Search for university administrators nears completion
Four candidates have been selected by the Provost Search Committee as contenders for the position of Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of South Dakota.
The finalists include Jeanette Altarriba, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Albany; Chris Cirmo, dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Lee Kats, vice provost for Research and Initiatives at Pepperdine University and James Moran III, vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Office of the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Mary Nettleman, dean of the Medical School and chair of the Provost Search Committee, said the on-campus interviews have been a good chance for people to interact with candidates.
“They’ve been going well,” Nettleman said. “The candidates seem to be having a positive experience.”
The next candidate forum will take place May 6 at 2:15 p.m. in room 216 of the Muenster University Center for Altarriba. The forums are free and open to the public. The other three candidates partook forums in held last week.
The first round of interviews for the provost position, called airport interviews, occurred the week of April 14 in Sioux Falls. Diane Zak, director of Human Resources for USD, said 10 airport interviews were conducted by the Provost Search Committee.
Zak said the public is encouraged to attend the forum and provide input about each candidate.
“Anyone who is here is welcome,” she said.
After Altarriba’s forum, Nettleman said the Provost Search Committee will compile a list of qualifications for each candidate, which will then be passed along to President James Abbott — who ultimately hires the new administrators.
“We’re in the final stages now,” Abbott said. “The business school dean candidates have been cycling in this week and provost candidates as well, so we’re awfully busy trying to see all those candidates plus a couple others, but we have great candidates.”
Additionally, the crowning of the new School of Business dean is nearing completion, with on-campus interviews taking place this week.
Tom Geu, dean of the university’s School of Law and chair of the School of Business search committee, said he and his committee have been carefully considering all candidates since receiving resumes from the contracted search consulting firm, Witt/Keiffer. Based out of Illinois, the consulting firm also conducted the preliminary search for a new provost.
“We are just now bringing in final candidates before faculty and students leave campus,” Geu said.
Zak said between 10-12 candidates were brought in for airport interviews. Geu declined to disclose the number of candidates partaking in on-campus interviews throughout the week.
“We are being very careful, but talking to as many people as possible in the early stage of the process,” he said.
Also on the university’s top hiring priorities list is a replacement for the Vice President of Marketing, Enrollment and Student Services position. The position, previously held by Jeff Baylor, became available after Baylor submitted a letter of resignation Jan. 21.
Hired by the university in February, Williams and Company is conducting the candidate search to replace Baylor. Zak, a member of the Vice President of Marketing, Enrollment and Student Services Search Committee, said Williams and Company will present the committee with the first batch of resumes May 4.
Based on contracts between the university and the two consulting search firms — Witt/Kieffer and Williams and Company — more than $184,000 was exchanged for their services.
Although there is no formal deadline, Zak said the university hopes to fill all three administrator positions soon. And while all three university administrator searches near their end, Zak also said it has been a lengthy process.
“It’s a lot of (searches) to be working on at one time,” she said. “It’s a lot of directions, but yes, we hope to have it under control by the time school starts.”
