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'U' community responds enthusiastically to interim pres.

Interim president-designate Homer Neal, who will begin in July, may have been a strong choice for the permanent position, members of the University community say.

"Neal will be on the top of most faculty lists for president," said Provost J. Bernard Machen.

However, Neal said he does not want the position permanently, despite continuous praise from students and colleagues. "He is very clear that he wants to go back to the faculty," Machen said.

Neal, vice president for research and a physics professor, said he is doing the University a favor by stepping into the interim president position. Neal said he would rather remain in his current post.

But beginning July 1, the day after President James Duderstadt steps down, the University will have the first minority leader in its 179-year history.

Thomas Moore, vice chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said Neal's race was not a factor in his appointment -- he was simply the best person for the job.

"He is the most popular choice of any of the local members," said Moore, a biology professor. "I have had more faculty members and more administrators mention that he should be one of the front-runners."

Moore said SACUA recommended Neal to the Board of Regents, which ultimately appointed him interim president at a regents' meeting Thursday.

"We recommended the person we thought was the most qualified," Moore said. "It had nothing to do with minority, non-minority."

Psychology Prof. Richard Nisbett, a scientist at the Institute of Social Research, said Neal's experience as provost at the State University of New York at Stoney Brook will be even more important than his research background.

"He is very judicious when he talks," Nisbett said. "You know he is thinking when he talks to you."

LSA senior Roderick Beard said Neal will be able to "keep the seat warm" until the next president is ready to take over.

"I think from his credentials he was a good choice," Beard said. "He just happens to be a minority."

Local lawmakers agreed that Neal's position as both a faculty member and an administrator will help him relate to both constituencies.

"I think he has experience with the University community," Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) said yesterday. "He is sensitive to the needs of students and faculty."

Machen said Neal will help the transition, as he is already familiar with Duderstadt's agenda.

"He is part of the executive team. It will make the transition smoother," Machen said. "And he is a hell of a nice guy."

Before being named vice president for research in 1993, Neal spent six years as chair of the physics department. He received a doctorate in physics from the University in 1966.