Nov. 5 , 2004 CONTACT: Ward Mullens 734.487.4400 ward.mullens@emich.edu

Regents Advisory Committee meets, calls for nominations

YPSILANTI – The Regents Advisory Committee (RAC), the group charged with helping Eastern Michigan University’s Board of Regents select the next president, met today to discuss their role, the process and a tentative timeline for completing their work.

            “We had a great first meeting,” said Dennis Beagen, chair of the committee. “We had an opportunity to meet one another and to talk with our consultant, Dr. Ann Hasselmo from Academic Search.”

“Just having the committee assembled in one place was energizing,” said Beagen. “This is a phenomenal group of people who collectively have won every major award offered by the University. They are committed to excellence and to Eastern. I’m especially pleased that eight of the 16 have at least one degree from EMU and six live in Ypsilanti.”

            Beagen said the Board of Regents has asked the RAC, in discharging its duties, to conduct the following activities with the assistance of Academic Search Consultation Service:

• Draft and place advertisements for the position;
• Actively solicit nominations and applications from a diverse group of well-qualified candidates, including women and minorities;
• Oversee the receipt of, and responses to, applications and nominations from all sources;
• Screen applications using the leadership criteria as a basis for choice;
• Select and interview a pool of candidates;
• Assist in checking the references of the pool of candidates;
• Ensure that appropriate information about the University and the presidency is provided to candidates at each stage of the screening process;
• Report to the Board a summary of the RAC’s activities and present the board with an unranked list of three to five applicants;
• Ensure that confidentiality is strictly observed with respect to applicants and to the RAC’s internal deliberations.

“One of the first things we’ll be doing is setting up a series of sessions on and off-campus so that people can share with us what they think are the critical issues facing the University, and the type of individual and the attributes she or he must have to meet those challenges,” said Beagen. “We want to make sure that every person who has a stake in the future of the University can provide input if they choose to.” In addition to the communication sessions, Beagen said the RAC would also post an input form at www.emich.edu/presidentialsearch.

            Although the work of the RAC the next few weeks will be focused on gathering input from various constituencies, nominations and/or applications will be accepted immediately.

“There are no pre-commitments and there are no favored candidates in this presidential search. The committee will consider qualified candidates from all appropriate sources, including Eastern Michigan University, other institutions of higher learning, government, and elsewhere. The search will be broad in scope, using all available resources to identify potential candidates for the position,” said Beagen.

Anyone can nominate an individual for president, Beagen said. All nominations should be sent to the search consultant at:

Ann Die Hasselmo, Ph.D.

ann.hasselmo@academic-search.org

Managing Director

Academic Search Consultation Service

1825 K Street, NW, Suite 705

Washington, DC 20006

Phone: 202.332.4049

Fax: 202.234.7640

The nominee will be contacted and asked to submit an application for consideration. The identity of the nominator is kept confidential from the person being nominated.

Confidentiality is critical to attracting applications from the very highest caliber candidates, Beagen said. As an acknowledgement of the importance of confidentiality to their work, all members of the search committee and staff supporting the committee’s work signed a confidentiality agreement.

            Information and updates regarding the search can be found at www.emich.edu/presidentialsearch.

###

---

Eastern Michigan University is a public, comprehensive university that offers programs in the arts, sciences and professions. EMU prepares students with the intellectual skills and practical experiences to succeed in their career and lives, and to be better citizens.

Editor's Note: Looking for an expert source for a story? Check out EMU's Eastern Experts online at www.emich.edu/univcomm/easternexperts.

---

EMU Home | University Communications Home