University President Lee Bollinger announced yesterday that he plans to move the administration team out of the Fleming Administration Building and into the center of campus.
The move will symbolize Bollinger's desire to bring the administration closer to the student body and to redirect the University away "from a kind of centrifugal force pulling them away from their central functions," a philosophy he emphasized yesterday during his first major public address since taking office in February.
"There has been some good work done on planning for the University campus, but we need a new master plan for achieving a true sense of unification," Bollinger said. "More than a bridge to the 21st century, we need a bridge to Palmer Field.
"Never has a building (such as Fleming) been more ironically named. No University administration, at least not one that seeks engagement, should reside in such a bunker-like, repelling structure," Bollinger said. "Therefore, I would like to announce that I will soon be looking for another office."
Details of the move have not yet been finalized, Bollinger said.
But the news pleased many who attended the annual MacInally Lecture in the School of Business Administration's Hale Auditorium, where Bollinger made the announcement.
"I think the central administration should be on the main campus to feel like a part of the community," said Regent Andrea Fischer-Newman (R-Ann Arbor). "I think the administration should be on campus with the students - that's why we're here, because of the students."
Bollinger said he hopes to focus his presidency on bringing to light questions of intellectual character and direction in the University.
"I am committed to finding resources available through reducing administrative growth to redirect into the academic core of the institution," Bollinger said.
This includes, Bollinger said, augmenting the salary program, pursuing a fundraising project directed at building a University-wide fund for intellectual enhancement, and changing a component of the Value Centered Management budget system.
The change in VCM would retreat to the tuition-follows-enrollment system. The University currently uses a policy where the revenues are allocated to the school in which the student is taking classes.
"The point is everyone was comfortable with the tuition-follows-enrollment system and this new system got everyone wrangled," Bollinger said.
"Bureaucratization is one of the most insidious evils for a university and rationalizing instead of trusting is the fastest route to the bureaucratic mind," he said.
If Bollinger's plans to move out of Fleming materialize, it would mark the third time this century that the administration has moved. Originally, from 1924-1949, administrators were stationed in a wing in Angell Hall before moving across the street to the LSA building.
Administrators remained in the LSA building from 1949-1966 until the Sally and Robben Fleming Administration Building was built. The administration has resided at the fortress-like structure since 1966.
"Designed for the express purpose of creating a fortification against attack, its Mondrian-esque skin masks a psychology of fear and withdrawal," Bollinger said.
University Planner Frederick Mayer said contrary to the myth that the building was constructed to shield administrators from student protesters, the architect designed the building based on a theory of composed order.
"Architect Alden Dow had a theory of composed order that was based on the works of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian," Mayer said. "The facade of the building is divided into rectangular forms and shapes."
Regent Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor) said she strongly encourages Bollinger's decision to relocate the President's office.
"It is an apt metaphor for his larger point," McGowan said. "The point that we need a more human and engaged face by the leadership towards the various people who make up the University."
School of Public Policy student Kwei Akuete praised the ideas and plans Bollinger addressed in his speech.
"If he's serious about being accessible to students and faculty, moving out of Fleming is one way he can demonstrate that," Akuete said.
JOSH BIGGS/Daily
University President Lee Bollinger addresses members of the University community yesterday at Hale Auditorium - his first major public address since taking office.