Roger Bowen to Leave as AAUP’s Chief in June, as Group Plans to Rethink the Post

The long-discussed departure of Roger W. Bowen, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, is now official. The association posted an announcement on its Web site on Tuesday saying that Mr. Bowen would leave when his three-year contract expired, on June 30. Mr. Bowen, a former university president, has been looking for a new job for some time, and said he was a candidate in three unspecified job searches.

Cary Nelson, president of the association, said its governing body would discuss how the job of general secretary might be changed before the organization begins a search for Mr. Bowen’s replacement.

“I don’t think search processes in the past have confronted the complexities of the job in as brutal a way as we need to,” Mr. Nelson said in an interview. “The general secretary has to be a politician, an office manager, a fund raiser, and an eloquent speaker. Can all of these skills be found in one body?”

Mr. Nelson said the association may consider dividing up some of the responsibilities. For now, a longtime AAUP officer, Ernst Benjamin, will be interim general secretary. —Robin Wilson