The Portland State University Board of Trustees took the first step Thursday in what will be a long process to appoint a new president to succeed Wim Wiewel when he retires in 2017.
In a special meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution that outlines how the search will proceed, a timeline, who will be on the search committee and how the priorities will be determined in recruiting a new president.
Board trustee and English professor Maude Hines added language to the resolution to enhance communication with the campus community in developing characteristics for a new president prior to when recruitment of candidates begins this fall. She said the 50-member Faculty Senate has a crucial stake in the search process on behalf of PSU’s hundreds of professors.
Board trustee and student Steff Shao said she appreciates that the search committee will include an undergraduate and a graduate student but wants to make sure that “students are kept in the know” during the entire process.
Highlights of the resolution include:
• The search committee will include 15 to 20 members to be named later. It will include four trustees, a vice president, a dean, a Faculty Senate representative, two other faculty members, representatives from the faculty and staff unions, two students, members of the Foundation and Alumni boards and a president of another Oregon public university.
• Once the preferred characteristics of a new president are determined, a search firm hired by the committee will recruit and vet candidates, and the committee will determine finalists to present to the Board of Trustees. The goal is to have a new president in place by the start of the 2017-18 academic year.
• The names of candidates will remain confidential until the search committee determine when finalists or a finalist should be made public. “The premature disclosure of candidate information can have a chilling effect on the willingness of such candidates to be considered and can damage reputations at candidates’ current institution,” the resolution states.
• Once the finalist or finalists are made public, a public forum will be held to provide an opportunity for the campus community to meet the finalists and give feedback to the search committee and trustees.