University of Iowa presidential search could follow ISU, UNI mold

IOWA CITY - As University of Iowa prepares to undergo its own search for a new leader after President Sally Mason last week announced plans to retire this summer, the Board of Regents has hinted it will follow the same public vetting process it used when filling vacancies at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa.

No law or policy exists requiring the board to publicize names of finalists to fill presidential vacancies at its public universities. But in those recent searches for new heads at ISU and UNI, the board did release finalists' names and invite community members to weigh in.

'They were inclusive, open and transparent,” Regents President Bruce Rastetter said last week about the ISU and UNI presidential searches. 'And we will follow a similar model and timeline as what we did in those two searches.”

Those comments have members of the UI community who are looking ahead to the upcoming search looking back at those that netted ISU President Steven Leath and UNI President William Ruud. Many involved in those past searches told The Gazette the approaches were successful - even enjoyable - and they've been pleased with the outcome.

'I believe the process worked, and I heard the same from the committee members as well as many others on and off our campus,” said Farzad Moussavi, dean of the UNI College of Business Administration who helped lead UNI's presidential search from October 2012 to February 2013. 'While each member was on the search committee to represent a different constituent group, there was wide consensus throughout the search process.”

UI Faculty Senate President Alexandra Thomas told The Gazette that she and her colleagues are optimistic about the upcoming search and view it as an opportunity.

'We want a really great president,” Thomas said. 'And I do trust there will be significant faculty involvement.”

The UNI presidential search took about four months, and the ISU search took about three months - beginning in June 2011 and wrapping up in September. If the UI process follows a similar timeline, the campus might escape without the need for an interim president, as Mason is planning to stay through July 31.

But, Rastetter said last week, the board 'will not be backed into a short time table to rush things” - adding that the need for a temporary replacement is a 'distinct possibility.”

Thomas said she thinks the faculty would be OK with that.

'More important than the timing, I'd like to see it done right,” she said.

National standard

The UI has been through a failed search before. The 17-month process that led to Mason's hiring in 2007, in fact, was marred by one failed search that prompted no-confidence votes by faculty, staff and student leaders in the Board of Regents.

But Jamie Ferrare, managing principal at AGB Search in Washington, D.C., said those instances are rare. Most of the time, they run smoothly and wrap up in five to six months.

AGB Search, which conducts searches for higher education leaders across the country, said the typical process starts with the appointment of a search committee that includes faculty and staff representatives, the Board of Regents, students and community members.

The group retains a firm to help design the search and launch an advertising campaign, Ferrare said. Potential candidates can apply themselves or be nominated, and the search firm often recruits additional top prospects, according to Ferrare.

The search committee defines its criteria and qualifications for a new president, reviews its applicant pool, and begins to narrow it. After establishing a short list of prospects, it often hosts off-site interviews to maintain candidates' anonymity.

From that group, two or three should emerge as finalists. Some institutions announce those names and others don't.

Additional interviews are conducted, sometimes involving the wider community, and the Board of Regents makes the final appointment, Ferrare said.

Top qualifications for presidential candidates include administrative and educational experience, fundraising ability, knowledge of shared governance and business connections.

UNI search

Moussavi said UNI's search followed those national standards and involved a 21-person diverse committee. The group considered about 50 candidates initially, and nine were invited to 'airport interviews,” Moussavi said.

Three finalists made campus visits, and the committee submitted two names to the Board of Regents. Moussavi said he believes the process was successful 'in the sense that we submitted to the regents two highly qualified candidates who had strong and broad support from the committee and the campus.”

Moussavi said the process benefits from transparency - including making public the finalists' names.

'The only con I can think of for an open process is the small risk that a prospective candidate or two might end up not applying,” he said. 'The pros, on the other hand, are all concrete and obvious for academic institutions, where transparency and freedom of expression are fundamental.”

Jack Evans, a former regent who participated on the UNI search committee, said he 'enjoyed the process immensely” and can understand why Iowa historically has conducted open searches. But, Evans said, transparency also can present challenges.

There are potential candidates, for example, who like their existing jobs but might be willing to move on for a position such as the one in Iowa City. Those folks might not apply if they have to make public their candidacy, Evans said.

'The down side is that you limit your candidacy pool because some people in existing positions don't want to disclose that they are candidates at another institution,” he said. 'But the (open) process has worked in the past, and it will work in the future.”

ISU search

Roger Underwood, board member for the ISU Foundation and co-chair of the 2011 search committee, said he, too, sees pluses and minuses to making the process public.

'For every positive someone says about the search being wide open, there are equal challenges to having that same thing,” Underwood said. 'Some people don't want to put their name in the hat. But we felt we had a very strong pool in the end, and we are very proud of the pool we put together.”

The ISU search committee had more than 20 members, and Underwood said he believes the Board of Regents representatives were invaluable in making the process gel. Without the board's presence and guidance throughout the process, Underwood said, the group might have stalled and wasted time checking in to make sure they were on track.

'But we had them in the room, and they did an excellent job keeping us on task,” he said. 'I have nothing but good things to say about the leadership they provided our committee.”

Rastetter last week said the board is preparing to issue a request for proposals from firms for the UI search, and it's already is working toward creating a search committee.