President Bobbitt Outlines Process for Chancellor Search

Photo by Russell Cothren

President Don Bobbitt

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – President Don Bobbitt of the University of Arkansas System met with faculty members Monday to describe the search process planned for naming a new chancellor at the University of Arkansas.

Chancellor G. David Gearhart will retire as chancellor at the end of July.

Bobbitt spoke to about 200 people who attended the semester meeting of the Campus Faculty, the collective organization of the entire faculty at the university, and took their questions about the process.

Bobbitt said that he would pursue a national search using a consulting firm to identify competent candidates, provide those candidates with background on the university, make the necessary background checks and then offer those candidates for consideration by a search committee made up of representatives of the university’s many constituencies. The search committee will also consider candidates who apply outside of the consulting firm’s scope.

He said he expects to name a committee of 15-17 people that will comprise three to four faculty members as well as representatives of his own office, the staff, student affairs, the deans on campus, the business community, the U of A Board of Trustees and other constituencies.

The search committee will eventually recommend a candidate or candidates and the president will bring the candidate to the Board of Trustees for a hiring decision.

Probable Time Frame

The U of A System has put out a request for proposals from consulting firms and has received at least five offers from top national firms, Bobbitt said. He expects to narrow that list soon to a firm that makes sense for the chancellor position and the Fayetteville campus.

Hiring a firm will require legislative approval, which is the only question mark in the timing. After a firm is hired, it would probably vet potential candidates during the summer. Ideally, Bobbitt said, he would like to bring candidates to campus in the early fall when the campus is vibrant and full of life.

“Even though the candidates will be selling themselves to us,” Bobbitt said, “we also want to sell the campus to them.”

If all went to plan, he said, he hoped that a new chancellor could be hired by January 2016.

The position of chancellor is not tied to the academic calendar in the way that department heads and deans are, Bobbitt told the faculty members. Regardless, the timeline leans against hiring a chancellor by July 30, requiring an interim chancellor be appointed.

He said he has a plan for naming an interim chancellor and will announce it soon. He anticipates that an interim chancellor will agree not to apply for the permanent chancellor’s position.

Faculty Questions

One faculty member asked how the likelihood of an interim chancellor would affect other national searches, such as those for a new provost and new dean of business.

Bobbitt said that Gearhart would be chancellor until the end of July, and he would obviously be able to make those appointments until his retirement or they could be made after that point by an interim chancellor. Bobbitt said he believed the second tier of administrators in the colleges and in academic affairs could fill those interim positions competently and keep the campus on track until a new dean and new provost are hired.

He said that he expected the timeline for hiring for the provost and dean positions would probably depend on the hiring of a new chancellor first. Most candidates would want to know who their administrative supervisors would be before applying, Bobbitt said, but he added that the Sam M. Walton College of Business might have enough national recognition to draw candidates who are comfortable pursuing the position regardless of the status of the chancellor or provost searches.

Another faculty member asked Bobbitt what qualities he would like in a candidate for chancellor.

Bobbit had earlier spoken about Chancellor Gearhart’s tenure, saying that Gearhart would be difficult to replace because of the passion that he has felt for the campus and for making it a top public research university. Finding someone with his passion for this institution would be impossible, Bobbitt said, and so the search itself will be difficult.

The chancellor’s position needs to be able to relate to a very wide and diverse constituency, he said, and the ability to communicate with those disparate stakeholders would be high on his list of necessary attributes. Arkansas includes people from all walks of life, from cosmopolitan business entrepreneurs recently arrived in Northwest Arkansas to long-time Razorback fans in every corner of the state to state legislators who represent strong rural constituencies.

Bobbitt said he wants candidates who exhibit a strong sense of integrity because the changes that are coming in higher education – at both the state and federal levels – will require leaders who can speak straightforwardly about those changes in a way that is trusted and open.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.