Trustees say search on track

The search for IU's 17th president continued this week, as the IU board of trustees conducted background checks and contacted references for remaining candidates. \nContrary to reports that the trustees might not meet their target date of July 1 for announcing the president, trustee Steve Ferguson said they are still on track to meet that deadline. \n"Our target has been July 1, and our target is still July 1," he said. \nCurrently, the board is considering a pool of five to seven finalists whose names were forwarded to the trustees from a presidential search committee. \nAt this point, Ferguson said in his opinion, two candidates in particular stand out. \nThe final candidates were selected from a pool of more than 200 names, not all of whom agreed to participate in the search. The board is currently in the process of reviewing candidate background information and contacting references submitted by the candidates. Eventually, the board will contact sources outside of listed references. \nThe presidential search has been ongoing since former President Myles Brand announced in October 2002 he would be leaving to head the NCAA. Former IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor Gerald Bepko agreed to serve as interim president from Jan. 1 until June 30. \nIf no candidate were selected by July 1, Bepko likely would be asked to stay for a longer period of time. However, Ferguson said it was premature to speculate whether this would happen. \nOne issue the board has faced throughout the selection process is the fact that an IU policy installed under Brand requires administrators to retire at the age of 65. Ferguson said that, by law, "age cannot be used as a determining factor in the hiring process." He said that if a candidate over the age of 60 were chosen, steps would be taken to modify or repeal that rule. \nOnce the trustees have a final candidate in mind, a process of negotiations with that candidate will begin, Ferguson said. While he said he anticipates the final selection will come from the group of five to seven finalists, "Until you get a final agreement, things can change." \nIn the meantime, Ferguson said he is confident that the July 1 deadline can be met.