Chancellor search down to two

The search for a new chancellor has come down to two female finalists, officials announced Monday.

Rita Cheng, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, were announced Monday as the two finalists for the position.

Peggy Stockdale, co-chairwoman of the chancellor search committee, said Cheng and Couture were clearly the best options for the position.

“In the end, two candidates clearly emerged as truly outstanding,” Stockdale said. “The committee unanimously preferred these candidates as our finalists.”

Stockdale said while all six semifinalists would have been good choices, the two finalists were clearly the best for the university.

Cheng has served as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at Wisconsin-Milwaukee since April 2005. Prior to taking the position, she was the associate vice chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2002 to 2005.

Cheng said SIUC drew her interest because of its similarities to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“I was intrigued by the importance of SIUC to the region and its growing stature in the academic community for the scholarly work that the faculty is engaged in,” Cheng said.

Cheng will be on campus from Wednesday until Friday, with a public session taking place from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. Thursday in the Student Center Auditorium.

Couture has served as senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since August 2004. Prior to taking the position, she was dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Washington State University from 1998 until 2004.

Couture was not available for comment.

Couture will be on campus from Saturday until Monday, with a public session from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. Monday in the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library.

SIUC has had only had one female chancellor in university history, Jo Anne Argersinger, who held the position for less than a year in 1999 before being fired after former SIU President Ted Sanders complained about her management style.

Tom Britton, co-chairman of the search committee, said the committee could possibly make a recommendation to SIU President Glenn Poshard by Nov. 13, but it would definitely make the suggestion before Thanksgiving break.

Britton said Cheng and Couture were the favorites from the beginning.

“These two we rallied around from the beginning,” Britton said. “We’re comfortable with them, grew more comfortable with them through the interview process, grew even more comfortable as we began checking their records.”

Britton said it is now up to the university to show the candidates that SIUC is an institution worth working for.

“We have to put our best foot forward in order to secure the kind of leadership I think we really want at SIU Carbondale,” Britton said. “We must make them feel comfortable.”

Britton said the candidates liked what they saw from the search committee, which he said is good because the committee represents the university.

Poshard said he would like to hear input from community members about the candidates, which they can do on the chancellor search Web Site.

“This isn’t just a decision by the president,” Poshard said. “This is a decision by the president with the consultation of the community. This may be one of the most important decisions we’ve undertaken on this campus.”

Stile Smith can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 259 or sts34@siu.edu