Press-Citizen Editorial, President Search II

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President search II
Our quick take on last week's news stories

Editorial

Iowa City Press-Citizen

February 4, 2007

[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 good news is that last year's failed UI presidential search does not seem to have scared off all the qualified candidates for the job from reapplying. Members of the University of Iowa Presidential Search Committee II announced that they already have complied a list "well into the double digits" of sitting presidents, provosts and other well-qualified people who have applied or been recommended as the next UI president. The bad news is that there remains concern that the 13-member committee is not broad enough to represent all the facets of the university -- specifically that the committee does not include anyone representing the UI undergraduate population.

We urge the committee to establish means by which undergraduate input is regularly requested and assessed. And, even more optimistically, we hope meeting the undergraduates will be an important part of on-campus interviews with each of the committee's finalists.