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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Search committee presents student forum

Retiring chancellor wants student voices to be heard.

Students seeking information to affect the search to replace Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis, who retires June 30, 2001, will have their chance. The Chancellor Search and Screen Committee will present the second of two open-forum discussions from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Indiana Memorial Union State Room East.\nAny student interested in making suggestions or asking questions related to the chancellor's job is invited to attend the forum. Meredith Suffron, senior and president of IU Student Association and a member of the Search and Screen Committee, said finding a replacement for Gros Louis is one of the most important items on IU's agenda.\n"We just want to get input on questions to ask the candidates," Suffron said. "We also want to look for what students value as important."\nGros Louis' position includes two different job descriptions, that of Bloomington chancellor and vice president for academic affairs. The chancellor oversees the planning and programs for the campus. He or she will have final responsibility for recommending decisions about campus tenure and promotions to the president. \nThe vice president for academic affairs is responsible for providing direction and guidance on academic matters to campus chancellors and vice chancellors, monitoring the conduct of academic reviews and for reviewing proposed new academic programs.\nKathy Bayless, a committee member and director of the division of recreational sports, said at Monday's forum the committee does not want to assume they know what is important to students.\n"That's one of the reasons I came here," she said. "We really understand what is valued by students and what we should try and protect."\nStudents attending Monday's forum discussed and asked questions concerning communication with the administration and the management roles of University officials.\nGros Louis said he thinks it is important to make sure the Committee asks the candidates about their interests and planned interactions in student groups. He also said students can make a large impact on the decision if they feel strongly about it.\n "If students want their voices heard, they are going to be heard," Gros Louis said. "If students work hard, even in small numbers, the Committee pays attention."\n The forums are just one part of an ongoing search process. An independent recruiting firm will make inquiries and accept applications for the Committee to screen. A letter will also be sent out to all IU department chairs requesting nominations from IU and other schools.\nThirty-four members, including faculty and students, will be selected by IU President Myles Brand to make up the Search Committee. After the list of candidates is narrowed, Suffron said she and the rest of the Committee will meet with those people in an off-campus location and narrow the list further.\n"When we get down to three to five people that will come on campus for an interview," she said. "They'll meet people and get a feel for the campus."\nGros Louis said he hopes students will show up to the forums to learn and ask questions.\n"It's very important that students say what they want to say," he said. "They can also learn something about how the search process works, they can ask questions about the process and learn something about what's going to happen over the next few months"

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