The University Record, July 19, 1999 By Terry Gallagher, U-M-Dearborn, and Jane R. Elgass
Bernard W. Klein, professor emeritus of political science and public administration, has been appointed interim chancellor of the campus. His appointment was approved by the Regents at their July meeting and is effective until a permanent chancellor is named.
Klein, who has twice stepped in to lead Dearborn in the past, assumed his new responsibilities July 16.
Klein was acting chancellor in 1979–80 and interim chancellor in 1992–93. “On both occasions he provided stable and effective leadership, enabling the campus to maintain its momentum,” according to President Lee C. Bollinger. “Such experience and characteristics are critical at this point in time, when the Dearborn campus is again undertaking significant development.”
The following is excerpted from the citation presented to Klein by the Regents in December 1992, when he was stepping down from his second tour of duty in heading the campus:
“As he did in 1979–80, Dr. Klein has once again brought his managerial skills to the task of maintaining this campus on an even keel while a new chancellor was recruited and installed. And once again, he went well beyond ‘maintaining an even keel’ and, even in this short period, sustained the momentum of the campus and added impetus to its efforts to move forward with many critical decisions.
“The words of the immortal Yogi Berra, New York Yankee catcher, were never more appropriate: ‘It is sorta like déjà vu all over again.’
“Thanks, Bernie, for a job well done . . . again.”
Before joining the Dearborn faculty in 1971 as professor of political science, Klein held several leadership positions in Detroit and Michigan government. He was controller of the City of Detroit during the Cavanagh administration, after serving as assistant director of the state’s worker’s compensation program.
He also was vice president for administration at Wayne County Community College, and vice president and interim provost at Wayne State University.
At Dearborn, Klein was a popular teacher of courses in public administration and in the politics of state and local government. He received the campus’s distinguished teaching award in 1990, and received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities in 1991.
Klein succeeds James C. Renick, chancellor since 1993, who was appointed chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University earlier this year.
