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[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, 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 Des Moines Register.]

The Iowa Board of Regents voted unanimously Monday to select David Johnsen, dean of the U of I College of Dentistry and the longest-serving dean at the U of I, to lead the presidential search committee. Johnsen said he would be glad to lead the search.

"All the deans think we need to do everything we can to engage the community," Johnsen said Monday evening.

The U of I has been in tumult since Nov. 17, when the regents rejected four presidential finalists. The move outraged U of I faculty, staff and student groups, which have since overwhelmingly approved resolutions of no confidence in the regents' leadership. The composition of the committee, which interviews candidates and selects finalists, has been hotly debated as groups vie for influence. Faculty leaders wanted one of their own to lead the group, but said Johnsen was a good choice.

"He's an absolutely first-rate individual, and he'll make an excellent chair," said Sheldon Kurtz, chairman of the U of I Faculty Senate.

However, faculty were upset at the method regents used for choosing Johnsen. Steve Collins, an engineering professor, said there had been no contact with faculty, staff or student groups to get input on the search committee chairman, despite regents' promises to engage the campus.

Regents President Michael Gartner said he hopes a search committee can be named by early January. Regents said they would like to select a president by summer.

Several regents brought up other aspects of the search committee, such as whether regents or students should serve. Gartner said that there were differing opinions on the board and that he would talk with regents individually before calling the board back together for a decision.

Regent Rose Vasquez said she preferred a group conference call, where she could hear other regents' opinions.

"If it's possible and we could get on the phone, we could hammer these things out. It's probably as efficient as this barrage of e-mails and the polling. It might serve our purposes," she said.

Regent Amir Arbisser said last week he would like a search committee of 10 to 12 people who would decide whether to hold on-campus interviews. This was a sticking point with the last search committee, which was led by regent Teresa Wahlert. Regents leaders said early on there would be on-campus interviews, but started to pull back as top candidates wanted their names to remain secret. Regent Mary Ellen Becker has said she would eliminate on-campus interviews if it meant getting a better president.

Kurtz said the faculty want public, on-campus interviews. "If they (candidates) can't be open, maybe this isn't the right institution for them," he said.

Kurtz asked for a special meeting in January to discuss the processes used to select university presidents, but the request was denied.