The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
EMU presidential search continues
Committee narrows candidate selection
By Christine Laughren, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2008
Eastern Michigan University's Presidential Search Advisory Committee has narrowed the search for the university's 22nd president down to less than 20 candidates.
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Co-chairman of the committee and EMU regent Roy Wilbanks said the university received 130 applicants and nominations.
"We were quite happy with the number of nominations we received," Wilbanks said.
According to Wilbanks, ideal candidates are those with experience in a successful leadership position and a career path that has been "upwardly mobile."
"Higher education experience would be very, very valuable," he said.
The 12-member search committee has met six times since the hunt for a new president began Oct. 11, 2007.
The group, established by EMU's Board of Regents, was formed to aid an executive search firm, Compass Group, in replacing EMU's 21st president John A. Fallon III.
Fallon's tenure, which began in 2005, was rife with controversy. The former president reigned over a faculty strike and the resignation of three regents.
Calls for Fallon's resignation came last summer, shortly after the U.S. Department of Education found the university in violation of federal law for failure to provide a timely warning in response to a homicide investigation surrounding the death of EMU student Laura Dickinson.
Among other things, the DOE's investigation cited a "lack of administrative capability" in its findings.
The Board of Regents voted unanimously to terminate Fallon's contract at a special meeting July 16, 2007.
Student Body President Greg Jones said the next president would definitely face major challenges. He said bringing the faculty, students and administrators together in one cohesive group will be an important first step.
"I think students want to see a president who is visible and on campus and really takes a vested input in student interest," Jones said.
The committee has several meetings planned in March according to Wilbanks. He said the group would like to recommend three to five candidates to the Board of Regents, which will make the final determination, by the end of April.
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