It remains a mystery...
 

The piece is clever criticism as it makes clear that Smith had no qualifications for the job he has been given except endorsements from buddies in Engineering. A shotgun wedding after the bride was jilted minutes from the altar by the previous male-scientist bridegroom.
 

Smith doesn't have very good control of metaphor, as indicated by the following passage in Johanna Cornblatt's article, describing how he began his business in the basement of his house:

"First a steam pipe in the ceiling broke, flooding the basement with scalding water. Then the sewage backed up into the office.

'When you start a company, you find space wherever you can, no matter how disgusting and smelly it is,' Smith says of the business."

Is this good news for University Hall? Should we call the plumbers?
 

Yeah, and what about the inspiring story about the swimmer???? Whew--amazing.
 

What's the scoop with the Humanities?
 

Word is that Mike Smith never attended an FAS meeting before this year. Does anyone know if that's true?
 

Almost never I think it was.
 

My understanding is that no one wanted the job. Why volunteer to become a duck in a carnival shooting gallery?
 

There were a number of senior FAS faculty who wanted the job, were supported by many others, and would have brought solid experience. Hyman preferred someone who would not provide strong leadership. FAS is weaker now on all fronts and Smith just takes orders from above.
 

The big question is: how quickly can he learn the job?
 

Some things crucial to being an effective academic leader cannot be learned or aquired on any quick time scale, and this Harvard job is overwhelming for anyone. Faust will have to step in and maybe she loves that. But can she teach him to give a speech with feeling and good syntax?
 

Mike Smith is Drew Faust's first big mistake. He is making Bill Kirby look good.
 

Who IN the FAS is calling the shots, if not Mike Smith?
 

FAS is just going through the motions. If Mike Smith really understood how FAS functions, he wouldn't have had to hire outside consultants.
 

How do we know he is just going through the motions? Isn't it a bit early to tell?