Biologically, Ambach does not , of course, have the head of a pig, but some months prior to his rejection of
Wagner, in a dispute on another issue, Mayor Koch had publicly referred to him as "pigheaded".
Some observers felt that this uncomplimentary reference contributed to Ambach's refusal to grant Wagner a waiver of the requirement of formal educational training.   Waivers were subsequently granted without incident to Chancellors Harold Levy and Joel I. Klein, it now being commonly  recognized that courses in educational administration are scarcely prerequisities for a Chancellor.  Indeed, the practice Ambach followed is often known as "credentialism", a pejorative describing the exclusion of candidates for formalistic reasons.   Ambach's decision, the most important of his career, denied the Mayor and the City the opportunity to employ a Chancellor who might have been highly successful.


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