The U. of I.'s presidential search committee, which met for the first time May 19, could recommend a successor for retiring President Bob Easter to the U. of I. Board of Trustees by December.
U. of I. Trustee Pam Strobel, co-chairing the committee with Doug Beck, an Urbana physics professor, said a December date is an ambitious goal that will require the committee to meet often and stay on track.
"This committee will have a lot of work to do," she said. "It is a lengthy process."
With the help of Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search, hired by the board at its May 14 meeting, the 19-member search committee is expected by November to have winnowed the candidate list to eight to 10 candidates.
A final recommendation to replace Easter, who will retire when his term ends on June 30, 2015, would be made by December, with the board of trustees expected to finalize the process with a replacement announcement in January.
"We want to find the best person in the country," Beck said.
He said the committee's actions would adhere to the Illinois Open Meetings Act and that proceedings, even discussions held in executive session, would be preserved on video (though private discussions would not be publicly accessible under provisions of the act).
In addition, the university's Office of Human Resources would analyze the hiring process to ensure diversity requirements were being met. The U. of I.'s Executive Administrative Job Group, which includes about 40 top-level positions, has a current rate of 6 percent of minority and women in leadership positions. The goal is 11 percent.
Beck said Easter's replacement would have to pass a security clearance and that committee members were bound to keep candidate names secret to encourage a larger applicant pool.
The committee leaders urged members not to deliberate by email on matters related to committee business, and said a secure website was being created to aid in the electronic dissemination of materials related to the search.
Strobel said the committee's diversity should be commended and would be invaluable in finding a president who serves the diverse needs of three campuses. The committee comprises students, alumni, faculty and staff members, and administrators from each campus.
"The more diverse a group is, the better the decision-making is and the better the outcome," she said. "Don't hold back; express your views at the table and listen to your gut."
Beck told committee members their task is daunting.
"This is a job that has many dimensions," he said of the president's position, noting the president is involved in not just academic and budgeting issues, but is the university's representative before the state legislature as well as the state's civic and business community.
"The president is the face of higher education in the state," he said. "We are looking for someone with the capacity to take this on; we want to look at the rising stars."
The committee's first task will be to create a white paper describing the job and outlining the qualities needed in the position.
To ensure everyone on campus has the opportunity for input on Easter's replacement, Strobel said town hall meetings had been planned for all three campuses, including one at Urbana at 3 p.m. June 25 in the auditorium at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
"One of the important parts of the process is to bring our communities into the process," she said.
Beck said committee members should spend time outside of the committee structure to talk with constituents, collect their thoughts and recommendations, and report them to the committee.
"You should reach out to whomever you think will provide good input," he said, noting that committee heads already had plans to talk one-on-one with deans and other academic leaders.
Laurie Wilder, of Parker Executive Search, said her company would aid in the search process but not run it.
"We are not here to select your next president," she said. "(We will) aggressively recruit, facilitate and advise. You will have access to every piece of information that we have access to, and we will engage where you see fit."
The search firm will assist with generating a pool of prospects, reviewing their background information and arranging interviews with candidates. Parker has assisted in various university searches, including a search currently underway to replace UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares when her term ends in January, and searches for a chancellor and provost on the Urbana campus.