Herbert abandons 3 finalists for IUB chancellor

IU President Adam Herbert announced Monday he has dropped the three finalists for the IU-Bloomington chancellor position, and the search will begin again despite efforts to fill the post by Friday's board of trustees meeting.\nThree candidates for the position -- including IU's Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Kumble Subbaswamy and two other candidates outside of the University -- had been recommended to the president by the search committee. \nHerbert expressed the University's desire to hold out for the ideal candidate in a press release Monday. \n"We concluded that the interests of Indiana University would be served best by continuing the search and taking more time to assure that we get the best possible candidate for all aspects of this important position," Herbert said in the release.\nHerbert had previously said naming a new chancellor by Thanksgiving and having the office and the individual in working order shortly thereafter were his ultimate goals. His decision to extend the search and enlarge the pool of candidates could delay the decision until next spring.\n"It's obviously a shame," IU Student Association president Alex Shortle said. "We wanted to get it done."\nShortle said despite the frustration caused by the anticipation and delay, he thinks the administration is making strong moves to ensure it finds the right person for the job.\n"It would have been nice to have everything done after the first shot, but I'm optimistic about the eventual outcome," Shortle said. \nInterim IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis will remain at his post. "Interim" generally implies a temporary state, but Gros Louis is approaching his third year in a position that was expected to last only 18 months. \n"I was ready to go, you know, but I'd been here a long time before, and I enjoy doing it," Gros Louis said.\nGros Louis originally served as chancellor at IUB from 1980 to 2001. He returned in January 2004 at Herbert's request.\nHe said the president's decision to extend the search and enlarge the pool of candidates should not be viewed as a setback. He said the position of the dean of the School of Journalism, recently assumed by Bradley Hamm, was open for nearly two years before being filled. \n"In the business world or the banking world, etc., a CEO gets fired, and there's a new CEO the next day." Gros Louis said. "Non-academic people, and to some extent the trustees, always think that someone who is in an acting position or an 'interim' position doesn't do anything," \nHerbert's charges to Gros Louis in Monday's announcement indicate anything but a stagnant agenda. Herbert expects Gros Louis to implement program review procedures for all campuses and enhance admissions requirements for the Bloomington campus -- although Gros Louis has voiced opposition to raising admissions standards. In addition, Gros Louis will appoint three administrative positions and evaluate a variety of ongoing initiatives. \n"I think the president wants to indicate that I'm not just sitting on the position here," Gros Louis said. "Things can certainly still move forward."\nGros Louis said he and Herbert had spoken with all three of the original candidates, informing them of IU's decision to look elsewhere. He said the delayed decision, in general, is not a negative thing and that the candidates who have been passed over should not view it as such.\n"Twice I was a candidate to become president of IU and twice I was not chosen," Gros Louis said laughing. "Of course, the trustees made a mistake both times."\nSubbaswamy was unavailable for comment.