Presidential Search Committee gives November report The Presidential Search Committee has narrowed the field of applicants to eight candidates who have been selected for screening interviews at the end of this month. The list of candidates appears at the end of this report. The process used to select these eight candidates involved an initial screening to determine which of the applicants would be taken to the reference checking stage. At the Oct. 23 meeting, the committee identified 16 people to take to that stage, with one of those applicants withdrawing prior to references being checked. The committee met on Nov. 5 to review the information learned about those people whose references were checked. Based on that discussion, the committee unanimously approved the list of eight screening interview candidates. At the Nov. 5 meeting, as had been indicated on the search timeline, the committee reviewed applications received after Oct. 23 to determine if any of those applicants should advance to the reference checking stage. One of the four applicants in that group was selected for reference checking. The committee authorized a subcommittee to do the reference checking and to decide whether to add that person to the screening interview list. Applying the same criteria used by the full committee Nov. 5, the three person subcommittee met Nov. 8 and voted not to add the person to the list. One further procedural matter deserves an explanation. The search timeline approved by the State Board of Higher Education contained an unanticipated ambiguity. The committee had set Oct. 23 as the date for the first screening of applications, with a Nov. 5 screening of applications received after Oct. 23. The timeline then referred to the process that would be applied to applications received after Nov. 5, but was silent about any applications received on Nov. 5 following the committee’s meeting. The committee was presented with letters supporting an individual who had not applied prior to the meeting, and asked what would be done if an application were submitted. The committee discussed the situation at some length and concluded that the ambiguity in the timeline would be resolved in a way that treated any applications received on Nov. 5 in the same way that applications received between Oct. 23 and Nov. 5 were treated, i.e., an initial determination of whether an applicant should be advanced to reference checking, and if so, a subcommittee determination of whether to add the person to the screening interview list. As matters developed, no applications were submitted on Nov. 5. The Search Committee will conduct interviews with the eight candidates Nov. 27 and 28 at the Marriott Hotel at the Minneapolis airport. Those interviews are open meetings. Each candidate will spend 90 minutes with the committee in an interview that explores the extent to which the candidate brings to the position the characteristics identified in the Position Profile as desirable in our next President. The input received by the committee in the open forums in September will provide valuable assistance to the committee in prioritizing among those characteristics and in refining questions to elicit information relevant to the characteristics. After the last of the interviews on Nov. 28, the committee will conclude the meeting with a determination of which candidates to invite to campus for full interviews in January, beginning no earlier than Jan. 8 and extending no later than Jan. 26. The individual interview schedules will be published as soon as practicable, so that the January interview events and activities can be as well attended as possible. Procedures will also be established for providing input to the committee about the candidates. The Search Committee will conclude its work on Jan. 28 when we recommend no fewer than three finalists to the State Board of Higher Education. The Board will interview the finalists and select our next president on Feb. 5-6. Paul A. LeBel, dean, School of Law Chair, UND Presidential Search Committee Applicants selected for screening interviews on Nov. 27-28: * Dennis Elbert, dean, College of Business and Public Administration, University of North Dakota * Phyllis Johnson, Beltsville area director, USDA Agricultural Research Services * Robert Kelley, dean, College of Health Sciences, University of Wyoming * Thomas Keon, dean, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida * Kathleen Long, dean, College of Nursing, University of Florida * Gary Olson, dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University * Bruce Smith, dean, School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota * Greg Weisenstein, provost and vice president for academic affairs, University of North Dakota