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Common visits Columbia
Commentary: The Postal Service’s last resort see pg. 33
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MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013
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VOLUME 48, ISSUE 21
Meet Columbia’s next president Campus Editor
PURCHASING A PAIR of snow boots
is now on Kwang-Wu Kim’s to-do list, as the board of trustees unanimously voted to elect him Columbia’s 10th president on Feb. 26. The Hyde Park native, who is currently the dean and director of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, said he remembers Columbia as a small arts college from his childhood. When search firm Isaacson, Miller approached him to apply for the presidential position, he said he was eager to do so after learning of the institution’s growth. The announcement was made in a college-wide email from Allen Turner, chair of the board of trustees, and Richard Kiphart, chair of the presidential advisory panel and a board member. The Chronicle got the opportunity to chat with Kim about his new position and his future plans.
The Chronicle: Congratulations on being elected Columbia’s next president. How does it feel to take on this role? Kwang-Wu Kim: It feels great. I am also very honored because I take the [position of president] very seriously. I know it is a big responsibility and a lot of people have put their confidence in me. I intend to do the best I can to live up to that. How did you find out about your new position? I got a phone call where both Turner and Kiphart called me and basically told me at the same time. It was very exciting. I was sitting in my office and they called. They had just finished the board meeting, and it was wonderful to hear. Did you know the board meeting was happening Feb. 26? What was going through your mind?
Community responds to presidential news by Lindsey Woods & Alexandra Kukulka
Managing Editor & Campus Editor PRESIDENT WARRICK L. Carter
says he is looking forward to working with Kwang-Wu Kim, the president elect, as he transitions into the position. Carter said Kim’s résumé and work at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Mass. stood out the most to him. “I guess I am a little biased because [Kim] is a musician as well, but I think that the college will again be in good hands with a musician leading it,” Carter said. Allen Turner, chair of the board of trustees who will be stepping down from his position March 14 to be replaced by board member Richard Kiphart, said he was pleased
CAMPUS
Conversations with Debbie Allen • PAGE 3
when the board unanimously agreed to elect Kim. “When you enter a [presidential] search, it is like a box of chocolate,” Turner said. “You never know what you are going to get. This time, we got the best chocolate in the box.” Kim’s tenure as president and CEO of Columbia will begin July 1. His selection comes after a fivemonth search for a replacement for Carter, who announced his early retirement in May 2012, to take effect in August. During its Feb. 26 meeting, the board of trustees reviewed the presidential process, discussed other possible candidates, analyzed Kim’s résumé and interview and reviewed the forums and community surveys, before coming to the decision to confirm Kim, Turner said. The college-wide email announc-
SPORTS & HEALTH
Skate park proposed • page 17
I did. I hoped, of course, that it was going to be this result, but until I knew for sure, I had to wait. I was happy that it was a daytime meeting and not a nighttime meeting so I didn’t have to wait as long. Your term as president starts July 1, but do you intend to do any work before you officially begin your term? I am going to be asking for a lot of reading material. There are a lot of documents and things that I want to read to get a lot more background. I am going to try to arrange for a couple of visits so that I can start talking to people and have more in-depth conversations. It is going to be a challenge because I have my responsibilities [at ASU]. I am going to try to do the best I can to start learning Columbia while I start wrapping up my work at Arizona State. xx SEE KIM, PG. 10 ing Kim’s election that came after the meeting stated that the surveys submitted by students, faculty and staff after Kim’s two open forums Feb. 13 reflected “a near-perfect fit between Columbia and [Kim’s] experience as an artist and academic.” “In the end, it was an extraordinary outpouring of support with a unanimous vote and an enthusiastic time,” Turner said. Kim is currently the dean and director of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. In that post, he oversaw the 2009 reorganization and expansion of the institution, which involved the merging of two schools, as reported by The Chronicle Feb 14. Pegeen Reichert Powell, associate professor in the English Department and president of the Faculty Senate, said she supports Kim’s idea of a creating a centralized provost position, which he touched on in his forum. Powell also said she xx SEE PRESIDENT, PG. 10
ARTS & CULTURE
Museums curate nail art • page 22
Rena Naltsas THE CHRONICLE
by Alexandra Kukulka
Kwang-Wu Kim, Columbia’s next president, says he is pleased to follow Warrick L. Carter in the job. Both are renowned musicians—Kim a pianist and Carter a percussionist—and both have long histories of arts education management.
METRO
Michelle Obama gets active • page 35
INDEX
Campus .......................................................3 Sports & Health ..........................................13 Arts & Culture ..............................................19 Commentary ..............................................32 Metro ........................................................35