NCAA gets what University helped build

No one believed Myles Brand was leaving Indiana University: not Chancellor Sharon Brehm; not the IU board of trustees; not the staff of the Indiana Daily Student.\nBrand's wife, Peg Brand, an IU philosophy professor, wasn't even convinced it would happen.\nBut here we are in Brand's final weeks as an IU administrator, at the end of a roller coaster 8-year endeavor that angered some, energized others and influenced many.\nBrand's moving to the NCAA, the pinnacle of collegiate athletics, where he'll no doubt act the same way he did in Bloomington. We expect the reaction to be the same as well.\nSome will love him. Some will hate him.\nBut we have a feeling everyone will get to know him.\nBrand has an academic agenda when he takes his better-paying, higher-profile athletics job Jan. 1, 2003. It's a platform he laid out nearly two years ago to a group of journalists in Washington, D.C. It's what got him the job.\nThe NCAA is already moving towards Brand's "academics first" agenda. In October, it adopted proposals that will place a greater emphasis on grade-point averages rather than standardized test scores. The new initiatives also require student-athletes to earn a greater percentage of credits each year to remain eligible.\nNow, the NCAA is considering making postseason play contingent on academic success. It will be one of the first issues Brand tackles when he takes the NCAA's reigns.\nBrand says he's eager for the challenge.\nHis eight years as IU's 16th president have prepared him well.\nBrand ushered in the digital age at IU, making the university a technology leader among institutions worldwide. He pioneered the creation of IU's School of Informatics and created a position to oversee IU's Information Technology infrastructure. Brand also helped land some of the world's best computing technology in the world, including an IBM SP supercomputer.\nBrand also ushered in an age of acceptance and understanding. In creating the Office of the Vice President for Student Development and Diversity, Brand sent a strong message that IU was open to all students, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. It was a simple step with a strong signal.\nHis departure leaves a vacuum at the highest level of the IU administration during a crucial time. The battle for state funding will determine the academic success of this institution. Interim President Gerald Bepko will have to pick up Brand's torch and continue to press legislators on the importance of a great public institution for Indiana students. The permanent replacement will undoubtedly face the same challenges. \nWhoever ultimately replaces Brand will have a great weight on their shoulders, the same way Brand did in 1994.\nThen, Brand walked into the shadow of Herman B Wells and Ken Gros Louis -- two visionaries who made IU one of America's leaders in higher education.\nThis time, the new president will walk into the shadow of Brand, the man who fired Bob Knight and by the way, made this University better.\n-- Aaron Sharockman for the Editorial Board