Longwood University is one step closer to experiencing the leadership of a new president, as the university’s Presidential Search Committee has narrowed down the pool of 65 pres- idential candidates to a more manageable pool of eight to 10. In the coming weeks, said Dr. Derek Taylor, committee vice chair and professor of English, the committee will meet with these semi-finalists in person and the number of candidates will be cut to four.
While the Longwood Univer- sity Board of Visitors (BOV) has the final say in who the next president will be, the commit- tee will continue to carefully review the candidates and make recommendations to the BOV based on their findings.
The Presidential Search Committee includes Longwood BOV representation, as BOV member Jane Maddux is the chair and several other BOV members are on the committee. There is representation from Longwood faculty, staff and student body, as well as other Longwood community members. A total of 13 official members and two ex-officio members make up the committee.
While Maddux leads the search committee, Taylor sees himself as the on-campus rep- resentative, as Maddux works outside of Longwood and is not always on university grounds. Dr. Stephen Portch, Chancellor Emeritus of the University Sys- tem of Georgia, has served as the presidential search consul- tant to the BOV throughout the search process. The liaison of the assigned presidential search firm, Dr. Constantine Curris of AGB Search, has held the position of university president atthree universities. Taylor said both Portch and
Curris have valuable contacts from their years in higher education and have “done a very good job of advertising the position, but also contacting peo- ple whom they’ve known over the years.”
So far, the committee has only seen the candidates on paper through their letters of interests, CVs, recommendations and nominations, but Taylor said a number of the candidates the university can choose from are sitting presidents and have diverse backgrounds. Taylor said meeting these candidates in person and narrowing them down to the top four candi- dates, then cutting this number to two finalists, will be quite a process.
Taylor believes the committee is looking out for the university’s best interest in the search process. “You’re trying to get the person with the most impressive background who also signals some awareness of what Longwood is,” he added. “You want someone who gets us —
or seems prepared to get us.” While Taylor said many faculty members hope for a president who was once “one of them,” this is not required. He said it is more important that the presi- dent understands the effort faculty put into their work. From the various forums and meetings the committee has held, it seems many hope for a president who has an academic background and vision and has “pursued higher education in a significant fashion.”
Taylor said a leader with a “strategic vision” is also impor- tant. “Someone who can look at us and ask, ‘Where should we be going in the next 10 years?’ ‘What’s an appropriate direc- tion for us?’ ‘Who are we, and who can we be?’”
A skilled fundraiser is also valued, said, Taylor, as private and public funding is essential as state funding becomes “more and more tenuous.”
As far as finding a president with qualities students par- ticularly value, Student Government Association President Brian Reid serves as the search committee’s student representative. “What I believe students want is they want a president who puts students first,” he said. He pointed out that this quality is in the university’s job description for president.
Reid said that from speaking with students, he has also found that they understand a president’s workload requires them to attend meetings and such events at times that keep them from being on campus 24/7. He said it is about “trying to strike that perfect balance” of a president who can attend student events and perform their duties external to campus.
Students have also expressed interest in a president who is concerned about student debt, Reid said. “You want to try to lower student debt as much as possible and to really give students the best experience possible at Longwood,” he added.
In mid-March or early April, Taylor hopes the two finalists will be able to visit campus. “I’m go- ing to push very hard for those candidates to be made available so people can interact with them,” he said. “And that would be all the stakeholders —student groups, staff, faculty, you name it.” However, Taylor said the “what if?” factor could always hinder one or both of the finalists from re- vealing themselves to the public. “What happens if we have a finalist who, for whatever reason, needs discretion? Who can’t have a big public session on campus and then have his or her institution find out ... and then not get the Longwood job and possibly be in trouble with their home institution.”
Taylor said unless, for whatever reason, none of the candidates work out and the search is stalled, the BOV will most likely select the next president by this April. The university will most likely hold a ceremony in the individual’s honor shortly after they are officially announced.
Before the search comes to an end and a new president begins leading the university, Taylor suggested students, faculty and staff “contact a representative and share your questions or concerns with them” if they wish to be more involved in the presidential search process.
