Outside, looking in

Charged with representing the voice of the student body, they have been visiting residential adviser groups, dining halls and eating clubs to learn what other students want in the University's next president. They have heard recommendations ranging from requiring applicants to be undergraduate alumni to hiring President Clinton.

But the two undergraduate students on the trustee-led presidential search committee — USG president PJ Kim '01 and Lisa Lazarus '02 — have never discussed their own thoughts on the process.

"We're pretty up-front about that," Kim said. "All of the questions on substance we can't talk about. Confidentiality is very important to the committee."

GSG president Lauren Hale and Kim said the committee's guidelines will not prevent them from effectively representing students in the search process.

"I definitely feel we are contributing to the committee in a way the board members are not," Hale said.

At several of the recent information-gathering meetings, however, students have seemed frustrated with the lack of information coming from their two representatives.

Many students said they expected the sessions would provide information on the type of person the search committee is considering and a list of potential candidates, Kim explained.

"I think that they are a little surprised at first," Kim said. "But when we explain why, I think they understand."

Lazarus said she has encountered similar reactions. "Sometimes they ask questions, but the people I've talked to really seem to understand the need for confidentiality," she said.

Members of the presidential search committee elected not to allow the release of any specific information on the candidates being considered during the search process, committee chair and trustee president Robert Rawson '66 said. He added that the committee will never publicly discuss a candidate until the final decision is reached.

"Confidentially is very important to us," Rawson said. "The people we will be considering are, by definition, leaders of higher education who are currently happy elsewhere. A leak could mean that someone would feel compelled to withdraw. We have to protect our ability to discuss openly with these people."

Universities conducting presidential searches often announce a list of finalists before a decision is made, but Princeton's committee opted against this course of action, Rawson said.

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"We are just not going to go that way. We are not going to give a list of finalists. If we get this done responsibly, the first name you will hear from us is the next president," he said. "This is important to us so we can work with these candidates well."

Despite the extensive guidelines to prevent members of the search committee from discussing specifics with students and other members of the University community, the committee will continue to garner information from students, Rawson explained.

"I know PJ, Lisa and Lauren have held open meetings. I think they are arranging meetings with different groups," Rawson said. "We're trying to be as inclusive as we can and get perspectives and viewpoints."

Kim said he and Lazarus will continue to hold meetings with students, and that he will continue to fight for two positions he believes students support — that the next president have a close relationship with the University and a deep knowledge of its people and traditions.

"The general qualification is someone with a strong tie to Princeton, but not necessarily an alum," Kim said. "It's sort of a no-brainer, but this has come up consistently."

Kim said future meetings will have a different focus relating to the presidential search. "Starting next week we are going to do more targeted discussions with students," he said. "The free-for-all discussions we've been having have been good in providing background, but we think we can get more."