Progress made in search for next IU president

The IU trustees announced Friday that they hired a search firm to help find the next IU president.\nTrustee Sue Talbot, chair of the presidential search committee, said at a trustee meeting Friday at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis that Shelly W. Storbeck of Edward W. Kelly & Partners will serve as the consultant for the search. Storbeck has experience with presidential searches at several other universities and has also served as a consultant in IUPUI's searches for chancellor, executive vice chancellor and dean of the faculty, according to a statement from IU Media Relations.\n"They're a good firm with a good reputation," said trustee President Stephen Ferguson in a phone interview. "They have a lot of experience with presidential searches at top level institutions." \nFerguson said between $150,000 and $200,000 has been budgeted for the presidential search, including about $100,000 for the search firm, according to a June 29 Indiana Daily Student article. Though Talbot made a point of saying the committee plans to review a diverse body of candidates, she did not commit to replacing Herbert, who is black, with another minority. \n"It is important for us to find the person who is the best fit for IU, whether that is a minority or not," she said. \nTalbot also announced that senior Michael Renfrow, the student body president of IU South Bend, will represent students on the presidential search committee. Renfrow was selected by the All University Student Association earlier this month to represent the group. \nTechnology is expected to play an important part in this search. E-mail will be sent to all IU faculty and staff in the next few weeks asking for input in the presidential search. The committee is also developing a Web site to keep the public updated, which is set to start sometime in September.\nThe search committee will meet for the first time as a group Sept. 13 at the IUPUI conference center. Herbert said in June he would consider stepping down before his contract runs out in 2008 if a replacement is found before then.