Jeff Charis-Carlson

jcharisc@press-citizen.com

A critic of last year's controversial presidential search at the University of Iowa has been tapped to co-chair the committee tasked with looking for the next president of the University of Northern Iowa.

The Iowa Board of Regents is appointing Daniel J. Power, a UNI professor of management information systems, to co-chair the 20-member committee tasked with vetting applicants to replace former UNI President Bill Ruud, who moved to Ohio earlier this summer.

Power was one of four Iowa delegates to the Association of American University Professors' national meeting in June. During that meeting, the delegates voted unanimously to sanction UI and criticize the regents for flaws in the search process that led to last year's hiring of UI President Bruce Harreld.

Power said Tuesday that he had to catch a plane, so he wasn't on the convention floor during the vote. Had he been there, however, he would have supported the resolution criticizing the regents for ignoring faculty input before hiring Harreld.

“I would like to make sure (the UNI) search helps get the University of Iowa off that sanction list,” Power said. “I know the regents are going to make the decision, but it’s important to establish the criteria and basis for that decision.”

The announcement of Power's role as co-chair came in a letter sent Tuesday from Regent Katie Mulholland to the senators chairing the Iowa Senate's Education Budget Committee, Oversight Committee and Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

"First and foremost, we will be conducting an open and transparent process, very similar to the last UNI presidential search process, which will bring candidates to campus in November for meetings with constituent groups prior to Board of Regents interviews of the finalists in December," wrote Mulholland, who will co-chair the committee with Power.

"The AAUP guidelines for university presidential searches provided the backbone for the UNI process," she continued.

UNI President William Ruud to leave for new job

Mulholland's letter was in response to a letter sent Aug. 12 by state Sens. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, and Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids. The three senators asked for more details about how the regents planned to avoid the controversies that plagued last year's search at UI.

“On process, which is what the letter really speaks to, I’m encouraged,” said Danielson, whose Senate district includes UNI. “They are publicly stating what they intend to do.”

Danielson said he was encouraged by Mulholland’s pledge to abide by “the AAUP guidelines for university presidential searches,” and he praised the choice of Power — "someone who the community trusts" — to co-chair the committee.

Power previously served as a member on the UNI search committees that led to the hiring of Ruud in 2012 and former UNI President Ben Allen in 2005.

But Danielson said he is still looking for the regents to clarify exactly what their long-term expectations are for UNI and its next president.

“It’s not enough to provide a process and a timeline,” he said. “I want to know if the Board of Regents wants to grow the University of Northern Iowa by 25 percent. I want to know if the Board of Regents wants to reduce student debt by, say, 15 percent. … I want to know if the Board of Regents wants to increase career placement above 90 percent after graduation.”

Danielson previously has criticized the regents for not explaining why they never sought to extend Ruud's initial three-year contract. He said he hopes having the regents clarify such questions for the next president also will help answer lingering questions about the departure of the last one.

Ruud left the 12,000-student UNI in July to become president of the 1,200-student Marietta College.

Danielson also urged the regents to allow the next UNI president the option of tenure — which had been denied Ruud, despite his having earned both rank and tenure earlier in his career.

“My goal is for the regents to achieve the widest, best candidate pool for the next UNI president,” Danielson said. “(Tenure) should be publicly known as part of the search process. It widens and improves the candidate pool.”

Both Harreld at UI and President Steven Leath at Iowa State University have the option of tenure included in their employment letters.

Harreld, who had no previous experience in university administration before starting the UI job in November, has said he will not be seeking tenure.

Mulholland's letter comes less than two weeks after the regents announced they are hiring AGB of Washington to assist in the search and screening of presidential applicants for UNI.

The timeline provided by Mulholland calls for finalist candidates to be brought to campus in late November or early December and for the new president to be announced before the end of the fall semester.

"I’m looking forward to finding a great leader for the University of Northern Iowa," Power said. "I hope we can continue the progress that UNI has made in the last few years in terms of much better faculty relations and good relations with the community."

Reach Jeff Charis-Carlson at jcharisc@press-citizen.com or 319-887-5435. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffCharis.

Timeline

May 18: UNI President William Ruud announces his plans to become president of Marietta College in Ohio. Ruud had served three years as UNI president, and his contract was set to expire June 1. His announcement catches many in the the UNI community off guard.

June 9: The Iowa Board of Regents appoints UNI Provost Jim Wohlpart as interim president. The board also votes to authorize Regent Katie Mulholland and the board's executive director, Bob Donley, to develop a process and timetable for the search for Ruud’s replacement.

July 2: Ruud’s final day as UNI president.

Aug. 4: Regents announce that they will be paying $85,000 to AGB Search of Washington to serve as consultants during the search for a new UNI president.

Aug. 15: Three state senators ask the regents for more details about the search process — especially in light of the controversies surrounding last year’s presidential search at UI.

Aug. 16: The regents announce that Mulholland will co-chair a 20-member search committee with Daniel J. Power, a UNI professor of management information systems. *The regents also announce the following proposed timeline for the remainder of the search.

*Aug. 24-26: AGB consultants will contact regents to discuss confidential considers. They also will meet with the board staff and hold listening sessions with UNI faculty, staff, students, alumni and community.

*Aug. 29: The search committee will hold its first meeting.

*Sept. 7-8: The regents will hold their regularly scheduled two-day meeting in Iowa City.

*Sept. 9: The search committee will meet.

*Oct. 13: The search committee and regents will receive pre-deadline access to applications.

*Oct. 19: Deadline for applications.

*Oct. 19-20: The regents will hold their regular two-day meeting in Cedar Falls.

*Oct. 26: The search committee meets to select semifinalists and develop questions.

*Oct. 28 – Nov. 10: Consultants will conduct reference checks.

*Nov. 11-12: The search committee will meet at a neutral site for interviews with semifinalists and select finalists.

*Nov. 12: AGB begins due diligence process on finalists.

*Nov. 30 – Dec. 2: Finalists scheduled for campus visits

*Dec. 5: Regents hold a telephonic meeting in which the search committee gives its report.

*Dec. 6: Regents and Donley interview finalists, and regents select a new president.