Seligman named 10th president
oel Seligman, a nationally recognized legal scholar, highly regarded academic administrator--and, as announced last week--Rochester's next president, plans to emphasize his role as a "listener" and a "builder" as he prepares to take office in July.
"I've got a great deal to learn--from the faculty, the students, the administrators, and the city," Seligman said after he was introduced to the University community and the media as the University's 10th president. "I want to visit the schools, I want to visit the programs, I want to hear them tell the stories.
"I strongly believe that the wisest leader is one who listens, and I'm going to begin practicing what I've preached before, and I look forward to learning a great deal more about Rochester in the months and years to come."
Seligman, currently the dean of the law school at Washington University in St. Louis, was formally appointed December 1 by the Board of Trustees to succeed President Jackson, who has served as the University's top executive since 1994. Jackson plans to take a year's sabbatical and then return to teaching as Distinguished University Professor with faculty appointments in the College's Department of Political Science and in the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration.
At a press conference announcing his appointment, Seligman praised Jackson's tenure over the past decade, noting in particular Jackson's leadership in helping craft the Renaissance Plan, the Rochester Curriculum, and the strategic plan for the Medical Center.
"By temperament, I'm a builder, not a cutter, and this is school which has such great strengths to build on," Seligman said. "In large measure, this is a consequence of the storied presidency of Tom Jackson, who for the past 10-and-a-half years has been a leader on the national scene in higher education."
G. Robert Witmer Jr. '59, board chairman and chair of the Trustees' Presidential Search Committee, also praised Jackson's leadership as he introduced Seligman and his wife, Friederike, at the press conference and at a reception for students, faculty, and staff at Wilson Commons.
"Because of the work that President Jackson has achieved in the past 10 years, it turns out that we are a very attractive university," Witmer said. "We could not be more delighted with this selection."
Seligman, Ethan A. H. Shepley University Professor at Washington University, is considered one of the nation's leading experts on securities law. Before joining the law school at Washington University in 1999, he served as dean of the law school at the University of Arizona.
At Washington University, he's credited with masterminding a strategic plan that has helped to raise the law school's national and international profile. Elements of the plan include guaranteeing second- and third-year students placement in the highly ranked Clinical Program; opening a new Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic; adding faculty positions; and launching a Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and an Institute for Global Legal Studies, both designed to bring world leaders, policy makers, and distinguished academics to campus.
"In multiple dimensions, Joel Seligman shows himself to be a person of remarkable vision, someone who can lead a national research university like ours toward its greatest potential," said Witmer. "As law school dean at Washington University and previously at the University of Arizona, his energy and accomplishments have been nothing short of astonishing."
On Wednesday, Seligman briefly outlined some of his top priorities as he begins his tenure as Rochester's president:
- Preparing for a capital campaign to boost the University's endowment. "I look forward to working--perhaps before, but certainly in the early part of my time here--with the schools and programs on developing strategic plans. They were pivotal in the progress that the University made during Tom Jackson's time; they'll be pivotal in articulating the case for the support I know the alumni are going to want to provide this great university."
- Raising Rochester's national profile. "The University of Rochester is, to too many, an undiscovered jewel. . . . I'll try to work with the schools to elevate the profile. In part this will focus on ways of bringing great international and national scholars to Rochester in programs that I anticipate we will have."
- Strengthening relations with local and regional communities. "I know that one of the pivotal efforts in community relations in the years to come will be economic development."
- Placing a strong emphasis on diversity: "This is a multicultural world. It's a world in which every race, every gender, every nationality matters."
Nicholas Bigelow, Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics and chair of the University Advisory Committee that helped the trustees select the new president, said Seligman was clearly the best candidate to succeed Jackson.
"Meliora--'ever better'--is our motto; it symbolizes change and improvement, and it guided Tom Jackson's presidency," Bigelow said. "As we scoured the nation in our search for presidential candidates, Joel Seligman really stood out. He has a passion for excellence and equity, he is a true scholar, and he is committed to improving the lives of people around him, be they students, faculty, staff, or his local community. So many things about Joel Seligman seemed to personify Meliora and we are very excited about having him come to Rochester as our 10th president.
"Joel's skills and experiences are only equaled by his enthusiastic, attentive style," Bigelow added. "He is a leader who will be both respected and liked across the University."
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