Committee members named in search for new University of Iowa president

IOWA CITY - The Board of Regents on Thursday announced the names of the 21 people chosen to serve on a committee charged with searching for the next University of Iowa president.

The 'search and screen committee” includes Board of Regents members Bruce Rastetter, Katie Mulholland, and Milt Dakovich, along with eight members of the UI faculty, including Sarah Fisher Gardial, dean of the UI Tippie College of Business; Alexandra Thomas, UI Faculty Senate president; and Christina Bohannan, president-elect of the UI Faculty Senate.

The group's student representatives are Patrick Bartoski, president of UI Student Government, and Alyssa Billmeyer, president of UI Graduate and Professional Student Government. UI staff will be represented by Chuck Wieland, president of the staff council.

The UI Foundation's representatives are Catherine Zaharis, chairwoman of the foundation's board of directors, and Jerre Stead, who has been involved with his wife in the foundation and made significant donations in recent years. The UI Alumni Association will be represented by Jeff Courter, chairman of the association's board of directors, and Peter Jeffries.

The committee will include two members of the public, whom the Board of Regents chose based on nominations and applications. Mary Kramer, a UI graduate and former Republican state senator who also served as U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and Larry Beaty, a UI graduate who works as a family practice physician in West Des Moines, will serve as the public representatives, according to Board of Regents spokeswoman Sheila Koppin.

Among those who applied or were nominated for the public spots was Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek, who said in a letter to the Board of Regents that he would be a valuable addition to the search committee based on his understanding of the relationship between UI and municipal leadership.

'I believe that my participation would enhance community input and help the City of Iowa City establish a productive relationship with the next president,” Hayek wrote in the letter.

The Board of Regents announced earlier this month that UI Vice President for Medical Affairs Jean Robillard will lead the search committee, and Parker Executive Search of Atlanta, Ga., will facilitate the search.

It's unclear when the group will hold its first meeting.

Outgoing UI President Sally Mason last month announced her plans to retire Aug. 1, saying it's the right time personally and professionally. Regents President Rastetter said the UI search will look similar to those recently conducted at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, which took three months and four months, respectively.

But, Rastetter has said, he won't rush the UI search, meaning an interim president could become necessary.

About the committee members, Robillard in a statement said, 'These are excellent choices.”

'I look forward to working with them as we conduct a transparent and inclusive search,” he said.

Other faculty members include Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Lena Hill, Dorothy Johnson, Aliasger Salem, and Larry Weber.

Non-voting members include Board of Regents Executive Director Robert Donley, Regents Chief Academic Officer Diana Gonzalez, and Peter Matthes, serving as chief of staff for Mason.