Public Forums to Generate Input on Provost Search

Three public forums will be held on Thursday, Feb. 2, to gather input from campus and community members on the qualities they hope to find in a new provost and vice president for academic affairs. The 45-minute forums are scheduled for 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. in the Brule Room. They will be moderated by Shelly Storbeck from the executive search firm A.T. Kearney. Members of the Provost Search Advisory Committee (PSAC) will also be present.

“We decided to include public forums in the search process for two reasons,” said Darlene Walch (Academic Information Services), co-chair of the PSAC. “It gives the community a chance to interact with the committee members, ask questions and get updates. It also allows the committee members to hear what the public wants from a new provost. There are minimum requirements that this position entails, but all of our candidates meet these requirements, so feedback from the community will help in the screening process.”

A list of questions to consider in advance of the forums is available at Provost Questions. Walch said the search advisory committee is on an "aggressive timeline." The goal is to facilitate on-campus visits by the top candidates before the end of this semester, and to have a new provost on board by summer 2006.

Updates and information on the search is posted at PSAC Progress.