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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1982)
Battalion/Page 9 April 8, 1982 irkr G. Hansen irdmesident becomes \Mtancellor July 1 : of this, he delega ilenicnt to our administration. > internal work to -fis toughness is in asking the it’s clear that tielii® questions and analyzing I the responsibii ituaiions. But, this hardness is ty that gowithitlitipbined with a softness for id people - li icople. Because most of the hard de- orge S. King, dii-faions take place behind the urdue Division of (ones and the human concern is e Athletics, agreeRtlic surface, his appearance is Hansen) hasbeem jft. But, this is misleading be- administrator - gusc. when the decisions are no complaints upde, the hard questions have ic’s handled ouroj j,be asked, rretty well left to „'‘You can run a university in a umber of different ways,” . Felix Haas.exeodaas said. “There is no unique dent in charge oil nswer. But, I think the Hansen flairs, said two?todcl of careful analysis, de- en’s personality »tion of authority and con- dered before l b ttn for people is probably as rs an administnB a mix as any.” ared. Hansen came to Purdue f rom rst, he’s a vet neorgia Tech in July 1971 after n,” Haas said. "Imrederick L. Hovde, Purdue ■nges — he asksifwident from 1946 to 1971, why we dothmecided to step down. 3. He’s very rdi jflty Totten, editor of the Pur- t things withei tie Alumnus, said: “Dr. Han- through complete njeame to Purdue at the end of cond, he’saddediWiodof great unrest. Purdue IB courtesy of the Purdue Alumnus en delivers ■ ,ent address durin S nation cerenif' Ue University. g e can position at (Purdue) has -hLellnr 10 ^ . t0 flnd P e °P le wh °. e peop Texas 44® ire 0n the Ver y cutting edg ^ knowledge and who a^echancM^ 1 that knowied g e dircctl >' . tt j students ~Tit. How doyotUr, Mhe System clt^ tne chancellorii» , - , o is ultimately^ both_ In my way of *he successor ^’ (teaching and re- «em.There’ S / rch )g° hand unhand. 3. where the budL „ y. vrnat was your opinion or hiring of Texas A&M X that person • tt/er,V Director and Head * not, lire h.n SherriII? ^ling is thatifsin 1 felt the " e w f a S reat deal l g and get the® ocn ^- Peo P le P oint ' liould not bf f their fin g e u rs a t u A &M as d ’re all worto# 35 something brand new. j ( > s JWe was also a feeling that the - is done heroic community had lost its ” a | sn mMm of values, to which I would 4ho S^Who es “ d - e -.e responsMC es? Those values are tlie re- idone. I amndf ?. ur soc u iet y- You ma y their heads.! r , P amabou K t th ? m ’, ^ ma y -ier e ,andhli ke 1 dl f rn but that s the way f world happens to be. Bie thing, however, that I -mepeoptfelfc" im P or,ant wa | s that " e — r fl't fy 10 P ursue excellence. To con u , iive excellence, you have to ^and reseanjjh price for it. Whatever the -How do 7 0B 'Whappens to be, I’m going to . fto get the best people avail- unconui | e anc | reS p 0nc | to w i iat —ulty niembe j,.^, j ce h a pp ens to ^e. —eacher andifT. had had its share of turmoil — we had student demonstrations, sit-ins and a lot of angry rhe toric. “Like many kids of that era, students were angry about a lot of things. When Dr. Hansen got here, there were a lot of feelings to be mended, a lot of rapport to be established.” Maurice G. Knoy, former president of the Purdue Board of Trustees, said: “Nationally, it was a poor time to hire a presi dent. When we went on our presidential hunt (in 1971), we found that a number of first- class possibilities had decided to get out of higher education. “At the time (Hansen) was hired, he was mandated to do certain things here. He had to be the chief operating officer of a large university. On top of that, he had to raise money. He not only had to run the place, he had to fund it as well.” And Hansen succeeded. When he arrived at Purdue, no development office existed and private fund-raising efforts were almost non-existent. To day, private gifts total $17 mil lion a year. Michael Ferin, director of de velopment, said: “Dr. Hansen has almost been a member of the development office staff. He takes advice from our profes sional fund-raisers and puts it to use.” But Hansen will not play the same role at Texas A&M. “I’m not going there with the intent of running a development office,” he said. “But certainly I’m available for any possible advice or help with any particu lar group at any particular com ponent of the System. “But, that will have to come at the request of the presidents or the Board. I always will try to present the case for funding — like the Permanent University Fund — for the components of the System but that’s a different thing from being directly in volved with the development effort.” Hansen frequently is called a “student’s president.” Faculty and administration obviously admire his ability to communi cate with students. Hicks said: “He probably spends more time with students than all the other Big 10 presi dents put together.” King agreed: “As a university president, there are so many functions with legislators, alum ni, etc., that to be that close to the students is a little above and beyond tlqe call of duty. But the Hansens