UNO Presidential Search (Again)

I saw three of the four semi-finalists for UNO’s president during their public interviews this week. Overall, they were good candidates. Tomorrow the search committee will choose 2 finalists to go forward. I think the two finalists are likely to be Dr. Fos and Dr. Wartell. Both candidates have their strong points, but I think Wartell has a bit of an edge given his past experience at the president/chancellor level.

Below is the text of my email letter that I sent to  unopresidentialsearch@uls.state.la.us

Anyone can submit comments to this email address. There is also a final public comment period tomorrow (Friday 12/02/11) at 10:00am in the Homer Hitt Alumni Center at UNO. I am unable to attend tomorrow, so I sent the following email:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing regarding the University of New Orleans’ (UNO) presidential search. Having attended 3 of the 4 public interviews held this week, I would like to communicate my thoughts about the process and candidates. I am unable to attend tomorrow’s meeting, but still wanted to provide written feedback. I am a doctoral student in higher education administration at UNO where I also work part-time in the Office of Institutional Research & Data Management.

I appreciate the transparency of the process and the opportunities for public comment and engagement throughout. As someone who studies the organizational behavior of college and universities, being able to witness aspects of the search and selection processes has been valuable to me.

I was not able to attend the public interview with Dr. Scanes. My comments will reflect impressions of the candidates I did see: Dr. Goodman, Dr. Fos, and Dr. Wartell. Although all three of these candidates would be qualified to become UNO’s president, I feel that Doctors Fos and Wartell are the best candidates. Both of these candidates have an adequate breadth of experiences in academic leadership in order to lead a complex and diversified university, like UNO.

From my review of their resumes/c.v.’s and my observations in the public interviews, I would rank Dr. Wartell as my top choice to become the next leader– the first president– of UNO. Dr. Wartell’s past experience as the Chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne is what ultimately made me rank him as my top candidate. Given the complexities of UNO as an institution and the currently state policy environment for postsecondary education in Louisiana, I believe that we need a leader who has significant leadership experience at top levels of higher education administration. We should not chose someone whose leadership is untested. Based on my evaluation, Dr. Wartell has the most high-level leadership experience of the 3 candidates whose interviews I attended.

 

I hope that my comments are helpful. Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Best–
Lindsey B. Jakiel, Ed.M.
Doctoral Student, Higher Education Administration
University of New Orleans

UNO Presidential Search Timeline

The Office of the Chancellor sent this via email yesterday to students, faculty, and staff at the University of New Orleans. Make sure to put the public meetings on your calendar!

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Presidential Search Inaugural Meeting – September 15, 2011

The University of Louisiana System refers to its chief executives as presidents instead of chancellors. On September 15, the Presidential Search Committee will hold its inaugural meeting at the Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center in the Goeghegan Grand Ballroom.  This is the meeting at which the committee will adopt a tentative timeline for the search process. This meeting will also serve as a public forum to solicit input about the desired qualifications for a new president. The meeting start time has not yet been determined, but I will be sure to share that information with the campus once it is decided.

Institutional Review Team Campus Visit – September 25-30, 2011

A team of higher education consultants will be stationed at the TRAC Center from September 25 – 30 to conduct a comprehensive review of the university. The purpose of the review is twofold: it will allow the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors and staff to become familiar with UNO’s strengths and weaknesses, and it will produce briefing materials for use in educating presidential candidates about UNO and what will be required of its future leadership.

The Institutional Review Team will conduct meetings with faculty, staff and external stakeholders from Monday through Wednesday of that week at the TRAC Center.   On Thursday morning, September 29, a public forum will be held in the Alumni Center ballroom.  Though specific meeting times for faculty and staff have not yet been determined, I hope you will make every effort to keep your appointment calendar free for those three days so that we can provide the highest possible level of cooperation and participation to the review team.

Presidential Search Interview Week – November 28- December 2, 2011

During the last week of classes, presidential search semi-finalists will be invited to visit UNO to meet with various university, community, and business constituents as well as to participate in public interviews with the search committee. The schedule for the week will be determined by the number of semi-finalists identified by the search committee and the amount of time allotted for each to spend on the campus.  I will share additional details about the interview week schedule as they become available. More information about the UNO Presidential Search can be found here: www.ulsystem.edu/UNOsearch.  Questions and comments directed to the search committee can be emailed to UNOPresidentialSearch@la.gov.