Usman announced as UI's new rector<\/p>\n
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The University of Indonesia's (UI) board of trustees elected
\nacting rector Usman Chatib Warsa as the new rector of UI on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Usman beat Martani Huseini, dean of the School of Social and
\nPolitical Sciences, by managing to secure 15 votes, one vote more
\nthan Martani, based on secret voting that took place at UI's
\ncampus in Depok, West Java.<\/p>\n
The board consists of 21 people, including Usman, who did not
\nvote because he was also a candidate.<\/p>\n
Minister of National Education A. Malik Fadjar won 35 percent
\nof the total number of votes.<\/p>\n
Anwar Nasution, one of the members, failed to come to the
\nforum but he authorized his right to vote to another board
\nmember.<\/p>\n
The elected rector had successfully competed against 13 other
\nrectorial candidates, who had passed through several screening
\nprocesses since April, before the number was finally whittled
\ndown to two.<\/p>\n
Usman, 55, who was UI's acting rector until Wednesday, is the
\nuniversity's 12th rector and the eighth rector from the UI's
\nSchool of Medicine.<\/p>\n
Since 1950, UI has had two rectors from the School of
\nEngineering, one from the School of Law and one from the School
\nof Letters.<\/p>\n
UI's spokeswoman Diennaryati Tjokrosuprihatono denied any
\nfavoritism in the rectorial election.<\/p>\n
\"We did not look at which school they came from but the
\nindividual and their level of competence,\" she said.<\/p>\n
This was the first election since the university was awarded a
\nnew status as a state-owned incorporated entity in 2000. Under
\nthe new status, UI is required to be more aggressive in
\ngenerating capital as the government plans to begin reducing
\nsubsidies in 2005.<\/p>\n
The university opened the rectorial post to any member of the
\npublic, with the hope it would get a new rector who had both
\nacademic and entrepreneurial skills.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, none of the 14 candidates, who were mostly from
\nUI, met that requirement.<\/p>\n
Usman said after the election on Wednesday that it was more
\nimportant for the head of UI to be a competent manager rather
\nthan an academic expert.<\/p>\n
\"To become a good manager, (the head of UI) does not
\nnecessarily have to be a professor,\" he said, adding he only had
\na PhD title compared to the other candidates, who were mostly
\nprofessors.<\/p>\n
Usman, who was awarded his doctoral degree from Kobe
\nUniversity, Tokyo, vowed to revive UI's academic culture by
\nbridging the current gap between students and lecturers.<\/p>\n
\"A closer relationship will produce a more academic atmosphere
\non the campus,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said he planned to restructure the management system in an
\nattempt to build trust throughout the campus.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the significance of raising funds to run
\nthe institution but did not clarify any specific program.<\/p>\n
\"We will optimize scientific research and prioritize
\nefficiency in order to cut expenses,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Separately, Usman's competitor, Martani, said he would support
\nthe new rector's policy.<\/p>\n
\"I welcome this democratic rectorial election and do hope the
\nnew rector will accommodate my ideas to improve UI,\" Martani
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/usman-announced-as-uis-new-rector-1447893297",
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