Search for a president
Candidate Search Committee selects four executive search firms
Katie Jones
Staff writer
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
The Presidential Candidate Search Committee confirmed Monday their four choices for executive search firms, which would aid in the search for a new university president.
The four firms selected were R. William Funk; Isaacson, Miller; Heidrick and Struggles; and Korn/Ferry International.
"We've got a contrast between two smaller firms, where we would get the very senior person and two larger, international firms, but all of these firms appear to have very substantial contacts," said C.B. Smith, a committee member representing support foundations.
Smith said that R. William Funk and Isaacson, Miller are the two smaller firms, with Funk boasting the informal title of "guru of higher education recruiting."
Isaacson, Miller operates out of Washington, D.C. According to Smith, "they have fewer similar institutions than the other three, but we were drawn to them because of the quality of their proposal."
Smith cited the reason in choosing Heidrick and Struggles was the fact that they are a top-rated international firm, as well as their experience.
"They have a tremendous amount of similar institution experience," he said.
Korn/Ferry International has a database of 4 million candidate profiles, which "is a few more than we'll need," Smith said.
Robert Best, a committee member representing faculty, expressed the faculty's desire to find candidates who display a commitment to all areas of academics.
"There are a number of themes that seem to recur," he said. "One of the concerns was that whoever the president would be, would be somebody who has an appreciation for all of the different disciplines."
Best said a prominent faculty concern was for diversity in the candidate search.
"A number of people said this person should be committed to diversity and this was in the most general sense, but also in a specific way. People wanted to be sure this committee was soliciting applications from women, from African-Americans, recognizing that there is a growing Hispanic population in South Carolina."
Best also articulated faculty concerns on whether candidates should have extensive experience at "dean level or above."
However, the committee felt it best not to limit candidates so early in the search.
"We need to leave our options as wide open as possible," said Tommy Stepp, secretary of the Board of Trustees.
Board of Trustee member John von Lehe, Jr. agreed
"I don't think we ought to restrict ourselves," Lehe said. "We need to leave it as open as we can at this stage."
Larry Pearce, director of publications, demonstrated the new presidential candidate search Web site and briefly described it.
"The university is a complicated place so we have to give a quick summary to tell them about it," he said of the Web site.
The committee went in to executive session to discuss candidates.
The four firms selected were R. William Funk; Isaacson, Miller; Heidrick and Struggles; and Korn/Ferry International.
"We've got a contrast between two smaller firms, where we would get the very senior person and two larger, international firms, but all of these firms appear to have very substantial contacts," said C.B. Smith, a committee member representing support foundations.
Smith said that R. William Funk and Isaacson, Miller are the two smaller firms, with Funk boasting the informal title of "guru of higher education recruiting."
Isaacson, Miller operates out of Washington, D.C. According to Smith, "they have fewer similar institutions than the other three, but we were drawn to them because of the quality of their proposal."
Smith cited the reason in choosing Heidrick and Struggles was the fact that they are a top-rated international firm, as well as their experience.
"They have a tremendous amount of similar institution experience," he said.
Korn/Ferry International has a database of 4 million candidate profiles, which "is a few more than we'll need," Smith said.
Robert Best, a committee member representing faculty, expressed the faculty's desire to find candidates who display a commitment to all areas of academics.
"There are a number of themes that seem to recur," he said. "One of the concerns was that whoever the president would be, would be somebody who has an appreciation for all of the different disciplines."
Best said a prominent faculty concern was for diversity in the candidate search.
"A number of people said this person should be committed to diversity and this was in the most general sense, but also in a specific way. People wanted to be sure this committee was soliciting applications from women, from African-Americans, recognizing that there is a growing Hispanic population in South Carolina."
Best also articulated faculty concerns on whether candidates should have extensive experience at "dean level or above."
However, the committee felt it best not to limit candidates so early in the search.
"We need to leave our options as wide open as possible," said Tommy Stepp, secretary of the Board of Trustees.
Board of Trustee member John von Lehe, Jr. agreed
"I don't think we ought to restrict ourselves," Lehe said. "We need to leave it as open as we can at this stage."
Larry Pearce, director of publications, demonstrated the new presidential candidate search Web site and briefly described it.
"The university is a complicated place so we have to give a quick summary to tell them about it," he said of the Web site.
The committee went in to executive session to discuss candidates.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Steve
posted 2/26/08 @ 8:23 PM EST
The BOT would be very wise to offer this position to Andy Card. He has the contacts and the ability to raise money from private donations which is something this university desperately needs. (Continued…)
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