Last modified: Friday, January 31, 2003
Trustees receive update on presidential search
Many highly qualified candidates are indicating an interest in becoming the next president of Indiana University, according to a search update delivered to the IU Board of Trustees today (Jan. 31) during the board's January meeting.
Trustee Steve Ferguson, chair of the search committee, said that Baker-Parker, the consulting company assisting the university with the search, has contacted 152 people to date about the president's position and expects to have discussions with at least 300 people during the search. IU also has provided Baker-Parker with more than 100 names of possible candidates. Some of those are among the 152 people who have been reached so far.
Names have come from letters and e-mails to the university, research and contacts by Baker-Parker, as well as direct nominations to the search firm, and from the more than 40 meetings that were held on the IU campuses near the end of last year. Names of individuals who may be possible candidates for the position continue to come to the attention of trustees and Baker-Parker every day.
"This is an extremely rewarding search because Indiana University is an outstanding institution," said Jerry Baker of Baker-Parker. "I've received a number of inquiries from some extraordinary individuals who are clearly interested in the opportunity to lead one of the nation's best universities. They recognize that IU is a premier research institution, dedicated to public higher education and heavily involved in the state of Indiana."
Of the 152 individuals contacted, 137 are currently at a university. Fifteen others are not currently at an academic institution, but some of those are affiliated with national organizations, such as research associations. Twenty-five are women. Ethnicity has not been identified at this early time in the search, though it is known that at least nine candidates are African American or Hispanic. Most of the individuals are located in the United States, with several in Canada and several in Europe, and ages range from late 40s to early 60s.
Of those in academics, 81 are working at public universities, 56 at private universities, 91 are sitting presidents or chancellors, and 46 are provosts or deans.
Baker-Parker continues to solicit nominations, and advertisements announcing the search will be placed in several publications in early February. The search committee will begin to discuss potential candidates when it meets again on Feb. 14. The group will begin to review dossiers shortly after that time and then meet again in March to begin to select candidates to interview.
"We expect to have a much better sense of who the candidates are by Feb. 14, but even at this early stage, we're excited by the quality of the names that have been put forward," said Ferguson. "We know we're just beginning the process, but we have every confidence we will find an excellent leader for Indiana University. This continues to be a wide-open search, and we encourage people to submit names at any time in the process."
The search committee hopes to conduct a first round of interviews in April, with trustee interviews to follow later in the spring. The target date to announce selection of the next IU president is before July 1.
Gerald Bepko, who became interim president of the university on Jan. 1, will continue in that role until a new president joins the university. The search began after Myles Brand announced in October that he would leave IU to become president of the NCAA.
