The Wesleyan described by former President of the University Bill Chace in his new book is not one that current President Bennet is familiar with.
“That’s not a Wesleyan I recognize,” Bennet told the Argus. “I’m mystified by the Chace description. It’s just somewhere else.”
In the book, “100 Semesters: My Adventures as a Student, Professor, and University President, and What I Learned Along the Way,” Bennet’s predecessor argues that Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees were loyal to the school but out-of-touch with students and faculty.
“Remember that I inherited that board a year later,” Bennet said. “His characterization of that board was just surprising. I had nothing but positive, constructive support.”
Bennet said that he has not read the book, and has not spoken with Chace recently. Chace currently teaches at Emory University, where he was President after his time at Wesleyan.
In his book, Chace argues that Board decisions were not always in line with faculty interests.
“The faculty, which did possess an intimate knowledge of the institution, nonetheless felt inferior to the trustee power and prestige,” he writes.
“I think they have a very constructive relationship with the faculty, and the students too,” Bennet said. “It’s not what people imagine it might be. It’s different. It’s just different.”
Bennet spoke to Chace’s discussion of a university president’s role in decision-making. Chace feels a president should be an advocate for students and faculty when working with a board.
“Part of the President’s role is trying to build lines of communication across the institution, including the Board,” Bennet said. “I just don’t make the division. It’s easier for me to say that we’re in a common enterprise. We all have interest in its success. We all have things we contribute to its success.”
In his book, Chace acknowledges that most college and university presidents don’t spend as much of their time raising money as people think they do, but when fundraising efforts are intensified, the president’s role is not unlike a political campaign.
“Sometimes, when an institution sets forth on the ‘campaign’ trail…the president will visit many airports, hotels, restaurants, private homes, and meeting rooms in search of dollars that, all added up, will reach the campaign goal,” Chace writes.
Bennet contended that his own successes have not only been in fundraising.
“Everybody imagines that fundraising somehow occupies people, takes their attention away from other things, and that’s a misconception,” Bennet said. “The way we did the fundraising campaign was that we have an absolutely first rate fundraising staff. That’s not something the Bennets did alone.”
Bennet stressed that, as his tenure nears a close, he is proud of his many accomplishments as President, a role not without its challenges.
“It’s not an easy enterprise, but it’s a thrilling, wonderful enterprise that is constantly refreshed by new students, new faculty, and new board members,” he said. “It’s an incredibly dynamic process.”
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