The Presidential Search Committee hopes to have a presidential nominee by the time commencement occurs by May 2007, said Mark Huey, secretary to the board of trustees, at the second undergraduate presidential search forum yesterday.
While AU's presidential search process should have ideally started in mid-August or early September, it is still possible that the committee could choose one or more nominees by this spring, Huey said.
Shelly Weiss Storbeck, a representative from the presidential search firm Edward W. Kelley & Partners, was supposed to attend the forum but she was not able to get to campus in time. However, she was expected to attend other forums being held yesterday, including meetings with new and senior faculty members. Student Government President Ashley Mushnick said Storbeck would also see the notes from the meeting as well as those from a previous undergraduate forum held earlier this month.
"That meeting went well, and it produced a lot of substantial feedback from the undergraduate community," Mushnick said.
At the forum, Huey also updated students on the nomination of Student Trustee-Designate Rebecca Geller. While the Trusteeship Committee approved Geller, she was only able to attend the November board meeting as a "trustee guest."
"Until the United Methodist Church affirms her nomination, she cannot officially be a trustee, as per our bylaws," Huey said. "Once they meet in December and vote on her nomination, it's almost by rote since the [Trusteeship Committee] already approved her nomination. She then has to be officially voted in by the board, so she will be able to attend the next meeting as an official trustee."
The Presidential Search Committee was expected to compile the data collected through the undergraduate and other university constituency meetings at its meeting yesterday afternoon. Much of the information gathered through the constituency meetings will be used in a university "viewbook," which will be used as a marketing piece for potential presidential candidates, according to Huey.
"It talks about the university," he said. "It will have many photos of the landscaping and students participating in activities such as athletics or community service. We'll also be considering rankings such as having the largest number of Presidential Fellows in the country as well as the fact that we are a nationally recognized arboretum."
Mushnick said it would highlight the attractions of becoming AU's next leader.
"It goes over everything from the fact that AU was chartered by an act of Congress to programs like University College," she said. "It would also talk about the different mechanisms students use to pursue community service and activism. It would basically give candidates a big picture perspective of AU."
The document would also talk about some of the major initiatives and programs occurring on campus, such as sustainability.
Claire Roby, president of Eco-Sense and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that since AU is a "values-driven institution," it should be responsible for its effect on the community.
"There's a movement in higher education across the nation to incorporate sustainability into our everyday practices," she said. "Currently, AU is getting 5 percent of their energy from renewable sources, and that's soon to increase. If we act quickly and in a responsible manner, we really have the opportunity to become a leader in this area. It's a real opportunity for the university to set itself apart and to improve community relations."
Huey said the committee would like to have the 35-page document completed by the middle of December so it can be made available to any person who expresses interest in being a candidate at the beginning of next year.
