Engineering academy ousts its president

The tumultuous events of the last few months at the National Academy of Engineering reached a climax last week when NAE members voted—1,179 to 179—to remove President Harold Liebowitz from office. Under a new chairman, Alan M. Lovelace, a former vice president of General Dynamics, the NAE council will select an interim president charged with healing the institutional wounds and setting the stage for a new presidential election, probably early next year. For now, NAE Vice President Morris Tanenbaum will oversee the academy. At the October annual meeting, NAE leaders also will ask their members what reforms they want in NAE—seeking to clarify and act upon the divisive issues that carried Liebowitz into office in the first place. Liebowitz, 72, a materials engineer and former engineering dean at George Washington University, took office in April 1995. He was elected as a petition candidate on a reform ticket, promising to involve engineers more prominently in ...