Return to Nicholas Johnson's Iowa Rain Forest ("Earthpark") Web Site

Return to Nicholas Johnson's Blog, FromDC2Iowa
 
 

Brian Morelli, Kurtz Calls for Meeting With Regents

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

The nine-member board met by telephone Monday to discuss the search to replace David Skorton, who now leads Cornell University.

"It will be a challenge," Johnsen said Monday night. "It's a great honor and will be an awful lot of work. We are looking for ways to move ahead and engage the greater UI community."

After a controversial initial search flared tempers, Johnsen appears to have wide support from regents and from the campus.

"Johnsen is the senior dean ... he heads a very highly ranked college," Iowa City Regent Bob Downer said. "It seems to me all these things taken together pointed to someone who would be a superb leader and have the confidence of all involved."

Names for members of the committee were not discussed, but Regent President Michael Gartner of Des Moines said he hoped to name the committee by the first week of January. Names will be solicited from campus, Gartner said.

Gartner said he will meet with Johnsen and speak individually with regents to form a list of names before presenting the committee for regent approval.

Regent Rose Vasquez of Des Moines called on regents to discuss moving forward in defining and naming the committee as a group, as opposed to a "flurry of e-mails."

"To get down to some of the nitty-gritty solely though the e-mails, I've got to say I am not a big fan of that," Vasquez said.

Faculty Senate President Sheldon Kurtz, a faculty member who was critical of the initial search, applauded naming Johnsen as chairman despite having pushed for a senior faculty member to lead the search.

He also appreciated Vasquez calling for more discussion.

"You have to applaud Regent Vasquez in recognizing that the issues they are discussing, relating to the formation of the committee and the process for moving forward, are only appropriate to be discussed in public," Kurtz said.

Earlier Monday, Kurtz had requested a special regent meeting with faculty leaders from UI, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa to discuss pros and cons of how search committees can function.

Regent executive director Gary Steinke said that meeting is not likely to occur and that candidates should dictate the process for the search.

Regents declined to decide how many people would serve on the committee, but the next group will be smaller than the initial 19-person search committee, Gartner said. Atlanta-based Heidrick and Struggles will continue as the search firm at no fee other than expenses and there is the expectation that the next search will move rapidly, Gartner said.

After many on campus questioned the past search from the beginning, regents are using caution in moving forward.

"I hope we have a way of in putting in specific names because clearly this time we want to be sure we have a committee that would be embraced by the university community as much as possible," Davenport Regent Amir Arbisser.

Regent President Pro-tem Teresa Wahlert of Waukee led the initial search, which included four regents. Wahlert suggested that no regents serve on the next committee.

"It is incumbent on us to take away as many of the problem issues from the last time," Wahlert said.

Regent Mary Ellen Becker requested a decision as to whether UI will install a vice president for health sciences to manage University Hospitals and the Carver College of Medicine, before moving forward with a search committee.

The initial seven-month, $195,000 search officially ended Nov. 17. Gov. Tom Vilsack urged regents to reconsider, but the preferred candidate declined further consideration Dec. 6, signaling a restart.

Then five UI campus groups passed no-confidence votes in Gartner and Wahlert. Gartner and Wahlert have said they will not resign, though Regent Tom Bedell of Spirit Lake resigned Thursday because of the controversy.

University of Iowa Faculty Senate President Sheldon Kurtz has requested a special meeting of the Iowa state Board of Regents to discuss the pros and cons of traditional presidential search committees and public, on-campus interviews.

Kurtz made his request today in a letter to Regent President Michael Gartner. Kurtz requested the meeting be held in January and consist of the regents along with representatives of the three regent universities. He also asked that the group discuss the pros and cons of a “cooling down” period before restarting the search for a new UI president.

“It is our intention to invite colleagues from the three campuses who have significant experience with presidential searches and who can speak with authority about the “ins and outs” of presidential searches on our respective campuses,” Kurtz wrote in the letter.

Kurtz has been a leading critic of the handling of the initial seven-month, $195,000 search to replace David Skorton, which ended without a hire and with five campus groups voting overwhelmingly in favor of no-confidence resolutions in Gartner and President Pro-Tem Teresa Wahlert.

Regents are scheduled to meet by phone at 5 p.m. today to restart the presidential search and to consider what the new search committee should look like.