The search committee for the new chancellor should have the position filled by summer 2010, administrators said.
Tom Britton, associate professor in the School of Law and co-chair of the search committee, said one of the key elements in the committee’s search is diversity.
“We’re looking for quality people first and foremost, but we know that any pool that we seek is going to be diverse both ethnically and on a gender basis,” Britton said. “We think people of all types are capable of leading the institution.”
Britton said they would look at a diverse pool of candidates in terms of race, gender and experience.
SIU President Glenn Poshard said finding diverse candidates is important because of the students who attend the university.
“We’re the most diverse university in the state, so when we are looking for people to lead the campus, we need to encourage more diversity,” Poshard said. “We haven’t done a real good job of it in the past.”
The new chancellor will replace Sam Goldman, who was appointed by Poshard on an interim basis in March 2008 after he removed Fernando Treviño from the office, citing poor performance.
The 18-person committee will be co-chaired by Britton and Peggy Stockdale, a professor of psychology.
Britton said making the search as diverse as possible will lead to finding the best possible candidates.
“If we focus on finding the best candidate possible we will end up with a diverse pool of candidates,” Britton said. “I don’t think they’re in conflict.”
Britton said if the committee looks at many candidates from all different areas, then those who are most qualified will be the finalists for the position.
Britton said some of the committee’s goals during the summer are to finalize the position description, make advertisements for the position and make a complete timeline for the search.
“While we have a goal of completing the search, or at least most of it, during the fall semester, we need to sort of work backwards from that,” Britton said.
Britton said it’s conceivable to have a new chancellor in place by next spring break, but it would be more likely to be complete by the summer of 2010.
Poshard said the latest a new chancellor would be in place by is the fall of 2010.
“It would be highly unlikely we would choose somebody in the spring and that person could start immediately,” Poshard said. “We’re looking for that person to start in the fall of 2010 at the very latest.”
Poshard said the committee was made by the university in order to find candidates who haven’t been “recycled” to other universities.
“They’re going the extra miles themselves instead of hiring some search firm, who may be recycling candidates to us who aren’t the highest quality people,” Poshard said. “We think this is a better approach.”
John Haller, a retired SIU vice president of academic affairs who volunteered to oversee the chancellor search, said he had no comment.
