John Silber, president and then chancellor of Boston University from 1977 to 2003, died on Sept. 27 at the age of 86. During his long and tumultuous term Boston University, Silber put both himself and his school on the academic map. Silber is widely credited for saving Boston University from financial ruin and turning it into a top-ranking academic institution — even as he frequently found himself at odds with his colleagues and the media.
His success in managing an academic institution made him confident he could tackle bureaucracy at the state level. In 1990, he ran for governor and led his opponent, Republican William Weld, by nine percentage points.
Silber’s lead lasted until a campaign interview with Channel 5’s Natalie Jacobson. When Jacobson asked Silber to reveal his strengths and weaknesses, Silber listed his strengths as competence and honesty. As for his weaknesses, the candidate simply said, “You find the weakness. I don’t have to go around telling you what’s wrong with me. The media have manufactured about 16,000 qualities that are offensive, and attributed them all to me.” Silber’s outburst cost him the election.
That episode was just one in a long line of confrontations with the media. Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh participated in several, and says of Silber, “He was a tough guy to deal with when he got angry.” Lehigh remembers out-of-town reporters who were shocked by the chancellor's hostility, but in Lehigh’s mind, “That was just John Silber being John Silber.”
Throughout his life, Silber continued to confront controversy. During his time at Boston University, Silber referred to his English department, which had primarily female staff, as a “damn matriarchy.” While attempting to get convicted murderer Ed Bowser released from jail, Silber referred to the parole board as a “board of denial.” Silber also stood behind convicted rapist Ben LeGuer.
But those close to him remember a man more complex than a simple firebrand. The word “brilliant” is often used to describe Silber, and so is another term — loyal. “When he believed in somebody, he was all there, all in,” remembers Michal Regunberg, who served as Silber’s press secretary during the 1990 campaign. “He was an incredibly loyal guy to his friends.”
During the nearly three decades of Silber’s term at Boston University, he was a larger-than-life presence whose strong opinions often put him at odds with other faculty. Even so, Silber perceived himself a moderate and even contended, “I am the model of civility.” Regunberg offers a similar portrait of her friend and colleague, saying, “He could be incredibly charming and funny — most of the time.”
http://video.wgbh.org/video/2285617917/
