Searching for IU's next president

Since IU President Myles Brand accepted the position as president of the NCAA Thursday, everyone at IU is left in the dark as to who is going to take over the University's top position.\nQuestions as to who will fill Brand's shoes and the effects that this appointment will have on IU still remain.\nBut most of those questions won't be answered for a while, at least until IU's board of trustees meet this week.\n"We are, of course, sorry to be losing the leadership of a man who has accomplished many great things in his eight years as our president," said Fred Eichhorn, president of the IU board of trustees. "We are sorry to lose the services of such a strong leader, but we are excited about the opportunity that awaits him."\nIU trustee Peter Obremskey said Sunday that the IU board of trustees will hold an executive session at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the trustees' office. There they will discuss the process by which an interim president will be determined. The board was supposed to meet this weekend, but Obremskey said it was cancelled since the 48-hour advanced notice could not be fulfilled.\n"We're going to talk about the selection of an interim president and the machinery to select a new president," Obremskey said. \nTrustee Stephen Backer said that the meeting will also touch on developing a selection committee for selecting an interim candidate. That committee will be responsible for developing a system of gathering information from applicants and a means of screening potentials.\nEichhorn said Brand will continue his presidential duties until the end of the fall semester, and an interim appointment will be made by Jan. 1, 2003 when Brand is scheduled to leave IU. A full-time president will hopefully be determined sometime in July, Eichhorn said.\n"Many of you will have specific questions about the process we are about to undertake," he said. "At this point, those details still must be determined."\nEichhorn was asked if a list of qualities for selecting a president and interim president had been compiled, and he said as of late, nothing had been put together. Touching on Brand's qualities, however, Eichhorn ran down the list. \nHe said Brand is "consultive … a good administrator … courageous … and he made good decisions."\nObremskey said the selection committee will look for someone for the interim position who is "knowledgeable with the University," and from there they will "open up the search for the president and hope to get calls from candidates from all walks of life."\nHe said he thinks IU will not feel a grave impact in the next few months, citing IU's size and experienced faculty and staff.\n"We're going to fill the void as quickly as we can," Obremskey said. "Indiana University is a big school. There's a lot of people who know how to do their jobs and will continue to get the job done."\nBacker agreed.\n"The interim will probably come from someone who is within the IU system," he said. It's possible this person can take over the fulltime position, Backer added.\n"This won't affect students at all. It will affect the long term vision as to if we're going to stay the course or go in another direction," Backer said.\nEichhorn said the change will open new doors and make the University stronger as a whole.\n"Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president who was just named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, once said, 'We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles,' " Eichhorn said. "Our faith in the principles that have made Indiana University such a great institution will continue to guide us in the weeks and months ahead.\n"Change is seldom easy, but it is often an opportunity. In that spirit, we will move forward"