Once considered a possible vice presidential running mate for Al Gore, former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson is under consideration for Tufts' presidency, and interviewed for the position in March. But despite an expressed affinity for his alma mater, it seems unlikely that Richardson will replace University President John DiBiaggio when he leaves Tufts either this year or next.
Richardson, who holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts and also attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, was interviewed by members of Tufts' presidential search committee in the Boston-based law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo P.C. Trustee Irwin Heller, chairman of the search committee, serves as a managing partner of the firm.
Though Tufts initiated the interview, there has been little contact between Richardson and the University in the intervening months. And recently, the search committee has reportedly narrowed its candidate pool significantly.
"We would be excited to see the process come to some conclusion this academic year, although there are no guarantees," said one member of the presidential search committee.
Yesterday, Richardson would neither confirm nor deny his interest in assuming the presidency, but said he had not closed the door on the opportunity. Nor has he ruled out the possibility of returning to Congress as a representative from New Mexico, a position he held for seven consecutive terms before becoming the US ambassador to the United Nations and eventually former President Bill Clinton's energy secretary.
"I think Tufts needs a highly visible figure," he said, adding that the president should have the prestige of a politician and the intelligence of an academic. "Somebody who is a public person brings a national prominence which is good for the school, fundraising ability, which is important in a college president, and an ability to attract the best students and faculty."
But when suggesting possible candidates, Richardson did not look beyond the University's Medford campus. "My ideal candidate would be someone like [Provost] Sol Gittleman," he said, praising the provost's "solid scholarship, great administrative experience," and reputation in American academia.
Gittleman, however, has shown no interest in the position. "I'm not even close to thinking about it," he said. "I never felt presidential."
Richardson "would make a good president," according to Gittleman. "He's got academic credentials, national visibility... that's what you look for in a candidate," he said of his former student.
Last May, DiBiaggio called Richardson the smart choice for Gore's running mate. "I'm not surprised that he's one of the people under consideration because he is a very competent administrator and he was a super congressman," DiBiaggio said at the time. Richardson speaks Spanish, was raised in Mexico City, and is especially popular among Hispanic voters.
Many considered Richardson to be Gore's top choice, but a controversy regarding nuclear secrets at Los Alamos severely deflated his prospects, leaving the door open for Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Yesterday, DiBiaggio said he is not involved in the presidential search, and would not comment about Richardson, except to say, "I know Bill, I'm very fond of him. I thought he would have been a great vice presidential candidate."
Since leaving his cabinet post when President George W. Bush took office, Richardson has traveled the country delivering speeches. He now holds a visiting professor position at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he teaches a course on political management. In his class, Professor Richardson asks students to merge practical experience with theoretical political science and international diplomacy. For his most recent assignment, Richardson had his class present the most effective methods of dislodging an incumbent politician, advice he could find useful should he run in the 2002 congressional elections.
But the former energy secretary, whose father also attended Tufts, has by no means severed his connection to the University. Since graduating, he has visited numerous times to deliver speeches, see former professors, and even be married in Goddard Chapel.
As an undergraduate, Richardson studied political science, was active in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and excelled as a pitcher on Tufts' baseball team. He now serves on the Fletcher board of directors. "I have very fond memories of Tufts as a student and a Fletcher graduate, and I believe that Tufts has a bright future as one of the best schools in the county," he said. "I have nothing but warm feelings for my experience there."
And while Richardson would not say if he would accept an offer to become Tufts' 12th president, he seemed to encourage the University to hire a candidate with broad name recognition; a person "with the scholarship and intelligence of Sol Gittleman combined with the political prominence of someone like Senator Bill Bradley," he said.
Emily Chasan contributed to this article.
