“一场在年轻人身上的赌博”:赫钦斯的芝加哥大学校长任职之路

“A gamble on the youth”:Hutchins’ path to the presidency of the University of Chicago

历史地看,芝加哥大学遴聘年仅30岁的赫钦斯担任校长一职,可谓是一场赌博。遴选校长前,芝加哥大学面临竞争优势减弱,捐赠竞争激烈;保持研究为本还是大力发展本科教育的选择冲突;领导力缺乏等问题。芝加哥大学希望遴选一位声望崇高、经验丰富的校长带领学校重新成为美国高等教育的领头羊,然而在漫长的遴选过程中因利益相关者未能达成一致意见使遴选工作陷入困境。面对必须决断而又无人可选的处境,遴选委员会在政治妥协与非理性的情感因素影响下,最终背离最初设定的遴选标准,仓促之间押注经验、声望都无法与芝加哥大学声誉相匹配的赫钦斯。探讨芝加哥大学遴选赫钦斯的历程,既能重新认识被誉为“巨人”的赫钦斯,又能管窥美国大学校长的遴选特色。

Historically speaking,the University of Chicago took a gamble by recruiting Robert M.Hutchins,just 30 years old,as its president.Before the selection of the president,the University of Chicago faced such problems as weak competitive advantages and fierce competition for donations,the intense conflict between maintaining research as the basis and developing undergraduate education vigorously,and a lack of leadership.The University of Chicago hoped to select a prestigious and experienced president to lead the university back to being a leader of American higher education.However,the long search process had been plagued by the failure of stakeholders to reach a consensus.Faced with the situation of having to make a decision and having no one to choose,the selection committee deviated from the original selection criteria due to political compromise and irrational emotional factors,and made a hasty bet on Hutchins whose experience and reputation could not match the reputation of the University of Chicago.To explore the selection process of Hutchins by the University of Chicago,we can not only reunderstand the“giant”Hutchins,but also see the characteristics of the selection of American university presidents.