the search process,Champion said he did not anticipate any problemsand expected to be able to make a recommendationto Allison by the March 31 deadline.

Allison is expected to select the new directorby the end of the term