Promotion to president

INDIANAPOLIS – Receiving an outright vote of confidence Thursday, soon-to-be University President Michael McRobbie can hope his transition into IU’s top role will be smoother than his predecessor’s. \nMcRobbie, the long-rumored and now newly confirmed University president, will likely experience relative ease in transitioning roles when compared with outgoing President Adam Herbert. At least that is what Herbert and University trustees anticipate, Herbert said. \nDuring the confirmation meeting Thursday at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, trustees wasted no time in making official what had been rumored for months: an internal candidate was to be selected.\nWhen McRobbie takes office July 1, he will become the 18th president in the position’s 178-year history. McRobbie, who is serving as the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, arrived at IU – and in the United States – 10 years ago, leaving behind his native Australia. \n“I’m Australian by birth, Hoosier by choice,” he said in his opening remarks as the University’s chosen leader.\nSpeaking to a crowd of mostly top University administrators and faculty who had a hand in his approval, McRobbie delivered a speech set for the 21st century – one focusing on a research-intensive and internationalized University.\n“Our message must travel from Bloomington to Bangalore, from South Bend to Shanghai,” he said in remarks to the trustees. Still, IU must also not lose focus on serving the state, he added.\nMcRobbie, who looks to bring bold initiatives to the presidency, will also see a significant pay hike. When compared with his former boss’s salary, McRobbie will earn about $400,000 annually – $40,000 more each year than Herbert. \nThe ease with which he moves into the responsibilities of his new role were repeatedly stressed by Herbert and the trustees. Such ease might not only determine the outset mood of his tenure, but also the success of Herbert’s reign.\n“He’s got to focus on that transition process, identifying priorities and trying to learn as much as he can about some of the areas he has not been involved in,” Herbert said.\nThe current president added that, unlike someone coming from the outside, McRobbie would already have a much better scope of University operations.\nHerbert, who came to IU from the University of North Florida, said his successor was in a better position to take on the challenges of leading a diverse research institution. In addition, Herbert said McRobbie would not have to deal with some of the “personnel issues” that caused him problems. \nDirectly upon taking office, however, McRobbie will have to pacify a significant student contingent that already feels uncomfortable with his confirmation. Acknowledging his reputation among some as uninterested with students, McRobbie said he planned to take specific action upon entering office to focus on bettering the “learning and living” of students. \nSpecifically, he plans to form a task force that will report directly to the president, informing him of various student needs.\n“What I want to do is let the students be the ones who determine what they think the priorities are that the University needs to be considering,” McRobbie said.\nNot everyone could be a winner Thursday. With such an intense selection process, losers became inevitable. In this case, it fell to Dr. Ora Pescovitz, CEO of Riley Hospital for Children. Pescovitz served as McRobbie’s final hurdle to the presidency.\nPescovitz said she considered students as the University’s greatest “constituency” and the faculty as IU’s most important “asset.” Although she expressed disappointment that she was overlooked for the position, she said she was very willing to assist McRobbie with whatever he asked. \n“My aspiration was not to be a university president,” she said. “It was to be the Indiana University president.” \nWhen Herbert departs in July, McRobbie will admittedly remain caught in a major University crossroads.\nWith both his legacy and the reputations of those who selected him riding on the success of ambitious proposals, many throughout IU will anticipate July 1 – the end of an era and the beginning of another.\n“It is difficult to adequately express all that I feel,” McRobbie said, “except to say that I embrace this challenge and opportunity with my heart and mind.”