Daniel Goldin presidency of Boston University

None

Circumstances relating to a Daniel Goldin presidency of Boston University began in the summer of 2003, following the resignation of its eighth president Jon Westling, the Trustees of Boston University voted unanimously to offer the presidency of the university to Daniel S. Goldin, former administrator of NASA under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Goldin was set to take over the job on November 1, 2003, and be officially inaugurated on November 17, though the deal collapsed in the week leading up to his arrival in Boston. The university eventually terminated Goldin's contract at a cost of $1.8 million, and initiated a second search to fill the presidential position, culminating with the inauguration of Robert A. Brown as the university's 10th president on April 27, 2006. (Aram Chobanian, who had served as president ad interim during most of the second search, was recognized by the Board as the 9th president in 2005.)

Jon Westling took office as Boston University's 8th president in 1996, succeeding the controversial John Silber, who had served in the office for 25 years. Despite Westling's lack of a PhD, he was Silber's recommendation to the Trustees for the job. In 2002, after six years in office, the Trustees forced Westling to resign (presumably at the behest of Silber, who had "soured" on him). This led to sloppiness in the interviews and contract negotiations. After only one interview, Goldin was catapulted to the top of the committee's list, due mostly to the personal backing of Silber. Goldin remained the favorite even after he made demands during contract negotiations that would have likely disqualified him from consideration in more ideal circumstances. Among these was his desire to spend much of his time in Malibu, California, where his wife would be living; according to a source Goldin "didn't think he had to be on campus every weekend to be effective." The Trustees agreed to this, and even offered to subsidize this travel with first class airfare as well as a private jet named “BU1”. The Boston Globe has since reported that Goldin had been planning a purge of BU's upper administration, and had already determined in detail who he thought should remain and who should not. Goldin apparently had intentions to clean house; his plans included the sacking of most of the university's top administrators. The most notable of these were Provost Dennis Berkey and Treasurer Kenneth Condon, both of whom were also finalists for the presidency. This spooked the Trustees, and to a large degree precipitated the no confidence vote.

Goldin caught wind of the vote, and in a memorandum to the Board dated October 27 apologized "if he had unintentionally offended any trustees in discussions over terms of the job." However, he also reiterated his conditions that Silber not remain as Chancellor or member of the Board of Trustees, saying "there can only be one president", and reminding the Board of their contract. A settlement was eventually reached between the university and Goldin, the details of which were never released but which sources have indicated included a $1.8 million payment to Goldin, in exchange for his abandoning any claims he may have had against BU. The Board also accepted the resignations of its chairman and vice chairman, Christopher Barreca and Dexter Dodge. This, along with proposed checks on Trustee actions such as term limits and plans for an independent oversight body, has signaled an improvement in the management of BU.

Upon the announcement of Goldin's appointment the Trustees cancelled classes across the university and planned a celebratory parade, complete with campus police honor guard, for Goldin's inauguration on November 17. After the vote of no confidence, and Goldin's subsequent withdrawal the Trustees decided to uphold their decision and did not reinstate classes, though they did cancel the parade.