University of Iowa president position to be advertised in days

IOWA CITY — A 21-member group convened to help find the next University of Iowa president is close to finalizing a job description that will be advertised nationally this month in publications like the Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, and the New York Times.

The description lists 'preferred' qualifications, including advanced degrees, administrative experience, and commitment to the development of faculty, staff, and students, along with 'a proven track record of inspiring people and organizations through principled leadership.'

But the advertisement 'is not where successful candidates will be developed,' warned Laurie Wilder, president of Parker Executive Search, the firm hired by the Board of Regents to help facilitate the hunt for UI's 21st president.

The best candidates will come through aggressive recruiting, personal contacts, and persistence, Wilder said Friday during the UI presidential search and screen committee's second public meeting.

'Those candidates are gainfully employed, happy, and their campuses are thrilled to have them,' she said. 'They are not looking.'

That, according to Wilder, feeds into the importance of keeping candidate names confidential until they're asked to come to campus as finalists in late August. And the search committee on Friday passed a confidentiality resolution acknowledging candidates' expectation of privacy until the on-campus interviews.

But nominations already are trickling in through the UI's public presidential search website, and UI law professor Christina Bohannan — president-elect of the UI Faculty Senate and member of the search committee — said some faculty members are concerned that will keep those folks from applying.

Wilder said her search firm will establish a secure website later this month where names and information for nominees and candidates — including whether they've been contacted and are interested — will be logged.

'And if a nomination gets out, the candidates themselves aren't so worried about that,' Wilder said. 'They were nominated — someone said they're good.'

Following are some of the nominations that have come in through the UI public website:

• Garnett S. Stokes has been provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri since Feb. 2. She previously held the same position at Florida State University.
• Daniel Jones, chancellor at the University of Mississippi, last month refused an offer to extend his contract through June 2017. That offer included the stipulation he would have to retire at that time, regardless of job performance. Jones declined the offer, sending the school in search of a new leader.
• Scott L. Waugh has been executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of California, Los Angeles, since 2008 — following two years as acting executive vice chancellor and provost.
• Paul N. Courant, professor of public policy, of economics, and of information at the University of Michigan, also has served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, university librarian, and dean of libraries.
• Salome Raheim has been dean and professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work since 2008. She also codirects the Bioscience CT Health Disparities Institute. She holds a doctorate in communications studies from UI and spent more than 20 years as a UI faculty member before taking the position in Connecticut.
• Sally McRorie has been vice president for the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement for Florida State University since 2012.
• Santa J. Ono leads the University of Cincinnati and was named Inside Higher Education's most notable university president in 2015.

During Friday's presidential search committee meeting, Wilder outlined a clearer timeline for the upcoming search, which will include a summer of recruiting culminating with initial interviews for about eight top candidates Aug. 20 and 21.

The search committee expects to have all candidate materials by Aug. 3, and the group will meet Aug. 11 to discuss its prospects and pick those to interview in person.

The group is aiming to decide who to bring to campus by Aug. 21 and to schedule those on-campus interviews for Aug. 31, Sept. 1, and Sept. 2. The Board of Regents can conduct its own final interviews Sept. 4 before extending a final offer.

Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter during Friday's meeting said salary and relocation negotiations will happen before bringing finalists to campus.

'We want to know they are committed and will take the job if they come to campus,' Rastetter said.

Jeff Courter, UI Alumni Association board of directors chair and member of the search committee, expressed concern about UI being viewed as a launchpad for administrators seeking top jobs at even more prestigious institutions.

Wilder said that perception is out there, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. She said it can lure best candidates, who end up staying at Iowa — and rejecting other offers — because of the good fit. And, she said, a sought-after president typically means they're doing something right.

'Could you lose your next president to another (institution)?' she said. 'You could. But that's typically better than them not calling.'

UI presidential job description and search timeline:

University of Iowa president job description, timeline (PDF) University of Iowa president job description, timeline (Text)