The search for FAU’s new president is underway — and they actually want the students’ opinions this time. On Monday afternoon, FAU held multiple open search forums with hopes of learning exactly what qualities faculty, students and staff expect to find in our future president.
Parker Executive Search Firm, the company FAU hired to aid in the hunt for presidential candidates, sent in search consultant Laurie Wilder, the executive vice president and managing director of the firm, to direct the four forums attended by faculty, students, staff and committee members respectively.
“Do not be afraid that the big firm from Atlanta is here to choose a president for you. We are taking a very proactive approach and will present a broad and deeply versatile group of candidates,” said Wilder. She asked the same three questions of everyone: What are you looking for in a president? Why should any potential candidates want to work for FAU? And, what are some of the challenges the future president may face?
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Faculty
“It’s going to sound weird, but I want to find someone like Lincoln…Lincoln took people who didn’t like him and put them on his cabinet,” said Associate Professor of English Elena Machado. Machado went on to explain that former President Saunders had surrounded herself with “yes men” and that the future president needs to be open to hearing opposing positions.
Some of the issues the faculty felt the next president would face coming out of former President Saunder’s tenure were low morale and a lack of trust from students and other parts of the campus community. The faculty asked for a leader who would be able to manage and handle crises, while working with the FAU community towards a fundamental goal to help keep the university on track.
“I think they are looking for transparency, leadership and somebody that has passion for the position,” said Anthony Barbar, president and chief executive officer of Barbar and Associates. Barbar, who is also a chair of the FAU Board of Trustees, attended all four of the open forums.
Wilder explained that the information from the open forums was used to search through a database to pick qualified candidates and present them to the search committee. Additionally, Wilder encouraged faculty to reach out to their colleagues at other universities or make their own recommendations of candidates, and for FAU student representatives to call student representatives from other universities for suggestions.
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Students
Wilder began the open student forum by asking the students why they chose to attend FAU and what the student body was like.
“What I love about FAU is we are a very diverse campus, and diverse means a lot of things. Most of the students here are in some ways nontraditional…so part of the reason not a lot of people are here right now is schedule conflicts with class or because we commute and have families,” said graduate student Britni Hiatt. In March of this year, Hiatt was the victim of being clipped by former President Saunders’ car while Hiatt was at a protest.
Diversity was brought up by many of the students in attendance, highlighting that though it may provide a different environment, the diversity of the student body and of FAU as a whole is something that the new president should emphasize.
“[W]e ought to have a president that is willing to experience the uncomfortable emotions that come with dealing with a diverse community. Because we all come from very different backgrounds. We all come with different [and diverse values and ideals] of what life at a university should be,” said graduate student Arely Baugh.
Transparency was also a common concern for the students, administration and committee leaders. “[T]here needs to be some type of avenue where it’s easier to get in contact with the administration,” said junior political science major Renata Glebocki.
Students also took this open forum as an opportunity to question Andrew “AJ” Einbinder, the student representative on the search committee, about his ideas and how he played into the search for the next president.
“It’s not my job to promote my own personal views and ideas, I’m only here to give the committee that mixed combination perspective of the university’s different and diverse student population from what you guys have told me. I’m only a messenger here,” said Einbinder.
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Staff
Director of Student Health Services Cathie Wallace broke the ice during the staff forum by expressing her issues regarding on-campus health. Wallace said that she is “interested in a president who has creative thoughts on promoting healthy ideas throughout FAU faculty, staff and students.” Some of her concerns included making FAU tobacco free, offering healthier food on campus and better health care programs.
Soon other staff members joined in, voicing their thoughts on the former president.
“With the former president, there seemed to be a disconnect between what the role of the president was and what we actually wanted it to be,” said Assistant Director of Instructional Design Page Jerzak. Jerzak, who is in charge of the designing and authorizing online courses offered by FAU, went on to say that the new president should “fulfill all aspects of the role and fully understand the transition higher education is making and be supportive of that.”
Erin Molloy, director of the Baldwin House and events, stressed the need for a president who can work with the variety of people that make up FAU’s culturally diverse community. Molloy will work closely with the new president since her job is to oversee any of the presidential events hosted by FAU. Even staff members from FAU’s Harbor Branch reached out via video conference to chime in about their need for a president who understands that FAU “manages a widely distributed network of campuses,” including Harbor Branch’s own campus, located about 93 miles north of the main campus here in Boca Raton.
“FAU is on the cusp of greatness and it will take a strategic leader in order for us to compete with other institutions in the state. We need someone who will commit to some level of continuity and to putting the pieces of the puzzle together…this is an exciting opportunity for someone to do that,” according to Director of the Student Union Larry Faerman.
Wilder made it clear that the search firm will not be fixated on pitching solely academic backgrounds in potential candidates. Instead, they will be looking for people with various types of experience who can bring something new to the table.
But Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Kirk Dougher felt that there was a “nuance about colleges that unless you’ve worked in an academic setting, you won’t fully understand the job.”
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Committee
During the much smaller and considerably more intimate committee leaders forum, Executive Vice President Beth Johnston of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce was glad that the firm will be branching out in the search for potential candidates.
She feels that “there are great leaders out there who aren’t in that position.” Johnston wants to eventually make Boca Raton a “college town,” where people in the community feel like FAU is their home university and will rally behind it.
“I think we can get there but it can only be done by having the right president. This university isn’t going away. We need someone genuine and unaffected by the title of president,” said Johnston. “In the end, our future president needs to put their pants on just like you and I do.”
