Presidential Candidate Search Committee Meetings

Minutes for Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, 1:35 p.m.

 

V. Report on Faculty Input: Chairman Loadholt called on Dr. Best, who commented that an e-mail had been distributed to all faculty members within the system requesting input about the search; its focus was to address the importance of their thoughts, concerns and needs.

 

As a result, Dr. Best indicated that four different groups had responded; summaries of subsequent meetings with these groups as well as e-mails he has received to date from faculty will be distributed to the Committee.

 

General concerns included choosing candidates for consideration who have an appreciation for all of the different disciplines. Another recurring theme was the importance of choosing someone who has an understanding of the "arena of academia." Various faculty members hoped that candidates have experience at the dean level or above while others wanted consideration of the broadest spectrum as possible. Also understood was the fact that the successful candidate should have fund raising prowess; others stressed the importance of academic mission as primary with academic excellence as the driving force behind the University. A number of faculty voiced the importance of hiring someone committed to diversity. It was hoped that the Committee will solicit applications from women and African-Americans, while recognizing the growing Hispanic population in South Carolina.

 

Also stressed was the ability to be a good citizen of South Carolina and to be prepared to demonstrate excellent stewardship beyond the limited resources and public dollars the University receives. There was concern about the number of initiatives in motion, particularly the investment in Innovista and other strategic initiatives; the selected individual should be committed to carrying through with those procedures and to let them "bear their fruit" rather than changing directions at this juncture.

 

Another expressed view was choosing a president who recognized the importance of having a faculty voice in governance.

 

Concern was also raised that the president should be someone who appreciates all of the diverse roles of the faculty on the different campuses. Dr. Lumans added that regional faculty are primarily concerned that a balance is maintained between the centralization of the system and the local autonomy which has been established at the different campuses. It was also important that the president understand the different missions of the various campuses.