The man in the mirror: Erskine Bowles, UNC's new CEO and our Mover and Shaker of the Year, reflects what people want to see in him--for now.

• Author: Gray, Tim
• Position: FEATURE

Much ballyhoo--some of it even believable--accompanied the hiring of Erskine Bowles as the new president of the University of North Carolina. Brad Wilson, chair of the UNC system's Board of Governors, lauds his "governmental and private-sector experience, strong intellect and business acumen." Former Gov. Jim Hunt hails him as "the best man they could find," adding, "He has the talents to lead the university to become even bigger and better for the people of North Carolina." And Phil Kirk, who is stepping down as president of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, rhapsodizes that he's "a superb choice who has wide bipartisan support."

Bowles' selection does seem a safe, sensible call. He's smart, disciplined and discreet, with experience and contacts ranging from the gilded executive suites of Charlotte and Wall Street to the grubby corridors of power in Raleigh and Washington. And he combines the strengths of his predecessors: Bill Friday's diplomatic deftness, C.D. Spangler's financial insight and Molly Broad's national experience. That's why he's BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA'S Mover and Shaker of the Year.

But he's not without shortcomings. He's a manager assuming a job that often calls for a leader--more a competent Michael Bloomberg than a courageous Rudy Giuliani--and a bureaucrat in a position that sometimes needs a politician. Bowles thrived as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and chief of staff in Bill Clinton's White House but faltered in two attempts to win a U.S. Senate seat.

But more important--and perhaps the reason for his selection--is that Erskine Bowles, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has managed to be a mirror, reflecting what everyone wants in the university president. Native North Carolinians see his Tar Heel roots. UNC Chapel Hill grads, his Carolina cred--he earned his bachelor's there. Dollars-and-cents conservatives, his business career and MBA. Lefty academics, his service with the Clinton administration.

Thanks to his discretion and aw-shucks earnestness--imagine Mister Rogers in a Brooks Brothers suit--Bowles, 60, hasn't disabused any of their illusions. For now, it gives him time and allies, both of which he'll need to pick his way through the briar patch of demands that he'll confront after his inauguration Jan. 1. A description of the enterprise he will be leading shows how daunting the task is. The university system employs about 37,000 people and enrolls nearly 200,000 students a year. Its 16 campuses include 11 television stations, two medical centers, a veterinary school and even a fish farm. Layer atop that the demands from a raft of constituencies.

Partisans of Carolina and N.C. State want more money devoted to those two schools. Supporters of the other 14 campuses want more, too. Parents want tuition kept low. Taxpayers without school-age kids want it higher. State lawmakers want the schools to corral the claptrap that sometimes passes for scholarship. Professors want to publish and teach as they please.

Paul...