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Updates

April 26, 2013:

The Upper Iowa University Board of Trustees has named William R. Duffy II, Ed.D., as the 22nd president of the Fayette-based University. Board Chair Bob Firth and Trustee Bill Cook, chair of the presidential search committee, made the announcement Friday at the end of its regular Board meeting.

Read the press release.

April 19, 2013:

The Presidential Search Committee met with eight semi-finalists at a neutral site earlier this week. The committee was very impressed by the breadth and depth of experience of the semi-finalists. Following the meeting, the committee had extensive discussions and arrived at agreement on a set of three finalists to invite for campus interviews.

We are pleased to report that those top three candidates have all agreed to come to campus for interviews. The finalist names and additional information will be not be released until after consideration by the Board of Trustees at some point during their April 25-26 meeting, in order for one candidate to return from overseas and talk with his current institution, as well as allowing time to complete extensive background checks on all three candidates.

Interview #1 will be on campus April 29 and 30. Interview #2 will be May 2 and 3. Interview #3 will be on May 6 and 7. Each candidate will be presenting at separate forums for Students, Staff, and Faculty and all will be streamed to the global campus. Additionally, there will be an Open Forum for all interested stakeholders, which will be streamed live with a link on the UIU home page.

Details on times and places for the forums, other scheduled events, and how to participate via live streaming will be released when we can go public with the candidates. We will also share how you will be able to provide feedback to the Search Committee following each visit.

Please plan to participate in this vital decision for UIU and show each candidate our Peacock hospitality.

The Presidential Search Committee
Bill Cook, Chair

April 6, 2013:

I am writing to provide another update on the search for the new UIU president.  Our search process produced a pool of accomplished individuals with good diversity and impressive credentials, including a number with presidential experience.  The search committee met on Monday, April 1, and narrowed the number of candidates who will be given additional consideration to less than half of the original applicant pool.  These candidates chosen to advance were selected on the basis of their experience in higher education, the quality of the written materials they presented to the committee, and the committee's assessment of the candidates' fit with the Presidential Agenda and Desired Attributes contained in the Presidential Profile.

The committee is pleased with the quality, experience and variety of backgrounds represented in the applicant group selected for further review, and will be doing reference checks and additional research on these candidates this week. The committee will meet again next week to further narrow the candidate pool and select candidates who will be invited to participate in more extensive interviews later this month.

The committee is making good progress, staying on schedule, and optimistic about the prospects for completing out task on time and with excellent results.  We continue to appreciate your support and encouragement.  I will continue to keep you updated as we approach the final phase of the search process that will occur in May.

Bill Cook
Chair, Presidential Search Committee

March 25, 2013:

The number of inquiries has continued to grow, as has the number of applications, and the committee is working hard to assess the applications as they are received.  Given the importance of confidentiality throughout the search process, the committee is not able to give any specific information at this time but wishes to report to the UIU community that the search is progressing well and is remaining on schedule. Although applications will continue to be considered until the position is filled, the committee will meet the first week of April for their first joint evaluation of the applications and to decide which applicants to pursue further. 

March 8, 2013:

As reported earlier, the inquiries from potential candidates began immediately following the initial posting of the ad on The Chronicle of Higher Education electronic version in mid-February, along with ad postings in a number of other national publications including Inside Higher Education, plus several other publications that target minority and under-represented candidates.  AGB Search has also mounted a targeted effort to reach out to carefully selected higher education leaders throughout the country and that has yielded a number of excellent nominations. AGB Search is in the intensive follow-up phase, now contacting nominees and assisting them in exploring the opportunity to become candidates.

The Search Committee members have started their review of candidate applications and this careful review will continue, in earnest, throughout the month of March.

February 25, 2013:

Thanks to all who participated in the survey of constituents as we fine-tuned the ad for the presidential search and the Presidential Profile brochure.  The hundreds of responses were an excellent show of support for the survey, especially given the short time frame for participation.  The analysis of the data confirmed the exceptional job the Search committee and Board had done with the preliminary work, but also provided several keen additional insights.

Based on those insights, the ad was finalized and sent to The Chronicle of Higher Education, where it will appear in the February 22 print edition. The ad is already available on the online edition of The Chronicle, along with other major media outlets. The AGB Search consultant almost immediately began receiving inquiries about the position.