By By E.W. Blankenbaker

With the hype of the Clinton Conference fading, the University is focusing on the future of presidential studies and finding the right person to lead the way.

The University will soon begin taking applications for a historian or scholar to fill a newly created chair in Presidential Studies, and that hunt may begin as early as January, Herman A. Berliner, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at the University, said.

With the chair position – announced at the 11th Presidential Conference last month – the University hopes to attract a top historian or scholar to lead a soon-to-be-created presidential study center.

“[Applicants] must have a tremendous expertise [in] the field,” Berliner said. “Determined by the teaching you’ve done and the scholarship you’ve published.”

Berliner also noted that while the search has not started, someone along the lines of Douglas Brinkley, who is the director of the new Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization and a professor at Tulane University, would be perfect for the position.

Brinkley was the Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Conference Scholar at the Clinton Conference last month and is a leading presidential historian. Brinkley, who taught at the University in the early 1990s, led 17 undergraduate students from the University across the country to observe U.S. culture in 1992.

Berliner added, however, that there was no connection between the invite Brinkley received to the Clinton Conference and hopes to attract him to the University.

“Brinkley was invited well before the chair was established,” he said.

Warren G. Frisina, chair of the newly established Department of Religion, said the search for the Presidential Chair could be difficult. He pointed to the current search he is leading to find someone for the new Msgr. Thomas J. Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies in the Department of Religion.

“The difference is that you have to figure out how to make contact with people who are not necessarily looking for a job,” said Frisina. “You have to have an entrepreneur sensibility and you have to figure out how to get the word out creatively.”

The Religion Department sent out flyers, talked to people in the Catholic studies field and even brought in an outside consultant. Frisina said the Religion Department hoped to have someone picked by March 2006.

But Frisina said, “If you don’t feel like you’ve got it, there is every reason to take a breath and wait. It is too important to not get what you want.”

The salary for the potential Presidential chairperson will come from the interest received on a pledge of $1.5 million by Peter S. Kalikow, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, real-estate tycoon and 1965 graduate of the University.

“He [Kalikow] started talking to [President Stuart] Rabinowitz about a year ago,” Marty McLaughlin, Kalikow’s spokesman, said. “He is very interested in history and feels that Hofstra is the preeminent school in this area for the presidency.”

McLaughlin said Kalikow wanted to do more for the University, but has not developed specific plans.

In 1987, Kalikow also helped establish, through a contribution, a distinguished professorship in real estate law. Currently, Professor Ronald H. Silverman holds the professorship.

The University has 40 such endowed chairs and distinguished professorships, according to the 2004-05 Graduate Bulletin.

While the funding for the chair has come from Kalikow, McLaughlin said some of the money has already started to change hands. The center, however, will rely on other means of funding.

Rabinowitz is currently soliciting donors for its creation, Berliner said.

Rosanna Perotti, associate professor of political science at the University, said that presidential studies isn’t just a study of the presidency, but also examines the same leadership qualities that allow people to run a business or manage retail.

Perotti expressed concerns, however, on where the chair will be housed once it exists and the mechanics of the new center. To her knowledge, she said, the University has not met with the political science department to discuss plans.

“Having said that, we are absolutely delighted that there is going to be more funding for presidential studies,” she said.