Presidential field
narrowed to 40 by search team
As members of Stanford's presidential search committee
fanned out across the country in search of nominees, they
found unusually intense interest in who will become
Stanford's 10th president.
More than 400 names were submitted by the Jan. 14
formal nomination deadline, yielding "an impressive
nucleus of high-quality prospects who span a multitude of
academic disciplines," said Trustee James R.
Ukropina, who chairs the search committee. "The
nominees include a broad spectrum of people from around
the country and the world." The original 400 now has
been narrowed down to about 40 names, he said.
John Etchemendy, professor of philosophy and deputy
chair of the search committee, said that "one thing
that we are discovering in our conversations with people
is that this may well be the most important
appointment in higher education, given Stanford's
position in the country and the world, and its location
in Silicon Valley, where so much that will affect higher
education is happening."
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Noting that colleges and universities are under attack
in the United States "at least in some
circles," Ukropina added that "there is great
hope that this next president will be an articulate and
effective spokesperson for higher education."
In a recent interview, Ukropina and Etchemendy
discussed the progress of the committee to date.
With a goal of recommending several names to the full
Board of Trustees by the end of Spring Quarter, the
17-member panel, which was appointed in November, plunged
quickly into the work of soliciting nominations and
advice.
In developing its plans, the group consulted
extensively with university officials, trustees and
others who were involved in previous presidential
searches, Ukropina said.
The committee has developed a list of 40 attributes
they consider key for a new president, he said, but the
preliminary focus centers on four essentials:
- manifested academic excellence and intellectual
capacity;
- demonstrated leadership ability;
- outstanding management ability; and
- a range of personal attributes, including
unimpeachable integrity, the ability to motivate
people and the potential to be a strong
fundraiser.
On campus, the committee has held a series of meetings
with faculty, staff and students that have been "a
remarkable education for all of us," Etchemendy
said.
The committee has met with all the deans, with
representatives of the Faculty Senate and with more than
30 academic leaders, including a large group of staff
from Student Affairs.
Those with whom they have spoken have brought "a
remarkable amount of thoroughness of preparation to the
process of raising what they believe are critical
considerations," Ukropina said. "Everyone
brought a new and valuable perspective everyone."
Etchemendy said the committee had a valuable forum
with students. Though attendance was not high, he said,
"there was very good representation" and
discussion of numerous issues.
Beyond campus, teams of committee members have been
traveling throughout the country, typically in groups of
four, to meet with academic leaders, foundation heads and
others to solicit candidates and "to talk about how
they view our opportunity," Ukropina said.
The search committee also has advertised the position
in major publications, as well as in some that are less
well known.
"We're actively looking in nontraditional places
to make sure that we're finding the women and minority
potential prospects that we should be looking at,"
Ukropina said.
The committee now is developing extensive files on the
top 40 candidates identified so far. After further review
and a series of interviews, the search panel will present
a list of nominees to the full board. Traditionally, such
committees propose three to five names, but Stanford has
set no fixed number, Etchemendy said.
Ukropina emphasized that the review of candidates will
be done "appropriately, thoroughly and
methodically," with the assistance of a five-person
staff. The work will involve thousands of hours for staff
and committee members, he noted.
Despite the challenges inherent in the presidential
position, Etchemendy said, the committee expects strong
interest from highly qualified candidates. "For that
relatively small class of people who are interested and
able to be president of a major university," he
said, "this has to be the most attractive position
around. And, I might add, in a relative sense, far more
attractive than it was eight years ago," when
Gerhard Casper took over in the wake of the 1989
earthquake and the indirect cost controversy.
Comments and suggestions may be sent to search@ohpca.com or to
any committee member. E-mail may be sent to Ukropina at jukropina@OMM.com or
Etchemendy at etch@CSLI.stanford.edu.
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