Candidates compiled in search

On Friday, the presidential search committee in charge of selecting IU's next top leader met via teleconference to begin their arduous task of discussing hundreds of names submitted to fill the vacant position.\nDuring the portion of the meeting open to the public, Jerry Baker of Baker-Parker and Associates, the Atlanta based search firm hired to assist the process, announced the number of nominations has increased from nearly 150 during the previous IU board of trustees meeting in January to close to 300. Baker said the nominations were compiled from people the firm has sought, nominations sent to the firm and from forums held by the search committee.\nAfter meeting with the public, the committee went into private executive session to discuss names of those who have shown interest in the position after being contacted.\nSteve Ferguson, vice president of the trustees and chair of the presidential search committee, said the hundreds of compiled names may seem overwhelming, but they will be filtered to a manageable amount after contacting the candidates.\n"Say 200 people are contacted by the firm and 60 say they are interested, that will decrease the amount of candidates to consider," Ferguson said. "Actually, a large percentage of people that are contacted say that they are not interested. Since we are approaching high profile candidates, many say they are already content with their current job."\nIU spokesman Bill Stephan said the consulting firm will also look at the nominations and see if names submitted meet certain qualifications.\n"The candidates must be someone familiar with running a large, complex organization similar to a public university," Stephan said.\nStephan added that the committee has received serious candidates, most of which fulfill the requirements.\nAnother factor the committee is taking into consideration is the subject of diversity. Julie Knost, director of the IU Office of Affirmative Action, discussed the importance of diversity in the process, both in selecting diverse candidates and candidates who promote diversity.\n"Several of the names are people of color and women," Ferguson said. "The search firm has made a positive effort to attract well known people of diversity to consider the position."\nFerguson added that the board has advertised the job opening in several publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chicago Tribune and several diversity-based magazines in order to attract candidates from other backgrounds to be nominated.\n"These periodicals are widely read by the academic community," Ferguson said. "This will give everybody in the academic community a chance to nominate someone for the position."\nAt the meeting, Baker said the firm has had success so far in attracting diverse candidates. Baker noted that this diversity includes candidates from public and private sectors, candidates from universities, candidates from across the country and other nations. \n"Our candidates literally come from around the world," Baker said.\nDespite the fact that candidates must be interviewed in April and five to seven final nominations must be delivered by May, Ferguson noted that nominations will still be accepted throughout the process.\n"There is not a cut-off date for submitting names," Ferguson said. "If there is a qualified candidate who is suggested at a later date, this will not hinder them."\nAt the next two meetings of the search committee, to be held March 2 in Indianapolis and March 25 in Bloomington, the committee will continue to discuss names that have responded.\nFor more information on the presidential search committee, log on to www.indiana.edu/~nextpres/.