Presidential Search in Progress, Though Faculty Favor Delay

The 16-member Presidential Search Committee charged with finding Furman’s next leader met face to face for the first time last week, moving forward with a search process that committee members say could identify a new president by the next academic year.

But the search is acquiring momentum despite the fact that many faculty favor delaying the process and allowing Interim President Carl Kohrt to lead the university for the next several years, according to a recent survey of about 50 Furman professors by the Faculty Administrative Liaison Committee.

Robert Hill, chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Presidential Search Committee, said the trustees had considered the faculty survey but concluded that it was better to move forward with the search sooner rather than later, especially since Kohrt has said he is only willing to fill the interim role a maximum of five years.

“We feel like we have a responsibility to the university to find the next president,” Hill said, adding that the search committee remained dedicated to listening to faculty and student input throughout the search process.

The Liaison Committee conducted the faculty survey during the summer and collected the results in a report for the Presidential search committee.

While the full report was not made available to The Paladin, professor Tom Lewis, chair of the Liaison Committee, said there was a consensus among faculty responses that Kohrt might provide stability as the university faces new challenges in higher education amidst a difficult economic environment.

“I think the thought is that Kohrt seems to be a pretty steady hand at the helm right now,” Lewis said.

Kohrt, a longtime Furman trustee who came out of retirement to serve as interim president, has made clear that he does not want to be considered as a candidate in the search process.

History department chair John Barrington suggested that faculty may be wanting to delay the search process due to uncertainties about how the the search committee would consider their input.

“I think faculty are anxious about how much they will be involved,” he said.

Later this month, the search committee will be holding three information sessions for faculty and students to learn about the search process and share their ideas with the committee and consultants from Russell Reynolds Associates, the search firm Furman has hired to help identify potential candidates.

But committee members said that the search process will require strict confidentiality to attract the best candidates and that faculty and students will not be involved in discussions about specific candidates.

This differs from the last presidential search, when the top three candidates came to campus to meet with students, faculty, and staff before the search committee named the university’s new president.

Biology professor Joe Pollard, one of three faculty on the Presidential Search Committee, said the process requires such strict confidentiality because most potential candidates are already in high-level positions and would not want it to be publically known that they are applying for a new job.

He added that committee thought it would be superficial to introduce finalists to the Furman community because the committee would not be able to share candidates’ entire application files, which include confidential references.

Pollard was hesitant to give specifics about what qualities the committee would be looking for in candidates, saying that he would like to wait until he’s had a chance to hear from faculty and students at the three information sessions.

Lewis said the Liaison Committee’s faculty survey, which included questions about what characteristics faculty want to see in Furman’s next president, found that faculty favor candidates with a background in the liberal arts and classroom teaching experience.

The survey also found that faculty favor candidates with a connection to Furman over candidates from outside the university, though Lewis said the consultants from Russell Reynolds seemed to place less emphasis on the difference.

Lewis added that choosing Furman’s president was ultimately the trustees’ responsibility and that faculty would need to move quickly to contribute their opinions to the search committee.

“The train is leaving the station, and the time is now for the faculty to have a voice in the process,” Lewis said.

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Committee Members