Dear Colleagues,
Six members of the Presidential Search Faculty Consultation Committee (PSFCC) met on Monday with Search Committee Chair Raymond Burse. The PSFCC representatives included Michael Cunningham (A&S), Amy Acklin (Music), Anita Barbee (Kent School of Social Work and Family Science), Aruni Bhatnagar (SOM), Jelani Kerr (SPHIS) and Kristen Lucas (COB).
Chairman Burse informed us that the application deadline closed on Sept 1, by which time approximately 60 candidates had applied. The pool includes a number of sitting presidents at R1 and R2 institutions. The Trustee’s Committee has worked to narrow the list down to approximately 20 candidates using a 2-page rating form assessing experience and key attributes. The reduced pool consists of roughly 40% members of racially/ethnically minoritized individuals and 15% females.
The plan is to further reduce the list to approximately 8-10 candidates through discussions within the search committee and then conduct in-person interviews at an undisclosed location. Following the interviews, the next step will be to reduce the pool to approximately 3 finalists, who will complete objective leadership tests conducted by WittKieffer, as well as background checks and other forms of credential verification. Offers from the PSFCC to use our faculty contacts on various campuses to gain additional background information about the finalists were declined due to a reasonable concern with protecting the confidentiality of the candidates on their home campuses.
The PSFCC expressed the desire to fully support the search process and help enhance the legitimacy of the incoming President in a manner that did not occur in the last search. We recounted the fact that the prior PSFCC input into candidate fit was only sought the day before the announcement of Neeli Bendapudi’s selection, which had the unfortunate consequence of undermining the development of trust and empowerment.
Chairman Burse promised to continue to include the input of the PSFCC and ensure that the selection committee chooses a President with the right skills and temperament to collaboratively ensure the University reaches its potential and who is committed to investing in UofL for a substantial period of time. Members of the PSFCC indicated a desire to check in again after the next phase occurs, likely within the next month.
We welcome our colleagues to view the timeline and learn more information about the process on the presidential search website.
A&S: Michael Cunningham
Brandeis: Enid Trucios-Haynes
COB: Kristen Lucas
CEHD: Jeffrey Sun
Grad School: Monica Wendel
Kent: Anita Barbee
Libraries: Heather Fox
Music: Amy Acklin
SOD: James Harrison
SOM: Aruni Bhatnagar
SON: Cindi Logsdon
Speed: Tom Berfield
SPHIS: Jelani Kerr