Wanted! A chief executive for overseeing enterprise of multi-billion dollar which employs and educates thousands and pushes the medical care and research.
Needs to be skilled with fundraising and have appreciation for mascots who look funny. Working round the clock is expected; also ability of walking on the water would be a point of credit.
Rodney Erickson at Penn State would leave in one year so search is on these days for someone who should, along with the usual responsibilities of handle a university this big, also be able to deal with continuing aftermath of scandal of sex abuse that involves Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant of football coach. Erickson had taken over in the year 2011 after the previous president of university Graham Spanier got forced out.
Mary Sue Coleman, President in University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, announced this April that in 2014, July, she will be stepping down.Gordon Gee, the president of Ohio State retires on Monday after the second stint being president of OSU in Columbus for total of fifteen years.
Provost of Ohio State is tapped as the interim president.Any responsibilities of president for a latest research university would be quite adequate for a person – whether it is building strong programs for academics for the undergraduates or administering a hospital university system. Combined duties could look staggering.
With annual budget of $4.3bn, Penn State has total eighty-five thousand students that include graduate, professionals and undergraduate, spread over twenty-four campuses.
University of Michigan Health System only has above 26,000 staff and faculty, 120 offices and clinics in Northern Ohio and Michigan, and $490M in the research funding.
With $5.2bn budget, Ohio State has above 63,000 students, ninety-three doctoral programs, undergraduate majors above 168 and 7 professional programs.While considering the candidates, it assists to brainstorm regarding skills that any new leader needs to bring to job, even when results seem quite far-fetched many times, according to president of American Council on Education, Molly Corbett Broad.
University of North Carolina’s former president Broad said that one gets long list when those who could walk on water are thought of, but it is a process which helps you in formulating in mind, among other significant characteristics, which ones happen to be really essential.
Seeking the candidates for jobs as demanding as this is a thing. Though, who would like to have such a job, given this stress and the hours?
The campus meetings begin early and the athletic events continue on late. It’s exceedingly rare for the weekends to be off. The presidents often are required to be present on the corporate boards too.
In spite of this, there aren’t less candidates, because these institutions are wonderful, have international faculties and student bodies so it is no wonder many talented people have desire of being their head, said American Universities’ Association’s president, Hunter Rawlings.
Gee, Coleman and Spanier all made to the list of Chronicle of Higher Education of top ten highest paid leaders of public college. On top of list is Spanier, with $2.9M for the year 2011-12 and Gee at No.3, with $1.9M.
The work of coming up to a short candidates’ list is given to the executive firms for searching. Heidrick & Struggles was hired by Ohio State when search was started in 2006 which finished at Gee. Isaacson, Miller was hired by Penn State to find Erickson’s replacement, having offices in Washington, Boston and San Francisco.
The search would be easier for university at least, in Michigan, by Sunshine laws of the state that shields names of the applicants for job of University of Michigan from public. Under the Pennsylvania law, Penn State also happens to be confident it could shield the candidate names.
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ president, Peter McPherson said,
“You’re simply going to have fewer candidates, certainly fewer sitting president candidates, if the search is a public search. Running responsibilities what campuses would prefer to do, but it is a problem if you don’t do it that way.”
There arises then the matter of dealing with the mess created. Erickson received criticism at the Penn State, in wake of Sandusky scandal regarding handling the talks to NCAA over sever sanctions with regards to football program that included reductions in scholarship, $60M fine and a 4-year ban on bowling.
Gee left in Ohio State under warning from the trustees during March that if there were any more comments that would be offensive, they would lead to Gee’s dismissal.
Rawlings said that the concerns about being in such conditions are clearly outweighed by lure that the best jobs offer.
He further said, “When you’ve had some difficulties, that really gives the new person a chance to start afresh with her or his own agenda. And that’s often seen by candidates as an opportunity.”