The process for selecting a new president for the University of Wyoming will likely be finalized this week by the UW board of trustees.
President Tom Buchanan, who has served nearly eight years in the position, will retire at the end of summer in 2013.
The process is not finalized yet, but may consist of a three-tiered process, David Bostrom, the UW Board of Trustees President, said. The first screening committee would consist of five members of the board of trustees and eight or nine individuals from all over—students, faculty, foundation members and those not from the university, Bostrom said.
“They will take the large group of applicants and reduce the number — from 40 or 50 down to 12 or 13 names,” Bostrom said.
A second committee, consisting of trustees not in the first committee, will then review the approximately 12 names.
“That group will then look at applicants and make a decision on no less than five names,” Bostrom said. The final tier will be the UW board of trustees making the final decision.
As for selection criteria, the board is piecing together a position profile for what to look for in a new president.
“We sent out letters to a broad group of organizations — including student senate, faculty senate and business organizations across the state and others — seeking input. We said, ‘Tell us what we need to be looking for in the next president of the university,’” Bostrom said. “That way it’s not what I and the board of trustees wants, but what the university and the community and the state want.”
Bostrom also said the board may hire a search firm, also known as a search consultant, to help recruit. A search consultant helps to ensure advertising ends up in the broadest reach of publications and can keep an eye on up-and-comers to include in the recruitment.
Often the advertising includes job postings in publications in the post-secondary education world, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education. Bostrom said these publications are “read by all the folks at the leadership level in institutions across the country.”
Even with use of a search firm, the board plans to retain control of selection of a new president. “We are not going to use a search firm to manage the process. The board will manage the process,” Bostrom said.
The UW board of trustees has scheduled a special meeting for Oct. 12 to finalize many of the selection details.
