Richard Lariviere, the former University president who was terminated by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education back in November, is in line to be named president and CEO of Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History pending a board vote Tuesday. @@http://lariviere.uoregon.edu/@@
His nomination to take the place of retiring incumbent John McCarter came from museum chairman John Rowe. Lariviere received unanimous approval in a vote from the museum’s executive committee Friday, after which Rowe wrote a letter to the museum board strongly recommending they appoint Lariviere as president. @@http://fieldmuseum.org/users/john-w-mccarter-jr@@ @@http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=124298&p=irol-govBio&ID=121588@@
“I strongly propose Richard Lariviere to you as the next president of the Field Museum,” Rowe said in his memo. “Richard has an outstanding record of scholarship, academic accomplishments and business leadership.”
Lariviere, 62, was fired by the OSBHE late fall term over issues stemming from a number of discrepancies warranted by the board. Both Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner were integral in the firing process, giving strong recommendations to the OSBHE to dismiss Lariviere. @@http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/12/the_rise_and_fall_of_richard_l.html@@
Despite a marred track record, Rowe still believes Lariviere is the candidate who can bring the Field Museum to greater heights in this time of economic downturn and low museum patronage. He said that Lariviere’s time here at the University showed integrity and loyalty to those in the community.
“In the face of strong political differences in Oregon’s complex university system, we believe Richard’s work at the University of Oregon demonstrated courage, commitment and passion,” Rowe wrote. “These are all characteristics we value highly at the Field and are exactly what’s needed to build on the superb legacy of John McCarter, and take the museum into the future.”
Lariviere was popular among the campus community, which met his termination with widespread disapproval. Economics professor Bill Harbaugh said that he is glad to see that Lariviere’s career is not being brought down by his past here at the University, and that community support could have been essential in the executive committee’s decision to approve him. @@http://harbaugh.uoregon.edu/@@
“Getting fired half way through the year is usually a pretty bad thing to have on your resume, but the Field Museum committee saw past that and hired Lariviere in part because of the unprecedented demonstrations of support by the faculty, students and alumni,” Harbaugh said. “So that angry meeting in Portland might not have kept Kitzhaber and Pernsteiner from firing Lariviere, but it sure helped him to roll back with a great new job.”
University law student and former ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz was approached by Lariviere a few months ago and asked to be a reference for the position. Dotters-Katz accepted, reluctant to see his departure from the campus being finalized.
“I was honored when Richard asked me to be a personal reference for this search, but I let him know it was somewhat bittersweet,” Dotters-Katz said. “It is great to see him moving forward with this exciting opportunity, but it marks the conclusion of this entire unfortunate ordeal, and brought back some of the emotions we all felt last fall. It’s great to see him doing well and we will always consider him to be one of the all-time great Ducks.”