Board of Regents taps same firm it used for ISU and UNI president searches for UI process

IOWA CITY - The Board of Regents has chosen the same firm it used in recent searches for new presidents at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa to help vet candidates for University of Iowa's 21st president.

Parker Executive Search of Atlanta will help a 21-member presidential search committee define goals of the UI search, develop position specifications, and create a search timeline. Representatives from the firm also will help identify and assess potential candidates, coordinate interviews, negotiate, and facilitate follow-up communications.

After outgoing UI President Sally Mason announced last month her plans to retire Aug. 1, Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said the hunt for her replacement would look similar to searches in 2011 and 2012 at ISU and UNI, respectively.

The board has not yet executed a contract with the search firm, meaning it hasn't finalized payment details, according to board officials. And the board didn't immediately release details around how much it paid Parker to conduct the ISU and UNI searches, although Iowa State Daily has reported the ISU presidential search cost more than $133,000, including $95,000 paid to the search firm.

The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2007 reported the last UI search that brought Mason to campus cost $314,000. According to the Chronicle, the industry standard for search firms is to charge one-third of the hired executive's total cash compensation - although there often is a cap.

In a statement, Rastetter said the board was 'very pleased with the process and the results of our two previous presidential searches.”

'Parker has a proven understanding of the board's high expectations for a search that results in the finest presidential candidates for Iowa's public universities,” he said.

The ISU search - which netted Steven Leath - took about three months, and the UNI search - which landed William Ruud - took about four months. Rastetter has said the UI process could take longer, however, possibly requiring an interim president.

According to its website, Parker has worked with clients nationally and internationally, including intercollegiate athletics programs, colleges and universities, Fortune 500 corporations, hospitals and health systems.

Its previous higher education clients include the universities of Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It was involved in the search that resulted in the November announcement of Timothy L. Killeen as University of Illinois' 20th president.

Last week, the University of Alabama-Birmingham announced plans to use Parker to help find a new athletics director.

News of the search firm selection came Monday - the same day UI hosted its first of four forums inviting the community to weigh in on qualifications they'd like in the next president. The forum was sparsely attended - with only 25 people in the room and just four questions asked.

Those who did speak at the meeting - which lasted about 15 minutes - shared hopes that UI's next leader will be attentive to the needs of all constituents, will be experienced in fundraising, will be interested in diversity and campus security, and will be charismatic.

Sam Wampler, UI junior and student government member, said Mason was involved with the student body, and he'd like the same to be true of the next president. Priorities for that person should include ending sexual violence on campus, improving sustainability efforts, welcoming international students, and addressing campus diversity, Wampler said.

Another faculty member mentioned former UI President David Skorton as a model for the type of leader he'd like to see at the university. Skorton served as the 19th UI president from 2003 to 2006, when he left to take the top job at Cornell University, and is set to become the 13th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution this summer.

That faculty member also mentioned Paul Rothman as the type of president he'd like to see. Rothman is dean of the John Hopkins' medical faculty, vice president for medicine of The Johns Hopkins University, and CEO of John Hopkins Medicine.

Linda Stewart Kroon, director of the UI's Women's Resource and Action Center, expressed concern around the makeup of the UI's 21-person presidential search committee. It includes seven representatives from the UI faculty but only one UI staff member, she said.

Jean E. Robillard, UI Vice President for medical affairs and chair of the search committee, said those are regent decisions, but the group will take input from as many constituents as possible.

'The search committee is there to vet the candidate,” he said. 'But the rest of you and the rest of us are important to tell the search committee what they expect.”

Another three forums on the UI presidential search are planned Friday - one for students, one for staff, and one for faculty.