Within hours of the announcement that Fabio Mussi, a former Communist, is to be University and Research Minister in the new Italian Government of Romano Prodi, the Italian Rectors' Conference finally elected a new president. The election of Guido Trombetti, rector of Naples University, came several months after his predecessor, Piero Tosi, was forced to resign amid allegations of irregularities in assigning jobs at his university. Professor Tosi was also suspended from his job as rector of Siena University.