There are, and have been, many people who are Dr. Silber's intellectual equal or superior, yet they do/did not feel compelled to diminish people and be mean. Dr. Silber did for some reason, and I don't think that trait should be spoken of as some quirky, endearing quaity, but rather an unnecessary shortcoming, (albeit a very human one as we all have) he had, along with many extraordinary qualities.

In looking at the photograph of Silber and William Weld shaking hands before their 1990 debate, I thought, "My gosh, a Deadhead Republican and a Teapartying Democrat! My has the world changed..."

John Silber was an interesting man and he played a unique role in my life. He made me vote Republican. At a get-together shortly before the 1990 debate I ran into an old friend who taught at BU. It came to light that he was going to vote for Silber. I was shocked. He then clarified his position. "I will do ANYTHING to get him out of BU," he explained.

So just how "brilliant" must a person be to get a pass on being a mean, arrogant, egotistical, bigoted bully?  Because that's what John Silber was.  The world has known many men and women who have accomplished as much and more than John Silber, but they have done it without that gigantic chip on their shoulders.  Yes, John Silber left BU a better school than he found it, but I have never been convinced that the ends justified his means.  He was a little man with an ugly spirit.

My father once told me "if you don't have anythong good to say about someone, don't say anything at all."

It figures. Of course the result of such tutelage would be to be abrasive, rude, given to temper tantrums, egotistical, and often just wrong. It figures.

If you in fact read the old article about his original interview, there is a fascinating discovery. 

"when Harvey Block asked what Silber saw as his strengths and weaknesses, Silber shot back 'I don't have to answer that.  I'm not a commodity, I'm not here to sell myself for this job, it's up to you to sell me' "

This is eerily familiar to the interview that he had with Natalie Jacobson a week before his gubenatorial campaign ended so badly - the wording, I believe, is almost identical.  Silber was a brilliant man, and for better or for worse, depending who you talk with, he did wonderful things for BU because he could work in a dictatorial fashion.  That was never going to work in the world of politics, although it would certainly have been interesting.

He was a no-nonsense guy from Illinois, just Donald Rumsfeld, just like Ronald Reagan, just like the character Clint Eastwood played in that recent car movie with the Hmong, and just like my grandfather.  Just watching the work ethic from afar will make you exhausted!!  If only Chicago politicians were the same as these hard guys from the countryside!

Silber was the last Democrat in twenty years to have a half a clue!  Democrats need a MAN like Silber today, desperately!

a bully.  So, it took a bully to "improve" BU and to impress this columnist.  

I was at BU while John Silber was there and graduated while he was president. He was a fierce and bold individual, with an intellect that was to be respected. But fundamentally, he either did not understand people or chose not to understand them. He led by the sheer dint of his personality, intellect, and power, but he was not truly a leader because he was unable to communicate with those whom he would lead. He was a formidable man, but could also be a petty, intimidating, and abusive figure, as Mr Jacoby indicates in his narrative. I find it ironic that he chose education as his profession because his model for education was so punitive and impatient. My sincere condolences to his family, and my best wishes to him whatever may come next, but any retrospective on a life well-lived should be honest. I suspect John Silber would agree. He  lived by his own code and that is something that I respect.

THe workings of an incompetent senior management at University of California. Over $1M dollars in administrative, consultant, legal expenses etc is spent by University of California senior management for the $1M pepper spray settlement. Californian tax payers shell out $2 million for the clueless decisions by University of California senior management. Hapless UC senior management wasted two million dollars destined for the education of our in-state students. Prop 30, 32 funding will be spent by incompetent University of California senior management. It is up to the public to vote no on Prop 30, 32 to keep funding from the eminently unwise senior management at University of California.

honest:  he was a bully, by any measure.  

the exploding anger, the verbal abuse ... what, all these are signs of a reasonable person ??