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The 14-member search committee looking for the University's next
chancellor expects to submit its list of recommended candidates to the
University Board of Trustees sometime before Christmas, said Richard Stevens,
the committee chair.
But Stevens did not say how many candidates might appear on that list or
if the candidates will be ranked.
UNC President Molly Corbett Broad has met twice with the search committee.
At one meeting, she asked that the committee submit at least three names
without rankings, Stevens said.
"That doesn't prevent us from submitting two names, or ranking them," he
said.
The Board of Trustees is required to submit at least two candidates whom
Broad can consider, Stevens said. Broad's choice for chancellor must then be
elected by the UNC Board of Governors, the policy-making body for the 16-campus university system.
Stevens said the full committee plans to meet once a week to discuss
candidates. The last meeting was held Nov. 4.
Stevens didn't discuss details on the number of candidates who have either
applied for the position or been nominated to be considered. But he said the
search has been exhaustive.
"It is accurate to say that numerous people have been nominated," Stevens
said. "A number of other candidates have applied for the position."
The committee began its work in August. At its first meeting, the
committee agreed to hire the Menlo Park, Calif.-based search firm of Heidrick
& Struggles International to help the committee comb the country for
talent.
The search firm created one pool of candidates by advertising the position
in several national publications, Stevens said. Other strong candidates have
been identified by having their names nominated to the committee, he
said.
"Oftentimes, the strongest candidates are people who have been nominated,"
Stevens said. "You also get good candidates who apply. We will consider
both."
William O. McCoy, the retired vice president for finance of the UNC
system, has served as interim chancellor at Carolina since the death of
Chancellor Michael Hooker in July.
The end of the search for the new chancellor early next year will trigger
in earnest the start of the search for two key administrators -- the provost
and the chief financial officer.
The provost position will become open when Richard "Dick" Richardson
retires next summer.
The chief financial officer position has been vacant since the departure
of James R. Ramsey last summer. Ramsey, who held
the formal title of the vice chancellor for finance and administration,
returned to Kentucky to serve as a senior policy adviser to the
governor.
Robert Sullivan, the dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School, is chair
of the search committee for the new chief financial officer. Sullivan said the
committee has focused on describing what the position should be and the
qualities that the person who fills it should have.
The committee held a forum Nov. 3 to receive suggestions from faculty and
staff on the qualities they would like to see in a new finance officer. It also
has interviewed the handful of people who will answer directly to the new chief
financial officer.
Sullivan said that employees want to see someone hired to the position who
is as comfortable communicating with people as counting numbers. And they are
looking for someone who understands that in the political environment of a
public university, coming up with a good idea is only one step in the process.
The other step is knowing how to sell it and make it work, Sullivan
said.
"They are not looking for someone with a little green visor who sits
around and counts pennies," Sullivan said.
The search committee will hire a consulting firm to help find the
best candidates available in the country. The challenge for the University,
Sullivan said, is to create the kind of position that not only attracts but
retains the best candidate. Ramsey's quick return to Kentucky should be kept in
mind, he said.
Jane Stine, chair of the Employee Forum, serves on the search committees
for both the chancellor and chief financial officer. She said it is important
to have the chancellor in place before the provost and chief financial officer
are hired. By being in place, the University's new chancellor will have the
chance to have a say in forming a new team. It also will be reassuring to the
people filling the provost and chief financial officer posts to know whom they
will be working for, she said.
"I'm sure I wouldn't accept a position if I didn't know who I was going to
work for," Stine said.
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