On Thursday afternoon in Thomas Boyd Hall, the 21-memberchancellor search committee gathered to begin their homework. Theirassignment was to find a new chancellor for the University andtheir due date was set for November.
“This is a very important exercise we are about to embarkon,” said William Jenkins, LSU System President and interimchancellor. “We must throw a net as wide as possible withapplicants that we feel will lead the University to the next level.Across the country, people are noticing us and we must keep up withthe momentum.”
Jenkins and the search committee are aiming for November astheir deadline for evaluating candidates.
Joel Tohline, search committee chair and alumni professor of theDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, said they hope to presentJenkins and the Board of Supervisors with a carefully selectedgroup of potential candidates for the position by this date.
Jenkins also has selected a professional search firm, Heidrick& Struggles, to assist in the nomination and applicationprocesses. Ellen Brown, the Heidrick & Struggles representativefor the chancellor search, said the firm’s role is to workwith the committee to find a candidate coinciding with thecharacteristics the committee values.
“Our job is to encourage potential candidates toapply,” Brown said.
Brown said the firm has been involved in finding the currentprovost and executive vice chancellor, Risa Palm and RobertSumichrast, current dean of the E.J. Ourso College of BusinessAdministration.
The committee broke down the chancellor search into five phases,beginning with soliciting and advertising for applications andending with presenting evaluations to the LSU Board of Supervisors,who will make the final decision.
“We need to trust the system but also our basic instinctsand find a person who inspires us to continue to change,”Palm said.
Also on Thursday, problems arose when the committee could notdefine what aspects of the search process would be keptprivate.
Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for finance andadministrative services in the Office of Budget and Planning, saidhe was concerned about having chancellor nominations up for publicknowledge.
Kuhn said if a candidate is nominated and he or she has acurrent affiliation with LSU or another university, certainpressures or problems may arise for the potential candidate. Theseproblems may either encourage applicants to apply for the wrongreasons or discourage them from applying.
Palm agreed with Kuhn, saying reputable candidates do not likethe attention or publicity that the selection process maybring.
“No one we would want is going to put their nameout,” Palm said.
Tohline said the committee reached a tentative agreement.
John Davies, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge AreaFoundation, argued with Kuhn and Palm about the privacy ofnominations. He suggested nominations for chancellor be keptprivate and managed by Heidrick & Struggles, and theapplications placed by potential candidates go through theUniversity and be made public record. The committee plans to reacha decision by Monday.
“Students that have approached me about the chancellorsearch are very concerned about what is happening in theirschool’s administration,” said Brad Golson, StudentGovernment president. “I encouraged all of them to keep trustand confidence in the committee.”
Jenkins also assured the committee no premature candidates havebeen nominated.
“Out of the 20 searches I have participated in at LSU,this is the cleanest slate there has ever been,” Jenkinssaid.
The committee created a list of potential characteristics fortheir candidate that will be posted on the chancellor search Website, along with the application.
“LSU is the greatest opportunity for Louisiana to grow andprosper,” said Stewart Slack, search committee ex-officiomember and an LSU Board of Supervisors chairman. “We will goas fast as possible to get the best chancellor possible. We willnot settle for anything other than the absolute best for LSU,Louisiana and the LSU System.”
The chancellor search Web site can be accessed through theUniversity’s Web site.