Indiana University President Tries to Deflect Critics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.

Two years after becoming Indiana University president, Dr. Adam Herbert is hearing from critics who say he takes too long to make decisions, keeps a low profile and spends too much time on sports.

But IU trustees say Herbert has taken the right approach by focusing first on university operations and problems in the athletic department.

``This is a very complicated institution, and two years is not very long to get your hands around Indiana University,'' Steve Ferguson, who will become president of the board of trustees this month, told The Herald-Times for a Sunday story.

The newspaper asked in July for Herbert's 2005 appointment calendar under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. Herbert provided a copy.

It shows conferences with IU administrators, time spent preparing for and attending university trustee meetings and travel to alumni events in other cities. It shows no IU activity during spring break or the week after commencement ceremonies and indicates Herbert has been gone from Indiana since early July — another topic of criticism.

Herbert defended his record in a phone interview last week from Florida, where he has a home.

``I think there are a number of things I can be very proud of,'' he said, citing increased research funding, realignment of administrative positions and procedures and changes in the athletic department.

Herbert came to Indiana from Florida, where he had been president of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and was chancellor of the state university system.

He followed Dr. Myles Brand, who spent seven years as IU president before leaving to head the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Herbert, an Oklahoma native and IU's first Black president, styles himself as a deliberative, thorough leader who values input and faculty governance and likes one-on-one interaction.