Teamwork eases presidential switch

Although the flowers and fruit baskets are long gone, a congratulatory banner still hangs in the Office of the Vice President for Research and External Relations to greet president-designate David Skorton (foreground) as he winds up his duties as vice president. His staff members have been working with the President’s Office to prepare for the transition. Pictured are Carolyn Frisbie (far left) and Larry Rettig (far right), research and external relations, and Marilyn Brown and Tom Dean (second and third from left), President’s Office.

The next time the University has to hunt for a new president, Jon Carlson hopes to be near retirement.

In the month since wrapping up his duties as chair of the presidential search committee, the law professor says he has been able to clear off the piles of paper and books that had accumulated on his desk and adjacent tables during the intensive, five-month search that produced six finalists.

“I’m feeling much more relaxed,” he says, smiling in his Boyd Law Building office.

Across the river, meanwhile, a power duo furiously has been trying to accommodate requests already being made of president-designate David Skorton, who does not officially take the University helm until March 1. Marilyn Brown, special assistant to the president, and Carolyn Frisbie, administrative assistant in the Office of the Vice President for Research and External Relations, are on the phone with each other 10 to 15 times a day to coordinate Skorton’s dual schedules.

Brown has worked in the President’s Office since 1988, first as a receptionist and now as office manager, and has been through two presidential transitions: Hunter Rawlings III and Mary Sue Coleman. Although the current transition is hectic, she says having an internal president-designate has been an advantage.

“With Mary Sue, I had to gather requests and ship them off to New Mexico for her to review. It’s nice that David is so close. My goal is to get his first monthly meeting with the master calendar group scheduled.”

The master calendar group, she explains, includes the president’s special assistants and representatives from university relations, governmental relations, and the UI Foundation. They work together with the president each month to assist with the coordination of requests and events, both on and off campus.

“It’s a group effort,” Brown says. “We work almost two years in advance. The calendar includes everything from standing commitments—weekly V.P. meetings and monthly meetings with faculty, staff, and student constituency groups—to various alumni dinners and receptions scheduled throughout the year around the country. We discuss how we can make the most of the president’s time. And when new presidents come on board, one of our major goals is to get them out into the state right away.”

The president receives a range of requests, Brown says. Faculty, staff, and students invite the president to attend various events, for example, and service organizations ask for speaking engagements. Such requests, coupled with calls for interviews from the media, began pouring in immediately after the announcement was made on Jan. 5.

“I gather requests every day and try to respond as soon as possible to let people know that their invitations are being considered. It’s important to note, however, that nothing goes on the calendar until it is confirmed by the president.”

Working for both interim president Willard “Sandy” Boyd and Skorton has become such a challenge that Brown has enlisted her assistant, Brenda Huebner, to work on Boyd’s schedule. Like Brown, Tom Dean, special assistant to the president, also has had to pull “double duty,” drafting speeches for Boyd and Skorton.

“Sandy has about one speaking engagement a week right up until Feb. 28, and he also still presides as UI president at Regents meetings, so there are materials to prepare for those,” he says. “I also help him with up to a dozen letters a week, and research still needs to be done for the issues on which he continues to work.”

Preparing for the new presidency, Dean adds, means updating the official presidential biography and web site and preparing remarks for a handful of upcoming speeches for Skorton.

“Luckily, this is usually one of the quieter times of the year for me,” he says. “January and February generally have fewer speaking engagements, and I usually can catch up on more mundane things like maintaining files and getting our speech books in order. This year, a lot of that stuff will have to be shoved back.”

As for Skorton, the plate was pretty full to begin with.

One word, Frisbie says, can describe the atmosphere in her Gilmore Hall office since her boss was appointed president: “chaotic.” Imagine hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, and cards from well-wishers, not to mention dozens of flower arrangements and fruit baskets.

“That first week, those in the office with allergies had trouble breathing,” says Frisbie, who schedules “desk time” for Skorton so he can respond to the congratulatory messages and who will continue to schedule his professional medical activities after he assumes the presidency.

“The adrenaline has picked up quite a bit, and occasionally I will wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I have forgotten something. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it, but it has been fun,” she says.

Special deliveries aside, most of the staff in research and external relations say things have been business as usual.

“We’re excited about his presidency—he’s an excellent administrator—but there is a touch of sadness at the thought of him leaving,” says Larry Rettig, special assistant to the vice president for research. He hung a banner to greet his boss after the announcement was made. “It will be interesting to have a person in the presidency whom we know.”

Skorton will be a good fit, Carlson says.

“After the announcement, I felt a sense of pride that the search committee had given the Regents a great set of candidates, belief that the person chosen will be a good president, and relief that we got through the process,” he says. “I might serve again if asked, but probably not. Not because I didn’t like it—it was a wonderful experience—but because I believe those kinds of experiences are enriching for faculty and staff, and as many people should do it as possible.

“Next time, it’s somebody else’s job.”

Article by Sara Epstein Moninger