EAST LANSING - Michigan State University’s presidential search committee will consider both internal and external candidates as well as traditional and nontraditional applicants, trustee and search committee co-chair Melanie Foster said.

“We’ve asked (committee members) to have an open mind, cast a broad net for qualified candidates,” Foster said.

Foster and several members of the committee held a listening session Tuesday night with faculty, staff and student leaders from the colleges of education and communication arts and sciences.

The sessions, which will run through early October, are designed to help the committee create a list of qualifications and characteristics to look for in a new leader.

Once the criteria for a new president have been finalized, the committee will start to accept nominations, according to its website. The full Board of Trustees has final say on who the next leader of MSU will be.

Committee members won’t be considered for the top job at MSU and interim President Engler is not a candidate, Foster said.

The committee still hasn’t determined whether finalists will be named publicly. It’s also finalizing the selection of an executive search firm to aid in the search.

Tuesday night's input session was held inside WKAR’s Studio A. Close to a dozen people gave their input, which ranged from not wanting someone with ties to the university to wanting a president with experience in equity and inclusion.

Forums open to the entire campus community are scheduled for Oct. 10 and 11 at the Kellogg Center. An online input form is also available.

The search committee includes four current trustees, as well as two deans, seven faculty members as well as one undergraduate and one graduate student.

More: MSU: No decision yet on whether finalists for president's job will be named publicly

Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.