UT finalists face 3 interviews, 6 background checks
Trustees said they hope that scrutiny, coupled with the open search, will produce a president with integrity and enthusiasm.
“We want someone willing to tolerate the discomfort to get this job,” trustee Jim Murphy said. “We want people willing and able to stand up to the pressure because it will tell us if (they) are the kind of person who can take on this job.”
A new president is to be selected by April 21.
University officials told the newspaper the finalists will go through three separate interviews and at least six types of background checks.
Gov. Phil Bredesen demanded the open process following the August departure of John Shumaker as UT president amid an uproar over an audit that showed lavish spending and questionable travel charged to the university.
Murphy is chairman of the search advisory council, an 18-member panel of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni who will conduct the first round of interviews. The eight-member search council, which includes only faculty and trustees, will hold the second round of interviews.
In Shumaker’s hiring, one set of candidates was public while the other — from which Shumaker emerged — remained secret. This time, candidates must allow their names to be made public even to be considered.
An Atlanta-based consultant, Baker-Parker Inc., is receiving $80,000 to help the search committees by talking with potential candidates. Gary Daugherty, senior vice president with Baker-Parker, said having a completely open presidential search is unusual in higher education because sitting presidents typically don’t want their candidacy made public.
“The conventional wisdom is you’re not going to get anybody with an open search,” Daugherty told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The next president, who will take office by July 1, will earn $400,000 to $500,000 annually. Trustees will meet in March to determine the specifics of a nonnegotiable contract.
Trustee Andrea Loughry, chairwoman of the presidential search committee, said the search is “fraught with opportunities for missteps.”
“By the same token, there’s a real opportunity for us to make a giant leap forward, not only for re-establishing the credibility of the University of Tennessee system but also the credibility of higher education throughout our state,” she said.
A retired UT president, Joe Johnson, is working in the job on an interim basis until a successor is chosen.
Shumaker’s predecessor, J. Wade Gilley, resigned as president in June 2001 citing health reasons amid allegations of an improper relationship with a female administrator.
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On the Net:
UT Presidential Search: http://pr.tennessee.edu/presidentialsearch
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