A just reward

IU President Adam Herbert is keeping quiet about Kumble Subbaswamy's finalist status for the provost position at the University of Kentucky -- as he should. Subbaswamy has been considered for positions at other universities before UK announced his nomination for provost last week. However, he has always declined consideration for those positions -- until now. \nAfter subjecting Subbaswamy to public scrutiny and embarrassment at the hands of colleagues and administrators he has served faithfully for four years, we cannot ask him to stay. We can only wish him the best in future endeavors, be they at UK or IU-Bloomington. After becoming a finalist and being rejected for the IUB chancellor search, Subbaswamy became the focal point for faculty dissent -- a public debate we assume he wished to avoid, judging from his refusal to speak to the press.\nSubbaswamy earned his Ph.D. from IUB in 1976 in Physics and has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences here since July 1, 2000. As COAS dean, Subbaswamy drafted an Academic Enhancement Plan. This plan emphasizes interdisciplinary disciplines like digital art, informatics and diaspora studies. It also encourages the idea of directly admitting incoming freshmen to academic departments in order to help new students become quickly intellectually engaged at IUB. Subbaswamy is an asset to the University and his college, implementing aggressive policies intended to improve academic standards within the college and the breadth of curricula offered. Subbaswamy has had his priorities in the right place since he arrived at IUB in 2000.\nThe COAS dean has ties to UK, as well. As a chair of the physics department and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UK, he gave the administration a chance to watch him in action. Taking into account his experience at the University of Miami-Coral Gables and the University of California-Irvine, it comes as no surprise that UK would consider him in its search for a new provost. \nUK lost its most recent provost, Mike Nietzel, in July. Six months later, the search committee has already narrowed down its candidate list to two finalists. Kentucky has already bested IUB by more efficiently executing a search less than half a year from the date that the provost position became vacant. Obviously, Kentucky administrators know efficiency is key if they want to snap up the best and the brightest leaders for their campus. IUB should watch the UK in the next few weeks as it decides between Subbaswamy and Terry King, the other provost candidate. We might just learn a thing or two from Kentucky's decision to reward hardworking faculty members and efficiently execute administrative goals.