Brehm takes senior adviser position

IU President Adam Herbert said he expects to appoint an interim chancellor for the Bloomington campus in the next two to three weeks to replace resigning IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm.\nThe interim chancellor will take office Jan. 1 and will likely hold the position for about 18 months while a committee searches for a permanent replacement, said IU spokesman Bill Stephan.\nAt a news conference Thursday, Herbert said he will begin a consultation process before making his selection. Over the weekend, he said he plans to outline the University's most critical and immediate needs. Based on those needs, he will begin considering possible candidates. \nOnce Herbert has a candidate in mind, he will present his recommendation to the IU board of trustees, which has the final vote in the selection process.\nHerbert said he has made no decisions yet.\n"The bottom line is there is a need for a chief operating office on (the Bloomington) campus," Herbert said. "The challenge is to figure out how to make all of this work well."\nStephan said while there is a likelihood the interim chancellor will come from IU-B, he said he would not rule out the possibility of selecting someone outside of Bloomington.\n"There are definite advantages in selecting someone from the Bloomington campus because of their closer relationship in the community," Stephan said. "But the most important thing is that we find the best person for the job."\nVice Chancellor and Dean of Students Richard McKaig said whenever a change in office occurs, a brief period of uncertainty usually follows.\n"We'll go through a reflection on what it was like to work with her and what she had done for our campus," McKaig said. "Then we'll get excited about how the search process is going and who is going to come in. So in a sense, it's the same kind of emotions you have when there is change in any organization."\nMoya Andrews, vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of the faculties, said she would like to see former IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis take the interim position. Gros Louis currently holds the position of chancellor emeritus.\nAndrews said Gros Louis' experience as chancellor would allow him to walk into the position and keep the University progressing.\n"Everyone on the campus trusts and respects (Gros Louis)," Andrews said. "It would be wonderful for this office because we have worked with him before."\nGros Louis could not be reached for comment Thursday.\nThe search process for the permanent chancellor position is not expected to begin until the spring semester. Then, Herbert will begin a process where he and other administrators will discuss the direction they would like the search process to take.\nHerbert said he and the administration will focus their attention on the structure of the position.\n"What we really should do is look at this as a structural and process issue and not have it focus on the individual," Herbert said. "We'll look at the relationship between the chancellor and the president, between the Bloomington chancellor and the other vice presidents. So there are a number of matters that have to be addressed."\nOnce the search begins, Herbert said Brehm will be a valuable consultant under her new role as a senior adviser to the president.\n-- Contact senior writer Colin Kearns at cmkearns@indiana.edu.