Student voices wanted: Who should be next IU president?

The IU board of trustees will hold two open forums Friday to give students and the public a chance to voice their opinions on the presidential search. The forums are 9 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. in the Redbud Room in the Indiana Memorial Union. \nTrustee Sue Talbot, chairwoman of the Presidential Search Committee, said in an e-mail that the trustees planned the forums so they could "spread a wide net in listening" to IU students, employees, community members and anyone who could be affected by the hiring of a new president. Talbot said trustees would listen to attendees' perspective on challenges and opportunities the University faces, the priorities of an incoming president, desired characteristics for the new president and any candidate suggestions. She emphasized this would be the time for students to give their input.\n"While we have posed these queries, there will be other indicators that people will want to share with us," Talbot said. "Candidate names usually surface during this time of exploration."\nThough IU Student Association representatives petitioned the trustees for an IUB undergraduate representative on the search committee after trustees gave the only student seat to IU-South Bend graduate student Michael Renfrow, Talbot said this didn't influence their decision to hold the open forums. She said they had already planned to hold the forums since that method proved helpful in their last presidential search.\n"We knew from the beginning that we would conduct these forums -- it was part of the overall plan," she said. "The petition was well represented, but we were already in the scheduling stages for these forums (when we received it)."\nIU Student Association President Betsy Henke said the group is encouraging students to attend the forums so the committee can still hear opinions from IUB undergraduates. She said IUSA members would take the opportunity to tell the committee what they think is important to consider in the search.\n"After speaking with our members and other leaders, the highest priority (for the new president) is someone who's very engaged with students on their own campus," Henke said. "Not just someone with an ability to have students involved as token group members, but someone who really acknowledges and respects the voice of students as an integral part of the University's development."\nThe trustees will hold similar forums on each IU campus. Talbot said the trustees would also be meeting with specific groups of faculty, students and other "stakeholders" at each campus, as well as alumni and interested civic and government \nleaders.\nThose who cannot make either forum can e-mail their input by visiting the search's Web site, www.indiana.edu/~nextpres, which she said would be a "viable contact method" in all stages of the search process.