A presidential stepping stone — Chuck Staben looks for new job, finalist for UNM president

University of Idaho’s President “Chuck” Staben is looking for another job.

The UI presidents, as well as its upper-level administrators, don’t stick around for long.

Staben has been at the university for three years and eight months and was announced a finalist for president of the University of New Mexico. Staben has a public interview today.

Nothing is decided yet, but if Staben leaves soon, his departure time will be in line with the tenures of the last two presidents — it hasn’t always been that way at UI.

Blake Coker | Argonaut

Liz Brandt, professor in the UI College of Law and former Faculty Senate chair, has seen the transition among administrators. Since she came to the university in the fall of 1988, she has worked under six university presidents and, between their tenures, one acting president and three interim presidents.

“It’s hard on everyone when important leadership changes,” Brandt said.

Faculty Senate Chair Patrick Hrdlicka has been at the university for about 11 years and has seen his own share of changes in the presidency.

“New permanent presidents essentially come in with their new agenda,” Hrdlicka said. “But every president will be asked to create a strategic plan, increase enrollment, and the like. There are only so many ways to run a university.”

He said he expects the announcement that Staben may be leaving will make faculty nervous about the fate of plans Staben has put into motion, such as working toward market-based compensation, or the strategic plan in general.

“It’s a time of anxiety,” Hrdlicka said. “We have formulated this 10-year strategic plan. Is all that going to go away?”

Hrdlicka expressed concern that a new president could mean new vice presidents and other upper administrators.

“We’ve just barely got this leadership team in place,” Hrdlicka said. “And it’s a good leadership team. Is this the official launch for the rest of the leadership to start applying?”

Hrdlicka said this high rate of turnover isn’t unusual for UI.

“The DNA of people seeking executive leadership positions is not such that they will be content,” Hrdlicka said. “The University of Idaho will rarely be their destination.”

Short presidential terms may be common for UI for the last few presidents, but Staben said he would stay longer when initially hired for the position.

“I’m 55 years old so I figure I’ve got 10 or 15 years of work left in me and my wife hates to move,” Staben said in 2013. “This is one last good job.”

Brandt said it is unreasonable to expect someone to stay for so long — everyone has their reasons, she said.

Hrdlicka said one option to increase retention he would like to see tried is the hiring of an interim president into the permanent position.

“We might see what happens when we don’t look for one of these outsiders and look for a person who has demonstrated their loyalty to the university,” Hrdlicka said.

Brandt said interims are not usually included as candidates for the position because doing so could make the job less competitive — making it look to outsiders like a done-deal that the insider will win.

But it’s not a rule.

“We don’t have a rule or a guideline,” said Blake Youde, Chief Communications officer for the state board.

UI’s last two interims, Don Burnett Jr. and Steven Daley-Larusen are long-time UI faculty members who returned to UI after their terms.

“People here for four years have impacts and people who stay for nine or ten years have impacts,” Daley-Laursen said. “I think it’s important we stay positive.”

Brandt said sweating about how often leadership changes is probably not productive.

“We’re in a better place now than we were three and a half years ago,” Brandt said.

Hrdlicka echoed Brandt’s sentiment.

“The university is on a good trajectory for the first time in many years,” Hrdlicka said.

The two presidents prior to Staben stayed about as long as the typical undergraduate student.

Mckenzie MacDonald, president of the Associated Students of the University of Idaho, said she doesn’t think a new president would have a huge effect on students.

“It would be different working with a new president — building that relationship again,” MacDonald said. “I think he brings a lot of great leadership to the university and I hope other ASUI presidents get to work with him in the future.”

Hrdlicka said transitions have little significant effect on the day-to-day work of faculty but echoed MacDonald’s concerns about rebuilding relationships.

“We’ve spent three or four years learning how to communicate with each other,” Hrdlicka said. “Whether it is to be a professor or a researcher or running facilities, we will continue to do it. We will do this with or without the president.”

Staben has not made public whether he has applied for jobs other than UNM or his reasons for leaving.

“It doesn’t mean anything at this point because he is still the president,” said Jodi Walker, UI communications director. “We are plugging along with business as usual.”

Staben isn’t gone yet, but he is looking.  Staben’s search wasn’t made public by Staben himself or UI Communications.

Hrdlicka said the anxiety this has created is not a good position for the university.

“If he is chosen, there will at least be some clarity,” Hrdlicka said.

Nishant Mohan can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NishantRMohan

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