After a two-year absence and a 13-hour drive through snowy conditions, Lee Bollinger is finally home.
Casually dressed in jeans, a white polo shirt and a pair of Nikes, the incoming University president spent his first weekend unpacking his volumes of books and getting acquainted with his new home at 815 S. University Ave.
"My fear was that it would be cavernous and I would feel as if I was the only resident in a fairly large hotel," Bollinger said yesterday. "It has not felt that way. It is not as formal or as forbidding as I feared."
Bollinger arrived in Ann Arbor on Friday afternoon after bidding farewell to friends and colleagues at Dartmouth College where he served as provost for the past two years.
"It's funny how in two years you can make strong attachments with people," he said. "I felt very welcomed there. This was too exciting of a position to say that I was sorry to leave."
Bollinger, who served as dean of the University's Law School for seven years before going to Dartmouth, said he is looking forward to meeting with old friends and making new friends here.
"I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and beginning to talk with people about what the issues are," he said. "So we can begin with some energy in February."
During the next two weeks, Bollinger plans to meet with campus groups, deans and regents before leaving for a conference in Haifa, Israel. He is scheduled to officially begin his tenure as president Feb. 1.
Chemistry Prof. Thomas Dunn, chair of the faculty's governing body, said he is looking forward to exploring the nature of Bollinger's relationship with the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs.
"The most important thing is how he perceives the nature of faculty governance and how he feels it should serve the University," Dunn said. "How does he want to use its expertise, because it is a pipeline to the faculty members."
After two years in Hanover, N.H., Bollinger said the biggest change is the aesthetic transformation the campus has undergone.
"The amount of building construction on the campus has improved its physical appearance," Bollinger said. "The aesthetics are better."
His wife, Jean, is still living in Vermont, but she plans to join him in the president's house next month. The couple does not anticipate making any major changes to the residence, but they plan on adding a few personal touches.
Yesterday morning Bollinger, an avid runner, reacquainted himself with the University campus by jogging five miles through the streets of Ann Arbor.
"I love the things of Ann Arbor that we all know about ... the coffee houses, the book stores, the record stores," Bollinger said.
"One of the reasons we love it is that it has this unique combination of a medium-size community with a very large city of cultural context."
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Incoming University President Lee Bollinger sits at his desk during his first day in his new home. The house at 815 S. University Ave. is the traditional home for University presidents.