CMU presidential search process yields 43 candidates

Fourty-three candidates have completed the application process to be the next president of Central Michigan University.

Thursday’s deadline is considered a soft deadline, however, said Trustee Stephanie Comai, meaning the screening committee will still accept applications in the near future.

“We anticipate we have a vast majority of people who will complete the process,” said Comai, the presidential search screening committee chairwoman. “But we will still consider candidates.”

Thus far, 70 people were nominated to the university’s search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, LLC.

The next step in the process is for the screening committee to start reviewing resumes, select the candidates to interview and present semifinalists to the full Board of Trustees. Comai said she hopes to begin Oct. 12.

“Right now, we’re doing a paper review to select the best candidates based on resumes,” she said.

Comai wants to conduct interviews by the end of October and present two to six semifinalists to the Board of Trustees in November. The Board then will select which of the candidates to interview for the position.

New Year’s Day

Comai’s goal is to have a new university president named by Jan. 1, 2010.

As for when the new administration will take office, Comai said she does not have a firm date.

“It’s hard to predict when people will make announcements, if you get a sitting university president and they have commitments to their current university,” she said.

Former University President Michael Rao announced he was leaving for Virginia Commonwealth University on Feb. 20, but stayed on as university president until June 30. Interim Kathy Wilbur stepped in July 1 and still holds the position.

Student Government Association President and screening committee member Jason Nichol said going into the screening process with an open mind is a must.

“In my experience on search committees, I’ve found that pre-conceived notions are often shattered,” the Mount Pleasant senior said.

Nichol, the only student on the committee, said the committee has been crafting a leadership profile to find the right person to lead CMU.

“I’m looking for a president who will be able to best serve CMU,” he said. “Someone who recognizes the unique point we are at as a university and who is a visionary leader.”