Hunter
10/02/20
With the University of Iowa now in search mode for their new President, the Board of Regents acknowledges that such a search during a pandemic is uncharted territory.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Board Executive Director Mark Braun calls it “a new normal. What timelines played out before and how they’re going to play out now, nobody knows the answer to.”
However, a major search firm says that the fact that searches are being moved to Zoom meetings and other online tools actually speeds up the process a bit.
Managing Principal Roderick McDavis of AGB Search of Washington DC, told the Gazette, “One of the good things about dealing with a search in these times is that because you can do them virtually, it’s a lot easier to get people together than when people have to travel.”
Costs also go down to his clients because travel has been cut dramatically.
Bruce Harreld announced his intention to retire Thursday. His hire in 2015 sparked heated debates after his approval rating among faculty, students and staff was in the single digits, while the other finalists scored in the 90s. Protests and votes of no-confidence followed, and the Board of Regents was sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors.
The Regents have adopted best practices and employed them with the subsequent hiring of new presidents at Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa. Braun says the board will follow those practices when searching for Harreld’s replacement.
