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.