July 01, 2009
Chancellor search moves forward with ad, Web site
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The search for Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s next chancellor is now in full swing.
The Chancellor Search Committee placed an advertisement for the position in June in four national publications devoted to higher education: the Chronicle of Higher Education, Diverse Issues in Education, Women in Higher Education and The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine.
The advertisement will appear again in all four publications in August. It will remain on each publication’s Web site for several months.
Thomas C. Britton, associate professor of law in the SIU School of Law, and Peggy Stockdale, professor of psychology, co-chair the 19-member committee, which includes a diverse group of faculty and staff as well as representatives from outside the campus.
Information about the search process, the position description, members of the committee, search timeline and other details is available at www.siuc.edu/chancellorsearch/searchcommittee.html. A link is available on the Saluki Times Web site.
Britton said the advisory panel is casting as wide a net as possible.
“We invite the University community to recommend viable candidates to us so we can contact them,” he said.
He also noted the committee is being “extremely careful in making sure the candidates are of a caliber and background that we at the University want.” The committee, he added, will engage in an extensive review of candidate credentials and qualifications.
Several people are serving as informal advisers to the committee, including Board of Trustees member Keith Sanders, himself a former public university executive; Kenneth Shaw, former SIU Edwardsville president and SIU system chancellor, and chancellor emeritus and university professor at Syracuse University; Donald Beggs, former SIUC chancellor and currently president of Wichita State University; Sylvia Manning, former chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and currently the president of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; James Rosser, president of California State University-Los Angeles and an SIUC alumnus; and Tom Layzell, former executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and former executive director of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
“We are developing a list of people who may be interested in the position,” Britton said. “This is a remarkable list, which supports our goal of having a diverse pool of applicants.”
This fall, the committee will examine each candidate’s academic credentials, work experience and background. The committee also will conduct interviews with select candidates at an off-site location.
Britton said the committee expects to bring finalists to campus in early 2010. He anticipates each candidate will make a major public presentation addressing the direction of the University under his/her leadership. He expects each finalist also will meet in smaller sessions with the campus’ various constituency groups.
In addition to Britton and Stockdale, members of the committee are:
• Donald E. Castle, assistant director of the Student Center (Student Programs)
• Brad Cole, Carbondale mayor
• Morteza Daneshdoost, professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Priciliano Fabian, Undergraduate Student Government president
• James S. Ferraro, associate professor, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine
• Anne Fletcher, associate professor of theater
• Philip C. Howze, professor of library affairs
• John S. Haller, emeritus vice president for academic affairs for the SIU system, ex-officio member
• Allan L. Karnes, professor of accountancy
• Steven C. Middleton, president, Graduate and Professional Student Council
• Gary L. Minish, dean, College of Agricultural Sciences
• Pamela K. Pfeffer, alumna, Nashville, Tenn., president of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors
• Randy Ragan, alumnus, Springfield, president of the SIU Alumni Association Board of Directors
• Karen Renzaglia, associate dean in the College of Science and associate professor of plant biology
• Stacia Robertson, associate professor, SIUC Rehabilitation Institute
• Mark J. Wetstein, SIUC Civil Service Council president and television production coordinator, SIUC Broadcasting Service
• Keith E. Wilson, senior lecturer, aviation management and flight and former president, SIUC Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, IEA/NEA