More appointments made to search committee to identify the next IU president

The IU board of trustees moved toward finishing naming the 12-member search committee to name IU President Adam Herbert's successor Friday and completed assigning the faculty advisory committee. While a student representative for the search group has not yet been announced, one is expected to be selected during the fall, according to a press release. \nTrustee Sue Talbot, who is chairing the search process, said in a press release that IU-Bloomington School of Law Dean Lauren Robel has been named as the final faculty member on the search committee. Robel has experience with such committees, as she is currently leading the delegation to choose the next College of Arts and Sciences dean. \nAlso, the three additional members selected for the Faculty Advisory Committee to assist in the process are Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, IU-Bloomington associate professor of communication and culture; Susan W. Cress, IU-South Bend associate professor of early childhood education; and Adelheid MM Gealt, IU-Bloomington associate professor of the Hope School of Fine Arts and director of the IU Art Museum. \nIn the press release, Talbot said the committees are now complete and will begin work early in the fall. \nStephen L. Ferguson, president of the IU board of trustees, said in a statement that no completion date to find IU's next leader will be made, and instead said the search will take as long as needed to find a qualified candidate. \nHerbert recently announced that in the event that the committee is able to find a suitable replacement before his contract is set to expire in 2008, he would consider stepping down to a lesser University role and let the new leader take over before then. Herbert recommended the board start the search early, in case the process takes longer than expected or if the first attempt to find his successor does not work. If that problem would arise, it would be similar to what happened last year when the process to find a new Bloomington chancellor dragged on and eventually the remaining candidates and the entire search process were abandoned.