Educators Hail the Hiring of Black as Head of Occidental

The chancellor of the largest campus of the University of Maryland has been named the 11th president of Occidental College, the first time an independent college in California has chosen a black as its chief administrator, it was announced Friday.

The trustees of the small, 100-year-old liberal arts college in Eagle Rock selected John B. Slaughter, a former director of the National Science Foundation, over more than 150 educators who had applied for the position.

Slaughter, a Topeka, Kan., native who has become nationally known as both an electronics engineer and an academic administrator, in August will succeed Richard C. Gilman, who has been president of Occidental for 23 years.

Prominent black educators on Friday hailed the selection of Slaughter as head of the highly selective institution as a breakthrough.

“In the state of California and in any other state they ought to be able to judge whether an individual can lead an institution by the quality of that person’s mind and heart rather than by the color of his skin,” said William Saunders, executive director of the National Alliance of Black School Educators in Washington. “I think it is very important symbolically. It sends a good signal to other institutions.”

In selecting Slaughter, the nationally known college becomes among the few predominantly white private colleges in the country to have a black president. A recent study by the American Council on Education in Washington found that of more than 2,800 colleges and universities nationwide, only 2% of predominantly white colleges have black presidents.

“We are a small, insular liberal arts college but in the middle of possibly the most exciting city ethnically in the country,” said David Axeen, dean of the faculty at Occidental. “Obviously adding a distinguished black administrator as our head is tremendously exciting and shows we are committed to reflecting the diversity of our surroundings in our faculty, our administration and our student body.”

Slaughter could not be reached for comment on the move, which was announced by a University of Maryland spokeswoman Friday afternoon.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1982, Slaughter has been chancellor at the University of Maryland’s major research campus in College Park for six years. Before that he was academic vice president and provost of Washington State University.

Slaughter received a master of science degree from UCLA and a doctorate in engineering science from UC San Diego. He was director of the applied physics laboratory of the University of Washington for two years, taught at two other universities and has published extensively in scientific and academic journals.

“I’m pleased that the college shows sufficient strength to attract someone of his caliber,” outgoing President Gilman said. “I have to say without equivocation that I think this is a splendid appointment and bodes extremely well for the college.”

Gilman, 64, said he is not sure what he will do after he hands over the reins of the institution to Slaughter.

In more than two decades at Occidental, Gilman, a Massachusetts native with a doctorate in philosophy from Boston University, has overseen the growth of the college’s reputation nationally as a selective institution that emphasizes undergraduate teaching.