2008 Woodie Awards
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Special Coverage
Board names Kerwin AU president
By Jimm Phillips on 6/21/07
AU's board of trustees voted to name Interim President Neil Kerwin to the position permanently, board and Presidential Search Committee Chairman Gary Abramson announced at a press conference following the board's meeting on Friday.
"The board, search committee and AU community have been seeking a tested leader with integrity who appreciates the significant role of this university in American higher education and understands its potential for future greatness," he said. "We have that person in Dr. Neil Kerwin, whose knowledge, appreciation and understanding of American University span almost four decades."
Kerwin has served as interim president since Aug. 24, 2005, when the board placed then-President Benjamin Ladner on paid administrative leave. The board fired Ladner that October after they concluded an investigation into allegations that he had misused university funds. Ladner later agreed to sever all ties with the university in exchange for a $3.75 million severance package, The Eagle previously reported.
Abramson's announcement concluded a process that began last September, when the committee first met to begin the search process. The committee received over 100 applications from candidates and 160 nominations from members of the campus community over the course of the search. The committee eventually narrowed down the number of candidates to a reported three tentative finalists, but two of the finalists dropped out before the board met on June 27. At that meeting, the board delayed making a decision on how to proceed with the search, The Eagle previously reported.
Since the last meeting, Kerwin had met with designated students and other university constituent groups, according to Student Government President Joe Vidulich, one of the students who participated in the meeting. These constituent groups met previously with three finalist candidates in late May and early June, The Eagle previously reported.
Information on the committee's interest in Kerwin's candidacy and its decision to make him its recommended presidential candidate first came to light in a report from The Washington Post the day before the board's meeting.
"The board, search committee and AU community have been seeking a tested leader with integrity who appreciates the significant role of this university in American higher education and understands its potential for future greatness," he said. "We have that person in Dr. Neil Kerwin, whose knowledge, appreciation and understanding of American University span almost four decades."
Kerwin has served as interim president since Aug. 24, 2005, when the board placed then-President Benjamin Ladner on paid administrative leave. The board fired Ladner that October after they concluded an investigation into allegations that he had misused university funds. Ladner later agreed to sever all ties with the university in exchange for a $3.75 million severance package, The Eagle previously reported.
Abramson's announcement concluded a process that began last September, when the committee first met to begin the search process. The committee received over 100 applications from candidates and 160 nominations from members of the campus community over the course of the search. The committee eventually narrowed down the number of candidates to a reported three tentative finalists, but two of the finalists dropped out before the board met on June 27. At that meeting, the board delayed making a decision on how to proceed with the search, The Eagle previously reported.
Since the last meeting, Kerwin had met with designated students and other university constituent groups, according to Student Government President Joe Vidulich, one of the students who participated in the meeting. These constituent groups met previously with three finalist candidates in late May and early June, The Eagle previously reported.
Information on the committee's interest in Kerwin's candidacy and its decision to make him its recommended presidential candidate first came to light in a report from The Washington Post the day before the board's meeting.
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