have done this.” This admiration for Hansen’s administration isn’t limited to the Purdue campus. Robert Kriebel, editor of the Lafayette Journal and Courier, said he feels Hansen’s top achievement as Purdue president is the stable, competent environment he has maintained. “These have been solid years,” Kriebel said. “There ha ven’t been any spectacular new buildings and no new schools have been created, but there’s just been a solid, organizational presence in the president’s office.” When Hansen came to Pur due in 1971, he said he felt a college president should serve a 10-year term. In November, he announced his resignation. The people at Purdue are ob viously sorry to see him leave. Hicks said: “Since he announced his resignation, I have heard no one who has said anything but ‘Gosh, I wish he wouldn’t go.’ The faculty, students, town speople and administrators all have expressed very sincere re gret that he’s leaving. “I don’t see how A&M could have done any better. I can see that there may be difficulties that anyone could run into but I don’t see how (the regents) could have found anyone better suited for the job. He can do the job — whether he succeeds de pends on them.” Stories by Denise Richter Battalion staff Hansen takes time out from his busy schedule as Purdue president to talk with university students. photo courtesy of the Purdue Alumnus His willingness to devote this extra time has earn ed him the reputation as a “student’s president.” Students sorry to see them go Hansens liked, respected WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Every time the 1977 "Mustang stopped at a light, the passen ger’s seat slid forward. When the car moved, the seat slid back. Bad enough any time, but when you’re a student and the passen ger is the president of your uni versity, it’s mortifying. But it shouldn’t have been. Dr. Arthur G. Hansen, presi dent of Purdue University and soon to be chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, handled the situation with typic al grace. “Do you want me to fix this?” he asked. The fact that he was riding in a car full of students in the first place helps to explain why he’s known at Purdue as a “student’s president.” “Everyone admires and re spects him,” said. Ed Miller, edi tor of the student newspaper, the Purdue Exponent. “You might be able to find a few stu dents who would say, ‘Arthur Hansen? Who’s he?’ But these wouldn’t be the students who have worked with Dr. Hansen. They wouldn’t really know him.” Jim Dodson, student repre sentative to the Pui due Board of Trustees, said: “He’sa top-notch person — a very sincere man. He has to run a circus — all of the administrators report to him and he has to coordinate all of that along with activities ... like budgeting and trying to get state funds.” The current recession has hit Indiana hard — the state has a 12 percent unemployment rate, the second highest in the nation. This economic gloom has spread to higher education with in the state. Since Purdue is funded by student fees and legislative appropriations, which have not increased to keep up with infla tion, students are having to pay the difference. Tuition and fees will increase 16.5 percent next year — from $1,15$ a year to $1,350 a years Students know the problem is serious. “I think a lot of students are worried about whether they’re going to be able to come back to school and finish their educations,” Dodson said. However, Purdue students realize the problem is not exclu sive to their university and don’t blame / the administration for their economic woes. Steve Ferdon, president of the Residence Halls Council, said: “This is a serious problem, but President Hansen has work ed hard to get the money we need, when we need it." Students cited Hansen’s will ingness to work with them as one reason for his popularity. “He’ll treat you like an equal, but if you want to make a change through Dr. Hansen, you have to approach him with a very business-like and professional attitude,” Ferdon said. “You’ll be gone in four years, and he’ll still be here. Your proposal has to be based, not on the short term effects, but (on its) long term outcome.” Hansen also received high marks for the amount of time he’s willing to spend with stu dents. Mike Donohue, president of the Purdue Student Union Board, said: “He’s verfy accessi ble. If you need to talk to him, you can. He could have made the university presidency an easy job, but he took the time to become accessible.” Hansen’s rapport with stu dents hasn’t gone unnoticed. George S. King, director of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, said: “In an 11-year period, he and Nancy have been involved in more student func tions than any other president in the country. I’ve often marvel led at the pace they’ve been able to keep.” In fact, the night of the sliding front seat incident, Hansen had been at dinner with a group of students and had to hitch a ride back home when Mrs. Hansen had to leave the restaurant early to meet with another group of students who were coming to their home for an ice-cream party. This was no isolated event — they meet with students as often as time permits, sometimes four or five nights