Several members of the 12-person President Search Screening visited the University of Idaho campus this week and collected input from faculty, staff and students.
Alberto Pimentel, a senior partner with the executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, conducted the three meetings, asking a series of questions regarding UI’s next president.
The committee held a closed-door meeting Monday to collect faculty input on the search for the next president. Following the hour-long meeting, the group opened the doors to community members and media in order to collect more input from the Moscow area.
Moscow City Mayor Bill Lambert gave input at the open-door community meeting. He said he would prefer a president who is visible in the Moscow community and is dedicated to enrollment efforts.
Lambert also noted the quick turnovers for recent UI presidents and said he hopes the next president will commit to staying at the university for a longer period of time.
“Prior to President Staben being here, we went through about five presidents over a 10-year period and that really kills the university and that affects what we’re trying to achieve here in my view . . . I hope that the successful candidate will commit to being here for a long time and not treat this position as a stepping stone in his or her career,” Lambert said.
Dan Davenport, the university’s director of financial aid, said he is looking for a president who understands the struggle of access to higher education — especially financial struggles.
Caroline Nilsson Troy, who represents district five in the Idaho House, also attended.
Troy spoke about the importance of the university, being the only land grant university established by the Idaho State Constitution.
“We need someone who can understand that we need to lead with our strengths not just our desires. … We need to find someone who understands the land grant mission and how that’s different than the other institutions across the state and how that can be leveraged,” Troy said. “And we need to quit trying to be everything to everyone and be the things that we are best at.”
Pimentel, in closing remarks at the Monday meeting, spoke about his firm’s placement record and their openness to candidates who would be considered non-traditional hires among many academics. Pimentel said that his firm has had success with the longevity of presidents, especially the ones who had ties to the community and university they were hired for.
“Because (the non-traditional candidates his firm has placed) have experience with the community already, so far the longevity has been really good. They come into the picture with a different frame of mind,” Pimentel said. “… They’re usually at a stage in their life or career where it’s no longer about the money. They’re doing it as a mission. It’s a funny thing, when they approach it that way, you don’t get rid of them that easily.”
The committee held another closed-door meeting Tuesday in order to collect input on the search from university staff. They held a third meeting Tuesday afternoon for students, which drew an attendance of only two students.
The meeting went on with the low attendance, and the search members questioned the students about their preferences for the university’s next president. One of the two students in attendance was ASUI Chief of Staff, Sean Collins. The other declined to share their name.
Collins said he would like the next president to expand opportunities and events to transfer students and students who live off-campus, noting that many of university events now are focused on Greek life and students who live within the university’s residence halls.
“What I would want to see in the next president is someone who cares about student life on this campus a bit more,” Collins said. “I know a lot of priorities have been on enrollment growth and research investment to spur more research to move us to the next level on the Carnegie Classification and those are good goals. I think those are strong goals to keep going for but a big part of enrollment is obviously making sure students are having a good time and they’re enjoying their college experience. Academics are a major part of that but also, they live here. They spend four years here. They need to experience more than just going to classes for four years.”
Elizabeth Marshall can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EJMarshall_.