Many faculty members seem to agree--20professors signed a letter to Dean of the FacultyJeremy R. Knowles outlining their concerns aboutthe use of the depository, the choice of newmaterials and the tradeoffs between staffpositions and expensive acquisitions.

At the last full Faculty meeting of the year,Knowles encouraged professors to serve on a moreactive committee to oversee the changes andincrease faculty involvement in the library.

De Gennaro says he welcomes a committee that iswilling to "meet more frequently and do a lot morework than the committee has been accustomed to inthe past."

Because like it or not, De Gennaro says, thechanges will keep coming. He notes a quotation byGiuseppe Di Lampedusa that he included in thestrategic plan report: "If we want things to stayas they are, things will have to change."

De Gennaro may be an autocrat, as Freitag says.He may be a visionary, as Gotwals says. He may bea little of both.

Unquestionably, he is an agent of change. Andagents of change are often unpopular. "De Gennarois not universally loved, but that's inevitable,isn't it?" Carpenter says.

When De Gennaro sets his mind tosomething--regardless of the consequences--it willprobably happen, Rogers says. "This is a guy whowasn't afraid to make a decision," he recalls,"and when he made it, it was full steam ahead.