a week. But although students said they will miss the Hansens, they don’t resent his leaving. Ferdon said: “All the stu dents I’ve talked to like Dr. Han sen and say they don’t blame him a bit for leaving ... they’re happy for him. “It’s tough for someone who went to Purdue ... to walk out of the job after 10 years. He was walking on eggs, and I think he’s done a great job all the way.” Interviews only tell part of the story He looks like a chancellor. Navy blue suit, white shirt, dark shoes. He drives a stately dark blue Oldsmobile Regency and stays in Chicago’s Americana Congress Hotel, an elegant blend of crystal, thick carpet and tuxedoed porters. This is Texas A&M’s chancel lor-designate — Dr. Arthur G. Hansen, president of Purdue University. We get in the car for the 2‘A- hour drive to West Lafayette — his wife driving and he and I in the back seat so we can talk. He pulls two turkey sandwiches (white biead, no mayonnaise) out of a paper sack and hands me one. On the way to Purdue, we discuss Apple II computers, Boilermaker basketball, steel mills and student newspapers. At a highway toll booth, he gets out of the car to rummage around in the trunk for a clean coffee cup for me. At the Purdue Memorial Un ion, he carries my suitcases in, makes sure I’m properly regis tered for my four-day stay, and leaves his home phone number in case I need anything. This, too, is Texas A&M’s chancellor-designate. Before I called Hansen’s office to tell him about my up coming visit to Purdue, I was carefully coached. “Don’t ask him if you can come,” they said. “Tell him you’re coming. That way, maybe you’ll have a better chance at getting in to see him.” When I spoke to his secretary, she told me he was busy but would call me in an hour. I was skeptical. One hour later, I was talking to Hansen. “You’re coming to Purdue?” he asked. “That’s marvelous. Do you need a place to stay?” Definitely not the reaction I had expected. In fact, the entire stay was not what I had ex pected. r I went to Indiana to find out more about Hansen. I packed winter clothes and my reporter’s attitude. Reporters are trained to be skeptical. When reporters hear only good things about a person, they automatically suspect the worst. But this time, my reporter’s instincts were wrong. I heard only good about Hansen be cause the people I interviewed only had good things to say ab out him. I read through 10 years of the Lafayette Journal and Courier looking for controversy only to find that the most con troversial event during his te nure was his refusal to allow co ed dorms. During my stay at Purdue, I interviewed Hansen, adminis trators, faculty and students. But the unofficial time spent with him and his wife, Nancy, was far more revealing. One afternoon, Mrs. Hansen took me on a tour of the campus. As she showed me around, a stu dent walked up to her and said: “I just want you to know how much I think you and Dr. Han sen have done for the Universi ty. We’re really going to miss you.” That night, I was invited to a party a group of Purdue Mar-' ching Band members were hold ing — at the Hansen’s house. In the middle of the party, Hansen set up his Betamax recorder. Fourteen band members and a Texas A&M reporter helping themselves to generic ice cream and M&Ms now are preserved for all time in the Hansen’s video-tape library. His resume is impressive, but only tells part of the story. Hansen was born Feb. 28,. 1925, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and was sent to Purdue as an engineer ing student under the V12 program. He received both his bache- When a new television set was donated to one of Purdue’s residence halls, the Hansens were invited photo courtesy of Purdue Office of Public Information to the dedication ceremony. When the set devel oped problems, Hansen doubled as TV repairman. lor’s and master’s degree from Purdue and worked as an aero nautical research scientist at NASA’s Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland from 1948 to 1958. In 1958, he received his doc torate from Case Institute of Technology. That year, he was named head of the nucleonics section of the Cornell Aeronau tical Laboratory in Buffalo, N. Y. Hansen joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as an associate professor in 1959 and became chairman of the mecha nical engineering department in 1965. The following year he went to Georgia Tech as dean of the College of Engineering. He was named president of Georgia Tech in 1969. His field of specialization in research is fluid mechanics, ap plied mathematics and turbo machinery. He is the author of two books and 40 technical papers. On July 26, 1972, Hansen married Nancy Lou Tucker of Indianapolis. They had dated when she was a Purdue student and he was a graduate student, and were reunited after he be came president of Purdue. He is the father of three sons and two daughters by a previous marriage. But a written biography only can give statistics — it can’t really describe the man. Actions best describe a person’s true charac ter. Hansen has proven himself as a capable administrator and a warm, caring person during his 10 years at Purdue. And he’s bringing all this and more to Texas A&M.