It's polite to open doors

IU Kelley School of Business Dean Dan Dalton is one of 17 announced candidates to become president of the University of Florida, the nation's fourth largest school.\nHe could be a finalist for the IU presidential position as well. But we'd never know it.\nWhile Florida's liberal public access laws mandate that the University of Florida go public with its finalists, Indiana laws allow IU to keep quiet. \n And not surprisingly, IU has done just that -- saying that in order to protect the integrity of the search, it must remain absolutely confidential. But why?\nFlorida posts its 17 candidates on a Web page, along with each of their resumes, which include their home phone numbers.\nAre the Florida finalists sub-par choices from the presidential pool?\nThough Florida trustees' announced candidates include some excellent choices, IU's explanation for its exclusionary and secretive tactics might not explicitly have you believe so.\nThe administration wants to attract the best candidates possible for this prestigious post; and because this isn't like applying for any other job, they want applicants to feel free to come forward anonymously. These candidates, the administration says, are often completely happy in their current positions, and wouldn't be willing to risk something (they never completely say what they're risking) by applying for a job they very well might not get.\nYes, risk takers like Charlie Nelms when he was considered for the presidential post at Florida A&M, or Dalton now at the University of Florida, right? Oh, not right. They were bad examples.\nLet's instead use the example of Robert Hemenway, the current Chancellor of the University of Kansas, whom rumor hawks have circled around with regards to the IU opening recently. Hemenway, who's in a perfectly good place, would never apply for the IU job -- or more appropriately -- accept the invitation to be considered. That is, unless IU could guarantee no one at Kansas would have to know unless he ended up taking the job, according to IU's logic. Otherwise, people would or might become upset with him and he wouldn't want to be a part of the process.\nIf Hemenway, or anyone, is too afraid to take some heat at home, then we don't want them here at IU. If Hemenway, or anyone, doesn't want this job bad enough to make their name public, then we don't want them here at IU.\nIf it's between the best paper candidate who doesn't care if they get the job or not because they are already perfectly happy and a lesser candidate who wants the job so desperately that they would do anything to prove his allegiance, the IDS will take the latter.\nThere's more to the job than a perfect resume and impeccable credentials.\nAnd there should be more to the search than closed door meetings and secret lists.\nLet the process be open, and if anyone withdraws their name from consideration, did we as a University really want them anyway?\n--Aaron Sharockman for the Editorial Board>