Searching for a suitable successor

Amber Dvorak
News Editor

With last Friday’s announcement of North Central President Hal Wilde’s retirement at the end of 2012, the process of searching for his successor has begun.

According to Chairman of the Board of Trustees Steve Hoeft, ’73, the Board has retained Dennis Barden, senior vice president of executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, to help with the search. Barden recently helped with other successful searches for college presidents at Valparaiso University, St. Norbert College and University of Evansville. Hoeft added that Board Trustee Michael Naset, retired senior partner with the consulting firm Accenture, will chair the Search Committee.

Hoeft explained that the Search Committee will be looking for input from throughout the campus community for selecting the next president, and the Board wants to conduct as transparent a search as possible.

Within the next three weeks, Hoeft will appoint additional members from all areas of campus to the Search Committee, as follows: six or more trustees, two faculty members, one student, one alumnus, and one staff or administration member. Hoeft said he will be responsible for picking trustees, and will “rely heavily on Hal and his executive staff to make recommendations” for the student, alumnus and staff member. “I think the faculty is putting together a process to put forth nominees (to the board),” Hoeft added. “It’s ultimately up to the faculty.”

Stephen Macek, associate professor of speech communication and president of North Central’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, likes what he has heard thus far regarding the selection of faculty nominees.

“I’m very encouraged by what we’re hearing about how the search is going to be run,” he said. “(Ideally), the faculty should be maximally involved, and should be full participants in the search.” The selection of the next president is very important to faculty, as one of the president’s roles is to serve as the “conduit of information between the Board and the faculty,” Macek said.

          Chairman Hoeft provided a rough timeline of how the presidential search process is going to play out. First, search consultant Barden will come to North Central in April (tentatively set for April 11-13) to meet with different campus groups and get an idea of what they would like to see in the college’s next president.

“They will draft a profile of what North Central is, what North Central plans to be and what North Central is looking for in a new president,” Hoeft said.

          In addition to these meetings, the campus community will also have access to a website to voice their opinions on candidates for the next president. Search Committee Chair Michael Naset has been working with the Office of Marketing and Communications to create a presidential search website for this purpose, and he will regularly post information about the current stage in the search process. “[It’s] a way for people to either submit ideas, comments or the names of possible presidents,” Hoeft said, as oftentimes in situations like this, the name of the final candidate comes from a recommendation.

          Hoeft explained that applications for the position will be accepted throughout the summer, and in August, the Search Committee will sort through the applications and select eight to 12 ‘semi-finalists.’ In September, the Committee will conduct in-person interviews with these candidates and recommend two to four ‘finalists.’ Then the Executive Committee of the Board will interview the remaining candidates and recommend one ‘finalist’ to the Board of Trustees for final approval.

Every year, many colleges conduct searches for new presidents, Hoeft said, and North Central is likely to have competition for the candidates it selects.

          Throughout the search process, the Search Committee will be focusing on the characteristics and qualifications it is looking for in a new president. Although not a member of the Search Committee, Macek said he “would really like a president who has some prior experience in higher education and administration and an understanding of academic culture.”

“[The next president] really has to be someone who values liberal arts colleges and institutions like North Central,” said Macek, “and won’t transform it into something it’s not.” On the other hand, he added that the next president should also be able to innovate and help the college continue to develop as an institution.

                Hoeft said he would like to see a president with morals and vision, but admits that it’s not up to him to select Wilde’s successor. “Everyone will come together and describe what is important to them in a new president,” Hoeft said. “It’s really up to the process now to generate the description of the ideal candidate.”